2010 Kentucky Senate election

Not to be confused with 2010 United States Senate election in Kentucky.

2010 Kentucky Senate election

November 2, 2010
19 out of 38 seats in the Kentucky Senate 20 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader David Williams Ed Worley (retired) Party Republican Democratic Leader since January 5, 1999 January 6, 2003 Leader's seat 16th – Burkesville 34th – Richmond Last election 22 15 Seats before 20 17 Seats won 22 15 Seat change 2 2 Seats up 11 7 Races won 13 5
Results:      Republican hold      Republican gain      Democratic hold      Democratic gain      Independent hold      No election Popular vote:      50–60%      60–70%      >90%      50–60%      >90%      40–50%
Senate President before election David Williams Republican Elected Senate President David Williams Republican

The 2010 Kentucky Senate election was held on November 2, 2010. The Republican and Democratic primary elections were held on May 18. Half of the senate (all even-numbered seats) were up for election. Republicans increased their majority in the chamber, gaining two seats.

A numbered map of the senate districts at the time can be viewed here.

Overview

Party		Candidates		Votes	%	Seats
		Opposed	Unopposed			Before	Won	After	+/−
	Republican	15	3	398,458	57.88	20	13	22	+2
	Democratic	15	1	271,350	39.42	17	5	15	-2
	Independent	1	0	17,606	2.56	1	1	1	-
	Evangelical Christian	1	0	1,004	0.15	0	0	0	-
Total		32	4	688,418	100.00	38	19	38	±0
Source: Kentucky Secretary of State

Retiring incumbents

A total of two senators (one Democrat and one Republican) retired, neither of which ran for other offices.

Democratic

1. 34th: Ed Worley (Richmond): Retired.

Republican

1. 20th: Gary Tapp (Shelbyville): Retired.

Defeated incumbents

Three incumbents (two Democrats and one Republican) were defeated for reelection.

Democrats

1. 8th: David Boswell (first elected in 1990) lost to Joseph R. Bowen.
2. 32nd: Mike Reynolds (elected in February 2009) lost to Mike Wilson.

Republicans

1. 10th: Elizabeth Tori (first elected in 1994) lost to Dennis Parrett.

Summary by district

Certified results by the Kentucky Secretary of State are available online for the primary election and general election.

District	Incumbent	Party		Elected	Party
2	Bob Leeper		Ind	Bob Leeper		Ind
4	Dorsey Ridley		Dem	Dorsey Ridley		Dem
6	Jerry Rhoads		Dem	Jerry Rhoads		Dem
8	David Boswell		Dem	Joseph R. Bowen		Rep
10	Elizabeth Tori		Rep	Dennis Parrett		Dem
12	Alice Forgy Kerr		Rep	Alice Forgy Kerr		Rep
14	Jimmy Higdon		Rep	Jimmy Higdon		Rep
16	David Williams		Rep	David Williams		Rep
18	Robin L. Webb		Dem	Robin L. Webb		Dem
20	Gary Tapp		Rep	Paul Hornback		Rep
22	Tom Buford		Rep	Tom Buford		Rep
24	Katie Kratz Stine		Rep	Katie Kratz Stine		Rep
26	Ernie Harris		Rep	Ernie Harris		Rep
28	R. J. Palmer		Dem	R. J. Palmer		Dem
30	Brandon Smith		Rep	Brandon Smith		Rep
32	Mike Reynolds		Dem	Mike Wilson		Rep
34	Ed Worley		Dem	Jared Carpenter		Rep
36	Julie Denton		Rep	Julie Denton		Rep
38	Dan Seum		Rep	Dan Seum		Rep

Closest races

Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%:

1. District 12, 2.38%
2. District 2, 2.49%
3. District 10, 3.30% (gain)
4. District 8, 3.34% (gain)
5. District 6, 5.19%
6. District 28, 5.41%
7. District 18, 6.62%

Special elections

District 32 special

Mike Reynolds was elected in February 2009 following the resignation of Brett Guthrie.

2009 Kentucky Senate 32nd district special election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mike Reynolds	8,283	54.7
	Republican	J. Marshall Hughes	6,858	45.3
Total votes			15,141	100.0
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 18 special

Results by county:

  Webb

•   50–60%

  Ditty

•   40–50%
•   50–60%

Robin L. Webb was elected in August 2009 following the resignation of Charlie Borders.

2009 Kentucky Senate 18th district special election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robin L. Webb	8,684	48.1
	Republican	Jack F. Ditty	8,402	46.6
	Independent	Guy E. Gibbons Jr.	953	5.3
Total votes			18,039	100.0
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 14 special

Results by county:

  Higdon

•   50–60%
•   60–70%

  Haydon

•   50–60%

Jimmy Higdon was elected in December 2009 following the resignation of Dan Kelly.

2009 Kentucky Senate 14th district special election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jimmy Higdon	11,327	56.1
	Democratic	Jodie Haydon	8,881	43.9
Total votes			20,208	100.0
	Republican hold

District 2

Incumbent senator Bob Leeper won reelection, defeating Democratic and Republican challengers.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Rex Smith, representative from the 4th district (1987–1995)

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• William Michael East

Independent candidates

• Bob Leeper, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2010 Kentucky Senate 2nd district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Bob Leeper	17,606	46.3
	Democratic	Rex Smith	16,657	43.8
	Republican	William Michael East	3,790	10.0
Total votes			38,053	100.0
	Independent hold

District 4

Incumbent senator Dorsey Ridley won reelection unopposed.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Dorsey Ridley, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2010 Kentucky Senate 4th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dorsey Ridley	Unopposed
Total votes			26,304	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 6

Incumbent senator Jerry Rhoads won reelection, defeating Republican Jack Whitfield.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jerry Rhoads, incumbent senator

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jack Whitfield

General election

Results

2010 Kentucky Senate 6th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jerry Rhoads	17,473	52.6
	Republican	Jack Whitfield	15,750	47.4
Total votes			33,223	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 8

Incumbent senator David Boswell was defeated for reelection by Republican Joseph R. Bowen.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• David Boswell, incumbent senator

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Joseph R. Bowen

General election

Results

2010 Kentucky Senate 8th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joseph R. Bowen	18,073	51.7
	Democratic	David Boswell	16,904	48.3
Total votes			34,977	100.0
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 10

Incumbent senator Elizabeth Tori was defeated for reelection by Democrat Dennis Parrett.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Dennis Parrett

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Elizabeth Tori, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2010 Kentucky Senate 10th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dennis Parrett	16,291	51.7
	Republican	Elizabeth Tori	15,250	48.3
Total votes			31,541	100.0
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 12

Incumbent senator Alice Forgy Kerr won reelection, defeating primary and general election challengers.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Don Blevins, County Clerk of Fayette County (1982–2008)

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Alice Forgy Kerr, incumbent senator

Eliminated in primary

• Andrew Roberts

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Alice Forgy Kerr	6,805	71.3
	Republican	Andrew Roberts	2,738	28.7
Total votes			9,543	100.0

General election

Endorsements

Don Blevins (D)

Newspapers

• The Lexington Herald-Leader

Results

2010 Kentucky Senate 12th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Alice Forgy Kerr	20,341	51.2
	Democratic	Don Blevins	19,397	48.8
Total votes			39,738	100.0
	Republican hold

District 14

Incumbent senator Jimmy Higdon won reelection unopposed.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jimmy Higdon, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2010 Kentucky Senate 14th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jimmy Higdon	Unopposed
Total votes			30,360	100.0
	Republican hold

District 16

Incumbent senator David Williams won reelection, defeating primary election challenger Denver Capps.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• David Williams, incumbent senator

Eliminated in primary

• Denver Capps

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David Williams	18,407	81.6
	Republican	Denver Capps	4,143	18.4
Total votes			22,550	100.0

General election

Results

2010 Kentucky Senate 16th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David Williams	Unopposed
Total votes			24,484	100.0
	Republican hold

District 18

Incumbent senator Robin L. Webb won reelection, defeating Republican Jack Ditty.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Robin L. Webb, incumbent senator

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jack Ditty, Republican candidate for this district in August 2009

General election

Results

2010 Kentucky Senate 18th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robin L. Webb	17,617	53.3
	Republican	Jack Ditty	15,428	46.7
Total votes			33,045	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 20

Incumbent senator Gary Tapp did not seek reelection. He was succeeded by Republican Paul Hornback.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• David Eaton, candidate for the 58th house district in 2002 and 2004

Eliminated in primary

• John Spainhour

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David Eaton	8,281	55.6
	Democratic	John Spainhour	6,618	44.4
Total votes			14,899	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Paul Hornback

Eliminated in primary

• David Glauber

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Hornback	5,328	62.9
	Republican	David Glauber	3,148	37.1
Total votes			8,476	100.0

General election

Results

2010 Kentucky Senate 20th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Hornback	26,883	60.5
	Democratic	David Eaton	17,588	39.5
Total votes			44,471	100.0
	Republican hold

District 22

Incumbent senator Tom Buford won reelection, defeating primary election challenger Chad Crouch.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Tom Buford, incumbent senator

Eliminated in primary

• Chad Crouch

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Buford	6,236	52.9
	Republican	Chad Crouch	5,542	47.1
Total votes			11,778	100.0

General election

Results

2010 Kentucky Senate 22nd district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Buford	Unopposed
Total votes			32,080	100.0
	Republican hold

District 24

Incumbent senator Katie Kratz Stine won reelection, defeating Democrat Julie Smith-Morrow.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Julie Smith-Morrow

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Katie Kratz Stine, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2010 Kentucky Senate 24th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Katie Kratz Stine	22,398	69.2
	Democratic	Julie Smith-Morrow	9,978	30.8
Total votes			32,376	100.0
	Republican hold

District 26

Incumbent senator Ernie Harris won reelection, defeating primary and general election challengers.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• John Black

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Ernie Harris, incumbent senator

Eliminated in primary

• Don Godfrey

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ernie Harris	9,109	71.5
	Republican	Don Godfrey	3,626	28.5
Total votes			12,735	100.0

General election

Results

2010 Kentucky Senate 26th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ernie Harris	30,305	58.3
	Democratic	John Black	21,656	41.7
Total votes			51,961	100.0
	Republican hold

District 28

Incumbent senator R. J. Palmer won reelection, defeating primary and general election challengers.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• R. J. Palmer, incumbent senator

Eliminated in primary

• Bryan Lutz

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	R. J. Palmer	14,575	68.5
	Democratic	Bryan Lutz	6,705	31.5
Total votes			21,280	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Ralph Alvarado, candidate for the 73rd house district in 2004 and 2006

Eliminated in primary

• Ryan Dotson

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ralph Alvarado	3,386	65.5
	Republican	Ryan Dotson	1,780	34.5
Total votes			5,166	100.0

General election

Results

2010 Kentucky Senate 28th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	R. J. Palmer	18,876	52.7
	Republican	Ralph Alvarado	16,940	47.3
Total votes			35,816	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 30

Incumbent senator Brandon Smith won reelection, defeating Democrat Johnnie L. Turner.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Johnnie L. Turner, representative from the 88th district (1999–2003)

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Brandon Smith, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2010 Kentucky Senate 30th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brandon Smith	20,870	67.2
	Democratic	Johnnie L. Turner	10,180	32.8
Total votes			31,050	100.0
	Republican hold

District 32

Incumbent senator Mike Reynolds was defeated for reelection by Republican Mike Wilson.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Mike Reynolds, incumbent senator

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Mike Wilson

Eliminated in primary

• Ed Mills
• Regina Webb

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Wilson	5,025	51.5
	Republican	Regina Webb	3,077	31.5
	Republican	Ed Mills	1,656	17.0
Total votes			9,758	100.0

General election

Results

2010 Kentucky Senate 32nd district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Wilson	18,935	55.0
	Democratic	Mike Reynolds	15,490	45.0
Total votes			34,425	100.0
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 34

Incumbent senator Ed Worley did not seek reelection. He was succeeded by Republican Jared Carpenter.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Lee Murphy

Eliminated in primary

• Michael Cope
• Landra Lewis

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lee Murphy	4,452	35.5
	Democratic	Landra Lewis	4,106	32.8
	Democratic	Michael Cope	3,966	31.7
Total votes			12,524	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jared Carpenter

Eliminated in primary

• Kent Kessler
• Barry Metcalf, senator from the 34th district (1994–1999) and candidate in 2002 and 2006

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jared Carpenter	4,405	37.9
	Republican	Kent Kessler	4,264	36.7
	Republican	Barry Metcalf	2,955	25.4
Total votes			11,624	100.0

Third-party candidates

Evangelical Christian

• Donald VanWinkle

General election

Results

2010 Kentucky Senate 34th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jared Carpenter	23,553	64.9
	Democratic	Lee Murphy	11,719	32.3
	Evangelical Christian	Donald VanWinkle	1,004	2.8
Total votes			36,276	100.0
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 36

Incumbent senator Julie Denton won reelection, defeating primary and general election challengers.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Rick Hiles

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Julie Denton, incumbent senator

Eliminated in primary

• Shawn Slone

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Julie Denton	10,135	71.7
	Republican	Shawn Slone	4,000	28.3
Total votes			14,135	100.0

General election

Results

2010 Kentucky Senate 36th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Julie Denton	36,864	66.8
	Democratic	Rick Hiles	18,291	33.2
Total votes			55,155	100.0
	Republican hold

District 38

Incumbent senator Dan Seum won reelection, defeating Democrat Marty Meyer.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Marty Meyer

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Dan Seum, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2010 Kentucky Senate 38th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dan Seum	26,154	60.7
	Democratic	Marty Meyer	16,929	39.3
Total votes			43,083	100.0
	Republican hold

See also

• 2010 Kentucky elections
  • 2010 Kentucky House of Representatives election
  • 2010 United States Senate election in Kentucky
  • 2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky