2022 Kentucky Senate election

Not to be confused with 2022 United States Senate election in Kentucky.

The 2022 Kentucky Senate election was held on November 8, 2022. The Republican and Democratic primary elections were held on May 17. Half of the senate (all even-numbered seats) were up for election. Republicans increased their majority in the chamber, gaining one seat.

2022 Kentucky Senate election

November 8, 2022
19 out of 38 seats in the Kentucky Senate 20 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Robert Stivers Morgan McGarvey Party Republican Democratic Leader since January 8, 2013 January 8, 2019 Leader's seat 25th – Manchester 19th – Louisville Last election 30 8 Seats won 31 7 Seat change 1 1 Seats up 16 3 Races won 17 2
Results:      Republican hold      Republican gain      Democratic hold      No election Popular vote:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      >90%      60–70%      >90%
Senate President before election Robert Stivers Republican Elected Senate President Robert Stivers Republican

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

Overview

Party		Candidates		Votes	%	Seats
		Opposed	Unopposed			Before	Won	After	+/−
	Republican	10	8	500,535	75.48	30	17	31	+1
	Democratic	8	1	160,236	24.16	8	2	7	-1
	Write-in	2	0	2,348	0.35	0	0	0	-
Total		20	9	663,119	100.00	38	19	38	±0
Source: Kentucky Secretary of State

Retiring incumbents

A total of five senators (one Democrat and four Republicans) retired, none of whom ran for other offices. Additionally, C. B. Embry resigned from the chamber in September 2022.

Democratic

1. 10th: Dennis Parrett (Elizabethtown): Retired.

Republican

1. 8th: Matt Castlen (Owensboro): Retired.
2. 12th: Alice Forgy Kerr (Lexington): Retired.
3. 20th: Paul Hornback (Shelbyville): Retired.
4. 24th: Wil Schroder (Wilder): Retired.

Defeated incumbents

No incumbents lost renomination or reelection.

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	Danny Carroll		Rep	Danny Carroll		Rep
4	Robby Mills		Rep	Robby Mills		Rep
6	Vacant			Lindsey Tichenor		Rep
8	Matt Castlen		Rep	Gary Boswell		Rep
10	Dennis Parrett		Dem	Matthew Deneen		Rep
12	Alice Forgy Kerr		Rep	Amanda Mays Bledsoe		Rep
14	Jimmy Higdon		Rep	Jimmy Higdon		Rep
16	Max Wise		Rep	Max Wise		Rep
18	Robin L. Webb		Dem	Robin L. Webb		Dem
20	Paul Hornback		Rep	Gex Williams		Rep
22	Donald Douglas		Rep	Donald Douglas		Rep
24	Wil Schroder		Rep	Shelley Funke Frommeyer		Rep
26	Karen Berg		Dem	Karen Berg		Dem
28	Ralph Alvarado		Rep	Ralph Alvarado		Rep
30	Brandon Smith		Rep	Brandon Smith		Rep
32	Mike Wilson		Rep	Mike Wilson		Rep
34	Jared Carpenter		Rep	Jared Carpenter		Rep
36	Julie Raque Adams		Rep	Julie Raque Adams		Rep
38	Mike Nemes		Rep	Mike Nemes		Rep

Crossover seats

Democratic

Two districts voted for Donald Trump in 2020 but had Democratic incumbents:

District		Incumbent
#	Trump margin of victory in 2020	Member	Party	Incumbent margin of victory in 2018
10	R+24.20	Dennis Parrett	Democratic	Unopposed
18	R+44.78	Robin L. Webb	Democratic	D+15.54

Republican

None.

Closest races

There were no seats where the margin of victory was under 10%.

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe R	May 19, 2022

Special elections

District 22 special

County results:
     Douglas 70–80%
     Bukulmez 50–60%

Donald Douglas was elected in November 2021 following the death of Tom Buford.

2021 Kentucky Senate 22nd district special election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Donald Douglas	9,733	71.5
	Democratic	Helen Bukulmez	3,725	27.4
	Write-in	Sindicat Dunn	150	1.1
Total votes			13,608	100.0
	Republican hold

District 2

Incumbent senator Danny Carroll won reelection unopposed.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Danny Carroll, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2022 Kentucky Senate 2nd district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Danny Carroll	Unopposed
Total votes			34,951	100.0
	Republican hold

District 4

Incumbent senator Robby Mills won reelection, defeating primary and general election challengers.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Bruce Pritchett

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Robby Mills, incumbent senator

Eliminated in primary

• Roxan Lynn Ashby

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Robby Mills	4,007	78.0
	Republican	Roxan Lynn Ashby	1,132	22.0
Total votes			5,139	100.0

General election

Results

2022 Kentucky Senate 4th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Robby Mills	25,141	66.6
	Democratic	Bruce Pritchett	12,585	33.4
Total votes			37,726	100.0
	Republican hold

District 6

Incumbent senator C. B. Embry resigned from the senate in September 2022. He was succeeded by Republican Lindsey Tichenor.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Lindsey Tichenor

Eliminated in primary

• Bill Ferko

Results

Precinct results:

  Tichenor

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

  Ferko

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   80–90%

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Lindsey Tichenor	6,601	54.0
	Republican	Bill Ferko	5,616	46.0
Total votes			12,217	100.0

General election

Results

2022 Kentucky Senate 6th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Lindsey Tichenor	31,111	94.5
	Write-in	Brian J. Easley	1,797	5.5
Total votes			32,908	100.0
	Republican hold

District 8

Incumbent senator Matt Castlen did not seek reelection. He was succeeded by Republican Gary Boswell.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Gary Boswell

General election

Results

2022 Kentucky Senate 8th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gary Boswell	Unopposed
Total votes			29,630	100.0
	Republican hold

District 10

Incumbent Democratic senator Dennis Parrett did not seek reelection. He was succeeded by Republican Matthew Deneen. This was the only seat to change parties in 2022.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Matthew Deneen

General election

Results

2022 Kentucky Senate 10th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Matthew Deneen	Unopposed
Total votes			23,606	100.0
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 12

Incumbent senator Alice Forgy Kerr did not seek reelection. She was succeeded by Republican Amanda Mays Bledsoe.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Bill O’Brien

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Amanda Mays Bledsoe

General election

Results

2022 Kentucky Senate 12th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Amanda Mays Bledsoe	29,181	60.5
	Democratic	Bill O’Brien	19,046	39.5
Total votes			48,227	100.0
	Republican hold

District 14

Incumbent senator Jimmy Higdon won reelection unopposed.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jimmy Higdon, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2022 Kentucky Senate 14th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jimmy Higdon	Unopposed
Total votes			33,142	100.0
	Republican hold

District 16

Incumbent senator Max Wise won reelection unopposed.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Max Wise, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2022 Kentucky Senate 16th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Max Wise	Unopposed
Total votes			31,887	100.0
	Republican hold

District 18

Incumbent senator Robin L. Webb won reelection unopposed.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Robin L. Webb, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2022 Kentucky Senate 18th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robin L. Webb	Unopposed
Total votes			23,308	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 20

2022 Kentucky Senate 20th district election

November 8, 2022

Nominee Gex Williams Teresa Azbill Barton Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 22,166 17,206 Percentage 56.3% 43.7%

Precinct results Williams:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90% Barton:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90%

Senator before election Paul Hornback Republican Elected Senator Gex Williams Republican

Incumbent senator Paul Hornback did not seek reelection. He was succeeded by Republican Gex Williams.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Teresa Azbill Barton

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Gex Williams

Eliminated in primary

• Phyllis Sparks
• Calen Studler
• Mike Templeman

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gex Williams	3,332	42.3
	Republican	Phyllis Sparks	1,836	23.3
	Republican	Calen Studler	1,452	18.4
	Republican	Mike Templeman	1,263	16.0
Total votes			7,883	100.0

General election

Results

2022 Kentucky Senate 20th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gex Williams	22,166	56.3
	Democratic	Teresa Azbill Barton	17,206	43.7
Total votes			39,372	100.0
	Republican hold

District 22

Incumbent senator Donald Douglas won reelection, defeating primary and general election challengers.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Chuck Eddy

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Donald Douglas, incumbent senator

Eliminated in primary

• Andrew Cooperrider

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Donald Douglas	6,114	55.8
	Republican	Andrew Cooperrider	4,840	44.2
Total votes			10,954	100.0

General election

Results

2022 Kentucky Senate 22nd district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Donald Douglas	23,486	59.7
	Democratic	Chuck Eddy	15,843	40.3
Total votes			39,329	100.0
	Republican hold

District 24

Incumbent senator Wil Schroder did not seek reelection. He was succeeded by Republican Shelley Funke Frommeyer.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Rene Heinrich

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Shelley Funke Frommeyer

Eliminated in primary

• Jessica Neal
• Chris Robinson

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Shelley Funke Frommeyer	4,094	38.6
	Republican	Jessica Neal	3,787	35.7
	Republican	Chris Robinson	2,731	25.7
Total votes			10,612	100.0

General election

Results

2022 Kentucky Senate 24th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Shelley Funke Frommeyer	27,346	61.7
	Democratic	Rene Heinrich	16,960	38.3
Total votes			44,306	100.0
	Republican hold

District 26

Incumbent senator Karen Berg won reelection, defeating Republican James Peden.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Karen Berg, incumbent senator

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• James Peden

Eliminated in primary

• Everett Corley
• Mark Hignite Downer

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James Peden	2,774	42.6
	Republican	Mark Hignite Downer	2,368	36.4
	Republican	Everett Corley	1,370	21.0
Total votes			6,512	100.0

General election

Results

2022 Kentucky Senate 26th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Karen Berg	28,850	60.5
	Republican	James Peden	18,859	39.5
Total votes			47,709	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 28

Incumbent senator Ralph Alvarado won reelection, defeating write-in candidate Joshua D. Buckman.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Ralph Alvarado, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2022 Kentucky Senate 28th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ralph Alvarado	27,097	98.0
	Write-in	Joshua D. Buckman	551	2.0
Total votes			27,648	100.0
	Republican hold

District 30

Incumbent senator Brandon Smith won reelection, defeating Democratic candidate Sid Allen.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Sid Allen

Eliminated in primary

• Terry V. Salyer

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sid Allen	7,148	56.7
	Democratic	Terry V. Salyer	5,468	43.3
Total votes			12,616	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Brandon Smith, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2022 Kentucky Senate 30th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brandon Smith	25,581	73.7
	Democratic	Sid Allen	9,116	26.3
Total votes			34,697	100.0
	Republican hold

District 32

Incumbent senator Mike Wilson won reelection unopposed.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Mike Wilson, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2022 Kentucky Senate 32nd district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Wilson	Unopposed
Total votes			28,682	100.0
	Republican hold

District 34

Incumbent senator Jared Carpenter won reelection, defeating primary and general election challengers.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Susan Cintra

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jared Carpenter, incumbent senator

Eliminated in primary

• Rhonda Goode

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jared Carpenter	6,086	75.6
	Republican	Rhonda Goode	1,964	24.4
Total votes			8,050	100.0

General election

Results

2022 Kentucky Senate 34th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jared Carpenter	25,049	59.1
	Democratic	Susan Cintra	17,322	40.9
Total votes			42,371	100.0
	Republican hold

District 36

Incumbent senator Julie Raque Adams won reelection unopposed.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Julie Raque Adams, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2022 Kentucky Senate 36th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Julie Raque Adams	Unopposed
Total votes			36,851	100.0
	Republican hold

District 38

Incumbent senator Mike Nemes won reelection unopposed.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Mike Nemes, incumbent senator

General election

Results

2022 Kentucky Senate 38th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Nemes	Unopposed
Total votes			26,769	100.0
	Republican hold

See also

• 2022 Kentucky elections
  • 2022 Kentucky House of Representatives election
  • 2022 United States Senate election in Kentucky
  • 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky