United States presidential election in Kentucky, 2016

Elections in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

are held regularly. Politics in Kentucky has historically been very competitive. The state leaned toward the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

during the 1860s after the Whig Party dissolved. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, the southeastern part of the state aligned with the Union and tended to support

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

candidates thereafter, while the central and western portions remained heavily Democratic even into the following decades. Kentucky would be part of the Democratic

Solid South The Solid South or Southern bloc was the electoral voting bloc of the states of the Southern United States for issues that were regarded as particularly important to the interests of Democrats in those states. The Southern bloc existed especial ...

until the mid-20th century. Since 1952, voters in the Commonwealth supported the three Democratic candidates elected to the White House, all from Southern states:

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

from Texas in 1964,

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

from Georgia in 1976, and

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

from Arkansas in 1992 and 1996. But by the 21st century, the state had become a Republican stronghold in federal elections, supporting that party's presidential candidates by double-digit margins since 2000. At the same time, voters have continued to elect Democratic candidates to state and local offices in many jurisdictions. As of April 2024, 46.25 percent of the state's voters were officially registered as Republicans, while 43.36 percent were registered Democrats, whose members tend to be conservative. Some 10.40 percent were registered with another

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

or as Independents. Despite the Democratic voter registration advantage, the state has elected Republican candidates for federal office routinely since the beginning of the 21st century. From 1964 through 2004, Kentucky voted for the eventual winner of the presidential election each time, until losing its

bellwether A bellwether is a leader or an indicator of trends.bellwether
" ''Cambridge Dictionary''. Ret ...

status in the 2008 election. That year Republican

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

won Kentucky, carrying it 57 percent to 41 percent, but lost the national popular and electoral votes to Democrat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

. Further hampering Kentucky's status as a bellwether state, 116 of Kentucky's 120 counties supported Republican

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

in the 2012 election, who lost to Barack Obama nationwide. In a 2020 study, Kentucky was ranked as the 8th hardest state for citizens to vote in.

Voter Registration

Federal elections

US House

Elections to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

are held biennially. *

2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky will be held on November 8, 2022, to elect the six United States House of Representatives, U.S. representatives from the U.S. state, state of Kentucky, one from each of the s ...

2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the six U.S. representatives from the state of Kentucky, one from each of the state's six congressional districts. The elections coinc ...

2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky were held on November 6, 2018, to elect the six U.S. representatives from the state of Kentucky, one from each of the state's six congressional districts. The elections coinc ...

2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky were held on November 8, 2016, to elect the six U.S. representatives from the state of Kentucky, one from each of the state's six congressional districts. The elections coinci ...

2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky The 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky was held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, to elect the six U.S. representatives from the state of Kentucky, one from each of the state's six congressional districts. The elections ...

US Senate

Elections to the United States Senate are held every six years. * 2022 Senate election * 2020 Senate election

State elections

Gubernatorial elections

* 2023 Kentucky gubernatorial election *

2019 Kentucky gubernatorial election The 2019 Kentucky gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2019, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Kentucky. The Democratic nominee, Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear, defeated Republican incumbent Matt Bevin by jus ...

2015 Kentucky gubernatorial election The 2015 Kentucky gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 2015. Incumbent Democratic Governor Steve Beshear was ineligible to run for a third term due to term limits. Primary elections were held on May 19, 2015. Despite trailing in mos ...

2011 Kentucky gubernatorial election The 2011 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2011, to elect the governor of Kentucky and the Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, lieutenant governor of Kentucky. Incumbent Democratic Party (United States), Democrat Steve Beshear ...

State legislative elections

* 2022 Kentucky House of Representatives election * 2020 Kentucky House of Representatives election *

2018 Kentucky House of Representatives election The 2018 Kentucky House of Representatives elections were held on November 6, 2018, as part of the biennial United States elections. All 100 of Kentucky's state representatives were up for reelection. In Kentucky, members of the House of Represent ...

* 2016 Kentucky House of Representatives election *

2004 Kentucky House of Representatives election The 2004 Kentucky House of Representatives elections were held on November 2, 2004, as part of the biennial United States elections. All 100 of Kentucky's state representatives were up for reelection. In Kentucky, members of the House of Represent ...

* 2022 Kentucky Senate election * 2020 Kentucky Senate election

References

External links

* {{Kentucky * Government of Kentucky