The2016 United States Senate election in Kentucky was held November 8, 2016 to elect a member of theUnited States Senate to represent the State ofKentucky , concurrently with the2016 U.S. presidential election , as well asother elections to the United States Senate in other states andelections to theUnited States House of Representatives and variousstate andlocal elections . The primaries were held May 17.
IncumbentRepublican SenatorRand Paul filed for re-election in December 2015, and MayorJim Gray of Lexington filed to run against Paul for the Senate in late January 2016. In the general election, Paul defeated Gray by 14.5 points.
If Paul had become the Republican presidential (or vice-presidential) nominee, state law would have prohibited him from simultaneously running for re-election.[ 1] Kentucky Senate passed a bill that would allow Paul to run for both offices, but the Democratic-controlledKentucky House of Representatives declined to take it up.[ 2] [ 3] [ 4] Steve Beshear 's veto could have been overridden with a simple majority).[ 5] [ 6] [ 7] [ 8] [ 9]
Paul was running for both president and re-election, and considered several options to get around the law preventing him from appearing twice on the ballot, but he dropped hispresidential bid to focus on re-election to the Senate on February 3, 2016.[ 10] [ 11] Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes to remove him from the ballot; attempting to replace Grimes in the2015 elections with a Republican secretary of state who would not enforce the law; filing a lawsuit against the law; and running for president in every state except for Kentucky, where he could have run for re-election and hoped to win the presidency without Kentucky's electoral college votes.[ 12]
In a letter to Kentucky Republicans in February 2015, Paul asked them to allow him the same option afforded to Wisconsin CongressmanPaul Ryan , who ran for re-election at the same time as vice president onMitt Romney 's ticket.[ 13] The Washington Examiner [ 14]
In August 2015, the central committee of the Kentucky Republican Party voted to hold a caucus in 2016, allowing Paul to simultaneously run for re-nomination for his seat and the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.[ 15] [ 15]
Catherine Todd Bailey , businesswoman and formerUnited States Ambassador to Latvia [ 20] Andy Barr , U.S. Representative[ 21] [ 22] James Comer , former Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner and candidate forGovernor of Kentucky in2015 (running forKY-01 )[ 22] Mike Duncan , former chairman of theRepublican National Committee [ 21] Trey Grayson , former director of theInstitute of Politics atHarvard Kennedy School , formerSecretary of State of Kentucky and candidate for the U.S. Senatein 2010 [ 21] Brett Guthrie , U.S. Representative[ 21] [ 22] Hal Heiner, Kentucky Secretary of Education and Workforce Development, formerLouisville Metro Council member and candidate for Governor of Kentucky in2015 [ 20] [ 23] Thomas Massie , U.S. Representative[ 21] [ 22] [ 24] Hal Rogers , U.S. Representative[ 21] [ 22] Ed Whitfield , U.S. Representative[ 21] [ 22] Rand Paul
Governors
U.S. Senators
U.S. Representatives
Statewide politicians
Individuals
Organizations
Results by county Republican primary results[ 36] Party Candidate Votes % Republican Rand Paul (incumbent) 169,180 84.79% Republican James Gould 16,611 8.33% Republican Stephen Slaughter 13,728 6.88% Total votes 199,519 100.00%
Rocky Adkins , Majority Leader of theKentucky House of Representatives (running for reelection)[ 44] [ 45] Steve Beshear , formerGovernor of Kentucky and nominee forU.S. Senate in 1996Ben Chandler , former U.S. Representative[ 46] Jack Conway , formerAttorney General of Kentucky , nominee for the U.S. Senatein 2010 and nominee forGovernor of Kentucky in2015 [ 21] Adam Edelen , former state auditor of Kentucky[ 47] Greg Fischer ,Mayor ofLouisville and candidate for the U.S. Senatein 2008 [ 44] [ 48] [ 49] [ 50] Alison Lundergan Grimes ,Secretary of State of Kentucky and nominee for the U.S. Senatein 2014 [ 44] [ 46] [ 51] Heather French Henry , former Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs and formerMiss America [ 20] [ 50] Andrew Horne, attorney, retiredUnited States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel and candidate forKY-03 in2006 [ 50] [ 52] Ashley Judd , actress and political activist[ 20] [ 46] Crit Luallen , formerLieutenant Governor of Kentucky and former Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts[ 46] [ 53] Jennifer Moore, former Chairwoman of theKentucky Democratic Party [ 46] [ 54] Greg Stumbo , Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives and formerAttorney General of Kentucky (running for reelection)[ 44] David Tandy , President of theLouisville Metro Council [ 46] Results by county 30–40%
40–50%
50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
%support 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 4/1/2016 10/15/2016 11/1/2016 11/7/2016 Rand Paul Jim Gray Undecided Opinion polling for the 2016 US Senate elect...
Poll source Date(s) Sample Margin of Rand Jim Undecided SurveyMonkey [ 65] November 1–7, 2016 1,315 ± 4.6% 50% 46% 4% SurveyMonkey [ 66] October 31–November 6, 2016 1,155 ± 4.6% 51% 46% 3% SurveyMonkey [ 67] October 28–November 3, 2016 843 ± 4.6% 52% 45% 3% SurveyMonkey [ 68] October 27–November 2, 2016 635 ± 4.6% 50% 46% 4% SurveyMonkey [ 69] October 26–November 1, 2016 499 ± 4.6% 51% 44% 5% SurveyMonkey [ 70] October 25–31, 2016 424 ± 4.6% 52% 46% 2% Western Kentucky University [ 71] October 25–30, 2016 602 ± 4.0% 55% 39% 6% RunSwitch Public Relations (R) [ 72] October 26–28, 2016 811 ± 3.4% 52% 42% 6% Cofounder Pulse Poll [ 73] October 26–28, 2016 1,016 ± 3.8% 35% 28% 38% Cofounder Pulse Poll [ 74] October 12–15, 2016 816 ± 3.4% 33% 27% 40% Cofounder Pulse Poll [ 75] September 14–16, 2016 834 ± 3.2% 33% 25% 42% Cofounder Pulse Poll [ 76] August 2–4, 2016 508 ± 3.6% 59% 41% 0% Harper Polling [ 77] July 31–August 1, 2016 500 ± 4.4% 50% 38% 13% Cofounder Pulse Poll [ 78] March 30–April 1, 2016 758 ± 3.0% 28% 26% 47%
Hypothetical polling
with Thomas Massie
Poll source Date(s) Sample Margin of Thomas Crit Other Undecided Public Policy Polling [ 79] June 18–21, 2015 1,108 ± 2.9% 37% 35% — 28%
with Rand Paul
Poll source Date(s) Sample Margin of Rand Crit Other Undecided Public Policy Polling [ 79] June 18–21, 2015 1,108 ± 2.9% 51% 37% — 12%
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican [ edit ] By congressional district [ edit ] Paul won four of six congressional districts, with the remaining two going to Gray, including one that elected a Republican.[ 82]
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RetrievedApril 18, 2015 .^a b Meyer, Theodoric (August 22, 2015)."Kentucky GOP greenlights joint Senate, presidential run for Rand Paul" . Politico. RetrievedAugust 23, 2015 . ^a b c d e f g "Candidate Filings with the Office of the Secretary of State" .Secretary of State of Kentucky . Archived fromthe original on November 22, 2015. RetrievedDecember 4, 2015 .^ DeHart, Larry (December 28, 2015)."Former Moreheadian running for U.S. Senate" .The Morehead News . Archived fromthe original on November 16, 2018. RetrievedJanuary 21, 2016 . ^ Jennifer Epstein (April 19, 2011)."Rand Paul files for reelection race five years away" . Politico. Archived fromthe original on April 26, 2011. ^ Autry, Lisa (January 18, 2016)."Challengers Line Up for Rand Paul's Senate Seat" .WKU Public Radio . RetrievedJanuary 21, 2016 . ^a b c d "Previewing Kentucky's 2016 U.S. Senate Race" . WDRB. April 18, 2014. Archived fromthe original on November 7, 2014. RetrievedNovember 7, 2014 .^a b c d e f g h Livingston, Abby (July 17, 2013)."Grimes Is Key to Kentucky Democrats' Posterity | Farm Team" .Roll Call . RetrievedAugust 14, 2013 . ^a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Paul, Rand (July 17, 2013)."Rand Paul to Seek Re-Election to the U.S. Senate" . Rand Paul for Senate. RetrievedDecember 2, 2012 . ^ Ditto, Jessica (December 4, 2015)."Governor-Elect Bevin Names Hal Heiner Education and Workforce Development Cabinet Secretary" . Archived fromthe original on December 8, 2015. RetrievedDecember 4, 2015 . ^ Jaffe, Alexandra (March 21, 2013)."Rep. Massie says no to Kentucky Senate bid" .The Hill . RetrievedOctober 27, 2014 . ^a b c d e "Sen. Rand Paul Releases Endorsements from Kentucky Statewide Elected Officials and Leadership" .Republican Party of Kentucky the original on February 8, 2016. RetrievedFebruary 7, 2016 .^ Arco, Matt (February 3, 2016)."Christie says he'll gladly campaign for nemesis Rand Paul's Senate bid" .NJ.com ^ "Kasich: I'd campaign for Rand in KY Senate race" . Associated Press. February 3, 2016. Archived fromthe original on February 5, 2016. RetrievedFebruary 7, 2016 .^ Palin, Sarah."I was proud to be an early supporter of Sen. Paul's first campaign for US Senate in 2010 and today am pledging to do all I can to make sure this strong leader returns to the Senate in 2016" .Facebook . ^ "Marco Rubio: He's probably going to focus on his Senate re-election in Kentucky and we have to make sure that he's re-elected" .YouTube ^ "Rand Paul - A message from Ron Paul: One of the keys for..." Facebook . March 30, 2016. RetrievedDecember 5, 2016 .^ Paul, Rand (March 31, 2016)."A message from Dr. Ben Carson: I've had the pleasure of knowing Rand and his character, and it is in knowing him that I fully support his re-election to the United States Senate" .Facebook ^ [1] Archived September 16, 2016, at theWayback Machine ^ "Austin Petersen - A Message to Rand Paul from Austin Petersen" .Facebook . February 3, 2016. RetrievedDecember 5, 2016 .^ Sherfinski, David (November 12, 2014)."Club for Growth endorses six GOP senators for re-election in 2016" .The Washington Times . RetrievedNovember 12, 2014 . ^ "FreedomWorks PAC Endorses Sen. Rand Paul for Re-Election" .FreedomWorks the original on May 10, 2016. RetrievedFebruary 7, 2016 .^a b "Unofficial Results" . Kentucky Secretary of State. RetrievedMay 18, 2016 .^ Youngman, Sam (January 26, 2016)."Lexington Mayor Jim Gray running against U.S. Sen. Rand Paul" .Lexington Herald-Leader . RetrievedJanuary 26, 2016 . ^ Caudill, TJ (January 12, 2016)."Kender runs for Senate" .The Hazard Herald the original on January 28, 2016. RetrievedJanuary 21, 2016 . ^ Sheroan, Ben (January 14, 2016)."Ron Leach planning drive for U.S. Senate" .The News-Enterprise . Archived fromthe original on January 27, 2016. RetrievedJanuary 21, 2016 . ^ Mayse, James (January 19, 2016)."Owensboro man files to run for U.S. Senate" .Messenger-Inquirer the original on January 23, 2016. RetrievedJanuary 21, 2016 . ^ Willis/Autry, Kevin/Lisa (January 28, 2016)."Former Kentucky House Speaker: Democrat's Senate Candidate Should Harp on Paul's White House Run" .WKU ^ Kocher, Greg (May 25, 2015)."Frankfort filmmaker tells the story of people he thinks helped to kill proposed Bluegrass Pipeline" .Kentucky.com . ^ McKenzie, Elijah (March 18, 2016)."Interview: Sellus Wilder on how grassroots activism helped stop the Bluegrass Pipeline" .Broken Sidewalk . ^a b c d Cheney, Kyle (December 29, 2014)."16 in '16: The new battle for the Senate" .Politico the original on December 30, 2014. RetrievedDecember 29, 2014 . ^ "Adkins files for re-election in 99th House District" .The Independent . RetrievedJanuary 15, 2016 .^a b c d e f Storm, Nick (April 11, 2015)."The list: Adam Edelen leads Democratic chatter for 2016 U.S. Senate candidates" . CN2 Pure Politics. RetrievedApril 14, 2015 . ^ "State Auditor Adam Edelen shares thoughts on his election loss, the Democratic Party's decline, and how to move forward" . Insider Louisville. November 5, 2015. Archived from the original on November 27, 2015. RetrievedNovember 5, 2015 .^ "Greg Fischer says focus is on work to do in Louisville; Mum on U.S. Senate race in '16" . CN2. August 17, 2014. RetrievedNovember 7, 2014 .^ TEGNA (March 3, 2015)."Fischer: 'No intention' to enter 2016 U.S. Senate race" .WHAS11.com . RetrievedDecember 5, 2016 . ^a b c Sonka, Joe (January 6, 2016)."Louisville attorney and retired Marine Andrew Horne considering Senate run against Rand Paul" .Insider Louisville . Archived from the original on January 6, 2016. RetrievedJanuary 7, 2016 . ^ David Weigel (July 13, 2014)."The Seven Senate Races Democrats Should Be Optimistic About in 2016" .Slate . RetrievedJuly 17, 2013 . ^ Yokley, Eli (January 19, 2016)."Kentucky Democrats Running out of Time to Challenge Paul" .Roll Call . RetrievedJanuary 19, 2016 . [permanent dead link ^ Lisa Autry (December 4, 2014)."It's Still Possible Kentucky Lt. Gov. Crit Luallen Might Run For Office Again Someday" . WFPL News. Archived fromthe original on December 9, 2014. RetrievedDecember 5, 2014 . ^ Storm, Nick (August 9, 2013)."Louisville lawyer Jennifer Moore mulling statewide run in 2015 or 2016" . CN2 Pure Politics. RetrievedNovember 21, 2014 . ^ Storm, Nick (March 19, 2016)."Lexington Mayor Jim Gray endorsed by DSCC in Democratic primary for U.S. Senate" .CN 2 . RetrievedApril 20, 2016 . ^ Storm, Nick (April 8, 2016)."Environmental PAC endorses Sellus Wilder in Democratic U.S. Senate primary" .CN 2 . RetrievedApril 20, 2016 . ^ "Democrat Sellus Wilder picks up KFTC endorsement for U.S. Senate, says he's 'credible contender' to Jim Gray in primary" .Insider Louisville . March 29, 2016. Archived from the original on April 28, 2016. RetrievedApril 20, 2016 .^ "Sellus Wilder not afraid to lose" .The Courier‑Journal . May 12, 2016. RetrievedDecember 5, 2016 .^ Full debate ^ "2016 Senate Race Ratings for November 2, 2016" .The Cook Political Report . RetrievedMarch 26, 2021 .^ "2016 Senate" .Sabato's Crystal Ball . RetrievedSeptember 19, 2016 .^ "2016 Senate Ratings" .Senate Ratings . The Rothenberg Political Report. RetrievedNovember 3, 2016 .^ "Daily Kos Election 2016 forecast: The final version" .Daily Kos . RetrievedMarch 27, 2021 .^ "Battle for the Senate 2016" . Real Clear Politics. RetrievedOctober 28, 2016 .^ SurveyMonkey ^ SurveyMonkey ^ SurveyMonkey ^ SurveyMonkey ^ SurveyMonkey ^ SurveyMonkey ^ Western Kentucky University ^ RunSwitch Public Relations (R) Archived November 1, 2016, at theWayback Machine ^ Cofounder Pulse Poll Archived January 31, 2017, at theWayback Machine ^ Cofounder Pulse Poll Archived October 22, 2016, at theWayback Machine ^ Cofounder Pulse Poll Archived October 23, 2016, at theWayback Machine ^ Cofounder Pulse Poll Archived August 12, 2016, at theWayback Machine ^ Harper Polling ^ Cofounder Pulse Poll Archived August 3, 2016, at theWayback Machine ^a b c d Public Policy Polling ^a b Public Policy Polling ^ "Official Results" (PDF) . Kentucky Secretary of State. RetrievedDecember 20, 2016 .^ "DRA 2020" .Daves Redistricting . RetrievedAugust 19, 2024 .Official campaign websites (archived)
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