Kentucky held its general election on November 2, 2010, deciding 119 legislative seats. No chamber changed party control.
Highlights
- Republicans gained ground in both chambers without changing control of either. Their Senate majority grew from 20-17-1 to 22-15-1 (the third figure is a senator outside both parties), and Democrats kept the House, though their margin shrank from 65-35 to 58-42.
- In the Senate, Democrats' lone gain came in Senate District 10, where Dennis Parrett (D) defeated Sen. Elizabeth Tori (R) by about 1,000 votes. Republicans unseated two Democratic senators and picked up one open seat:
- Joe Bowen (R) beat Sen. David Boswell (D) by about 1,200 votes in Senate District 8, ending two decades representing the Owensboro area.
- Mike Wilson (R) beat Sen. Mike Reynolds (D) by about 3,400 votes in Senate District 32. The two shared many of the same conservative values but split over Wilson's push for right-to-work.
- Jared Carpenter (R) won Senate District 34, open after Minority Floor Leader Ed Worley (D) retired, by about 33 points.
- In all, 11 legislative seats changed party, all but Parrett's toward Republicans. In the House, Republicans unseated five Democrats, two of them by about 200 votes:
- Mike Nemes (R) beat Rep. Tim Firkins (D) by 190 votes in House District 38.
- Ryan Quarles (R) beat Rep. Charlie Hoffman (D) by about 220 votes in House District 62.
- Donna Mayfield (R) beat Rep. Don Pasley (D) by about 6 points in House District 73, and Kim King (R) beat Rep. Kent Stevens (D) by about 7 points in House District 55.
- Michael Meredith (R) beat Rep. Dottie Sims (D) by about 16 points in House District 19.
- Beyond the flips, 3 House Democrats held on by about 210 votes or fewer: Linda Belcher (D) in House District 49 (about 100), Jeff Greer (D) in House District 27 (about 130), and James Glenn, Jr. (D) in House District 13 (about 210).
Legislature
- House (100 seats): 65 D, 35 R before the election, 58 D, 42 R after; control stayed with Democrats.
- Senate (38 seats): 17 D, 20 R, 1 other or vacant before the election, 15 D, 22 R, 1 other or vacant after; control stayed with Republicans.