Kentucky State Senate elections, 2010

Kentucky State Senate elections, 2010

Majority control • Campaign contributions

Qualifications • Competitiveness analysis

State Legislative Election Results

List of candidates District 2 • District 4 • District 6 • District 8 • District 10 • District 12 • District 14 • District 16 • District 18 • District 20 • District 22 • District 24 • District 26 • District 28 • District 30 • District 32 • District 34 • District 36 • District 38

Kentucky State Senate

Elections for the office of Kentucky State Senate were held in Kentucky on November 2, 2010. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was January 26, 2010 and the primary Election Day was on May 18, 2010.

Kentucky State Senators are elected to four-year terms.

There are 38 seats in the Kentucky State Senate and 19 of them were up for re-election on November 2.

Republicans retained a majority in the chamber and gained two seats.

See also: Kentucky State Senate and State legislative elections, 2010

November 2 General Election Results

The following candidates won election on November 2, 2010:

1. Robin Webb
2. Alice Forgy Kerr
3. Bob Leeper
4. Brandon Smith (Kentucky)
5. Dan Seum
6. Dave Pankonin
7. Dennis Parrett
8. Dorsey Ridley
9. Ernie Harris
10. Jerry Rhoads
11. Jared Carpenter
12. Joe Bowen
13. Julie Denton
14. Katie Stine
15. Mike Wilson (Kentucky)
16. Paul Hornback
17. R.J. Palmer
18. Tom Buford
19. Jimmy Higdon
20. David Williams (Kentucky circuit court judge)

Majority control

See also: Partisan composition of state senates

Heading into the November 2 election, the Republican Party held the majority in the Kentucky State Senate:

Kentucky State Senate
Party		As of November 1, 2010	After the 2010 Election
	Democratic Party	17	15
	Republican Party	20	22
	Vacancy	1	1
Total		38	38

Campaign contributions

See also: State-by-state comparison of donations to state senate campaigns

This chart shows how many candidates ran for state senate in Kentucky in past years and the cumulative amount of campaign contributions in state senate races, including contributions in both primary and general election contests. All figures come from Follow The Money.

Year	Number of candidates	Total contributions
2010	51	$5,379,997
2008	62	$6,125,118
2006	55	$3,171,644
2004	63	$5,143,180
2002	51	$4,547,216

In 2010, candidates running for state senate raised a total of $5,379,997 in campaign contributions. The top 10 donors were:

Donor	Amount
Kentucky Republican Party	$416,959
Smith, Rex	$371,350
Kentucky Democratic Party	$217,250
Kentucky Senate Republican Caucus Campaign Cmte	$175,310
Harris, Ernie	$107,518
Rhoads, Jerry P	$93,000
Kentucky Senate Democratic Caucus Campaign Cmte	$63,000
Kentucky Senate Democratic Caucus	$48,400
Spainhour, John E	$37,060
Parrett, Dennis L	$30,000

Incumbency

Unopposed incumbents

2 incumbents (12%) faced no competition in the November 2 general election.

• 1 Democratic incumbent faced no November challenger.
• 1 GOP incumbent faced no November challenger.

Primary challenges

Six incumbents faced competition in the May 18th primary. No incumbents lost in the primary election. The following 17 incumbents (7 Democrats, 10 Republicans) won their primaries:

• District 4: Incumbent Democrat Dorsey Ridley
• District 6: Incumbent Democrat Jerry Rhoads
• District 8: Incumbent Democrat David Boswell
• District 10: Incumbent Republican Elizabeth Tori
• District 12: Incumbent Republican Alice Kerr
• District 14: Incumbent Republican Jimmy Higdon
• District 16: Incumbent Republican David Williams
• District 18: Incumbent Democrat Robin Webb
• District 22: Incumbent Republican Tom Buford
• District 24: Incumbent Republican Katie Stine
• District 26: Incumbent Republican Ernie Harris
• District 28: Incumbent Democrat R.J. Palmer
• District 30: Incumbent Republican Brandon Smith
• District 32: Incumbent Democrat Mike Reynolds
• District 34: Incumbent Democrat Ed Worley
• District 36: Incumbent Republican Julie Denton
• District 38: Incumbent Republican Dan Seum

Retiring incumbents

Two incumbent senators did not run for re-election, while 17 incumbents (89%) ran for re-election. Of the 2 incumbents who did not seek re-election, 1 was a Democrat and 1 was a Republican.

Incumbents who retired are:

• District 20: Incumbent Republican Gary Tapp
• District 34: Incumbent Democrat Ed Worley

Qualifications

To be eligible to serve in the Kentucky State Senate, a candidate must be:

• At least 30 years of age at the time of the election
• A citizen of Kentucky
• Resided in the state 6 years preceding the election
• Resided in the district for the last year

Filing fee

Any person intending to run for a seat in the Kentucky Senate must file a declaration of candidacy with the Secretary of State's office and pay a filing fee of $200.00

Incumbency analysis

• The incumbent ran for re-election in 17 of the 19 seats that were up for re-election. The two seats where an incumbent did not run in November were Districts 20 and 34.
• 6 incumbents -- 5 Republicans and 1 Democrat -- had a challenger in the May 18 primary.
• 11 incumbents had no challenger in the May 18 primary.
• 2 incumbents -- Ridley (D), District 4 and Higdon (R), District 14 -- had no challenger in either the primary or the general election.

List of candidates

Partisan dominance in state senates heading into the 2010 state legislative elections

2010 State senate elections
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Parties with candidates
Impact of term limits
Successful challengers
Defeated incumbents
State house elections
State senate elections
State legislative elections

District 2

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• Rex Smith a

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Michael East a

Independent (no primary):

• Bob Leeper a Incumbent Leeper first joined the Kentucky Senate in 1991.

November 2 General election candidates:

Rex Smith 16,657

Michael East 3,790

Bob Leeper 17,606

District 4

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• Dorsey Ridley a Incumbent Ridley first joined the Kentucky Senate in 2004.

May 18 Republican primary result:

• No Republican filed to run for this seat.

November 2 General election candidates:

Dorsey Ridley 26,304

District 6

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• Jerry Rhoads a Incumbent Rhoads first joined the Kentucky Senate in 2003.

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Jack Whitfield a

November 2 General election candidates:

Jerry Rhoads 17,473

Jack Whitfield 15,750

District 8

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• David Boswell a Incumbent Boswell first joined the Kentucky Senate in 1990.

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Joe Bowen a

November 2 General election candidates:

David Boswell 16,904

Joe Bowen 18,073

District 10

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• Dennis Parrett a

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Elizabeth Tori a Incumbent Tori first joined the Kentucky Senate in 1995.

November 2 General election candidates:

Dennis Parrett 16,291

Elizabeth Tori 15,250

District 12

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• Don Blevins a

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Alice Kerr 6,805 a Incumbent Kerr first joined the Kentucky Senate in 1999.
• Andrew Roberts 2,738

November 2 General election candidates:

Don Blevins 19,397

Alice Kerr 20,341

District 14

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• No Democrat filed to run for this seat.

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Jimmy Higdon a Incumbent Higdon first joined the Kentucky Senate in December 2009.

November 2 General election candidates:

Jimmy Higdon 30,360

District 16

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• No Democrat filed to run for this seat.

May 18 Republican primary result:

• David Williams 18,407 a Incumbent Williams first joined the Kentucky Senate in 1987.
• Denver Capps 4,143

November 2 General election candidates:

David Williams 24,484

District 18

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• Robin Webb a Incumbent Webb first joined the Kentucky Senate in 2009.

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Jack Ditty a

November 2 General election candidates:

Robin Webb 17,617

Jack Ditty 15,428

District 20

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• David Eaton 8,281 a
• John Spainhour 6,618

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Paul Hornback 5,328 a
• David Glauber 3,148

Note: Incumbent Gary Tapp (R) did not seek re-election.

November 2 General election candidates:

David Eaton 17,588

Paul Hornback 26,883

District 22

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• No Democrat filed to run for this seat.

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Tom Buford 6,236 a Incumbent Buford first joined the Kentucky Senate in 1991.
• Chad Crouch 5,542

November 2 General election candidates:

Tom Buford 32,080

District 24

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• Julie Smith-Morrow a

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Katie Stine a Incumbent Stine first joined the Kentucky Senate in 1999.

November 2 General election candidates:

Julie Smith-Morrow 9,978

Katie Stine 22,398

District 26

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• John Black a

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Ernie Harris 9,109 a Incumbent Harris first joined the Kentucky Senate in 1995.
• Don Godfrey 3,626

November 2 General election candidates:

John Black 21,656

Ernie Harris 30,305

District 28

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• R.J. Palmer 14,575 a Incumbent Palmer first joined the Kentucky Senate in 2001.
• Ryan Dotson 6,705

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Ralph Alvarado 3,386 a
• Bryan Lutz 1,780

November 2 General election candidates:

R.J. Palmer 18,876

Ralph Alvarado 16,940

District 30

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• Johnnie Turner, Kentucky candidate a

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Brandon Smith a Incumbent Smith first joined the Kentucky Senate in 2008.

November 2 General election candidates:

Johnnie Turner, Kentucky candidate 10,180

Brandon Smith 20,870

District 32

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• Mike Reynolds a Incumbent Reynolds first joined the Kentucky Senate in February 2009.

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Mike Wilson 5,025 a
• Regina Webb 3,077
• Ed Mills 1,656

November 2 General election candidates:

Mike Reynolds 15,490

Mike Wilson 18,935

District 34

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• Lee Murphy 4,453 a
• Landra Lewis 4,106
• Michael Cope 3,966

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Jared Carpenter 4,405 a
• Kent Kessler 4,264
• Barry Metcalf 2,955

Evangelical Christan Party candidate:

• Donald Paul VanWinkle

Note: Incumbent Ed Worley (D) did not seek re-election.

November 2 General election candidates:

Lee Murphy 11,719

Jared Carpenter 23,553

Donald Paul VanWinkle 1,004 (Evangelical Christian Party)

District 36

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• Rick Hiles a

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Julie Denton 10,135 a Incumbent Denton first joined the Kentucky Senate in 1995.
• Shawn Slone 4,000

November 2 General election candidates:

Rick Hiles 18,291

Julie Denton 36,864

District 38

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• Marty Meyer a

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Dan Seum a Incumbent Seum first joined the Kentucky Senate in 1995.

November 2 General election candidates:

Marty Meyer 16,929

Dan Seum 26,154

See also

• Kentucky State Senate
• Kentucky State Legislature
• State legislative elections, 2010
• Primary election dates in 2010

External links

• Official Kentucky Election Results from November 2
• List of 2010 candidates for Kentucky State Senate
• Official results from the May 18, 2010 Kentucky primary election
• Project Vote Smart list of candidates for Kentucky State Senate in the November 2, 2010 election

Footnotes

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Current members of the Kentucky State Senate

Leadership

Senate President:Robert Stivers

Majority Leader:Max Wise

Minority Leader:Gerald Neal

Senators

District 1

Jason Howell (R)

District 2

Danny Carroll (R)

District 3

Craig Richardson (R)

District 4

Robby Mills (R)

District 5

Stephen Meredith (R)

District 6

Lindsey Tichenor (R)

District 7

Aaron Reed (R)

District 8

Gary Boswell (R)

District 9

David Givens (R)

District 10

Matthew Deneen (R)

District 11

Steve Rawlings (R)

District 12

Amanda Bledsoe (R)

District 13

Reggie Thomas (D)

District 14

Jimmy Higdon (R)

District 15

Rick Girdler (R)

District 16

Max Wise (R)

District 17

Matt Nunn (R)

District 18

Robin Webb (D)

District 19

Cassie Chambers Armstrong (D)

District 20

Gex Williams (R)

District 21

Brandon Storm (R)

District 22

Donald Douglas (R)

District 23

Chris McDaniel (R)

District 24

Shelley Frommeyer (R)

District 25

Robert Stivers (R)

District 26

Karen Berg (D)

District 27

Steve West (R)

District 28

Greg Elkins (R)

District 29

Scott Madon (R)

District 30

Brandon Smith (R)

District 31

Phillip Wheeler (R)

District 32

Mike Wilson (R)

District 33

Gerald Neal (D)

District 34

Jared Carpenter (R)

District 35

Keturah Herron (D)

District 36

Julie Adams (R)

District 37

David Yates (D)

District 38

Mike Nemes (R)

Republican Party (31)

Democratic Party (7)