Kentucky held its general election on November 8, 2022, deciding 119 legislative seats. No chamber changed party control.
Highlights
- Republicans widened the dominating supermajorities they hold in both chambers, reaching 80 of 100 House seats and 31 of 38 Senate seats. Yet voters rejected both constitutional amendments on the ballot, including an anti-abortion amendment.
- House Democrats lost five seats, and every incumbent who lost was a Democrat:
- Angie Hatton (D), the House minority whip, lost her eastern Kentucky seat in House District 94 to Jacob Justice (R).
- Patti Minter (D) lost House District 20 to Kevin Jackson (R).
- Charlie Miller (D) lost House District 28 to Jared Bauman (R).
- Jeffery M. Donohue (D) fell to Emily Callaway (R) in House District 37.
- Buddy Wheatley (D) lost House District 65 to Stephanie Dietz (R) by about 2 points.
- Democrats held the closest legislative race: Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson (D) kept House District 88 by fewer than 40 votes, and House Democrats then chose her as caucus chair. In the Senate, Republicans picked up the seat of retiring minority whip Dennis Parrett, which Matt Deneen (R) won without opposition in Senate District 10. In 59 legislative races, one of the major parties fielded no candidate.
- Amendment 2 would have declared that the constitution protects no right to abortion, leaving abortion access to the legislature. It lost by about 5 points. Its defeat did not strike down the near-total ban lawmakers had passed, whose fate rested on a challenge before the state Supreme Court. Amendment 1, which would have let lawmakers call themselves into session without the governor and removed fixed end dates for sessions, lost by about 7 points.
Legislature
- House (100 seats): 25 D, 75 R before the election, 20 D, 80 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
- Senate (38 seats): 8 D, 30 R before the election, 7 D, 31 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
Legislative races
Ballot measures
| Measure | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Constitutional Amendment 1 | Remove legislative session end dates and provides that odd-year sessions are limited to 30 legislative days and even-year sessions are limited to 60 legislative days | Failed (46% yes) |
| Constitutional Amendment 2 | Provide that the state constitution does not create a right to an abortion or public abortion funding | Failed (48% yes) |