The Kentucky Senate is the

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

of the

Kentucky General Assembly The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It comprises the Kentucky Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives. The General Assembly meets annually in th ...

. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout

the Commonwealth ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

. There are no

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for Kentucky senators. The Kentucky Senate meets at the

Kentucky State Capitol The Kentucky State Capitol is located in Frankfort, Kentucky, Frankfort and is the house of the three branches (executive, legislative, judicial) of the Politics of the United States, state government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwe ...

in Frankfort annually beginning in January. Sessions last for 60 legislative days in even-numbered years and 30 legislative days in odd-numbered years. Republicans have had control of the Senate since 1999. They currently hold 32 seats to Democrats' 6.

Terms and qualifications

According to Section 32 of the

Kentucky Constitution The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the document that governs the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It was first adopted in 1792 and has since been rewritten three times and amended many more. The later versions were adopted in 1799, 1850 ...

, a senator must: *be at least 30 years old; *be a citizen of Kentucky; *have resided in the state at least six years and the district at least one year prior to election. Per section 30 of the Kentucky Constitution, senators are elected to four year staggered terms, with half the Senate elected every two years.

Leadership

Prior to a 1992

constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment (or constitutional alteration) is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly alt ...

, the

Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky The lieutenant governor of Kentucky was created under the state's second constitution, which was ratified in 1799. The inaugural officeholder was Alexander Scott Bullitt, who took office in 1800 following his election to serve under James Garra ...

presided over the Senate; the 1992 amendment created a new office of

President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the Speaker (politics), speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's Order of succession, succes ...

to be held by one of the 38 senators.

Leaders

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

(elected by full body): Robert Stivers (R-25) * President pro tempore (elected by full body): David P. Givens (R-9) Additionally, each political party elects a floor leader, whip, and

caucus A caucus is a group or meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to ...

chairman. Current party leadership of the Kentucky Senate: * Republican Party **Leader: Max Wise (R-16) **Whip: Mike Wilson (R-32) **Caucus chair: Robby Mills (R-4) * Democratic Party **Leader: Gerald Neal (D-33) **Whip:

David Yates David Yates (born 8 October 1963) is an English filmmaker, who has directed feature films, short films, and television productions. He is best known for directing the final four films in the Harry Potter (film series), ''Harry Potter'' series ...

(D-37) **Caucus chair: Reggie Thomas (D-13)

Members

List of current senators

Seating chart

2023 special elections

* On February 21, 2023, a special election was held to fill the vacant 19th district Senate seat left by Morgan McGarvey. The seat opened up after McGarvey ran and won the U.S. House seat in

Kentucky's 3rd congressional district Kentucky's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It encompasses almost all of Louisville Metro, which, since the merger of 2003, is consolidated with Jefferson County, though other incorporate ...

. Democratic candidate Cassie Chambers Armstrong defeated Republican candidate Misty Glin to become Senator. * On May 16, 2023, a special election was held to fill the vacant 28th district Senate seat left by Ralph Alvarado. The seat opened up after Alvarado was appointed the 15th Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health. The candidates were Greg Elkins (R) of

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

, Robert Sainte (D) of Winchester, and former Kentucky

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

Richard Henderson (I) of Mt. Sterling. Republican candidate Greg Elkins defeated Sainte and Henderson to become Senator.

History

Carolyn Conn Moore became the first woman to serve in the Kentucky Senate when in November 1949 she won a special election to replace her husband, J. Lee Moore, in the legislature after his death. Georgia Davis Powers became the first person of color to be elected to the Kentucky Senate in 1967. Gerald Neal became the first African American ever to be elected to a leadership position in the

in 2014. Ralph Alvarado became the first Hispanic to serve in the

when he was elected in 2014.

Standing committees

Past composition of the Senate

Notes

References

External links

Kentucky Legislature Senate Members
''official government website''
State Senate of Kentucky
at

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* {{Coord, 38, 11, 12.4, N, 84, 52, 33.5, W, type:landmark_region:US-KY, display=title Kentucky General Assembly State upper houses in the United States