2010 elections in Kentucky:    Kentucky State Senate    Kentucky State House

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Kentucky State Senate elections, 2010

Majority control •Campaign contributions

Qualifications •Competitiveness analysis

State Legislative Election Results

List of candidatesDistrict 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 State legislative elections, 2010

Elections for the office of Kentucky State Senate were held in Kentucky onNovember 2, 2010. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was January 26, 2010, and the primary election day was on May 18, 2010.

Kentucky State Senators are elected tofour-year terms.

There are 38 seats in theKentucky 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 andState legislative elections, 2010

November 2 General Election Results

The following candidates won election on November 2, 2010:

Majority control

See also:Partisan composition of state senates

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

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 fromFollow The Money.^[1]

In 2010, candidates running for state senate raised a total of $5,379,997 in campaign contributions. The top 10 donors were:^[2]

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 DemocratDorsey Ridley
• District 6: Incumbent DemocratJerry Rhoads
• District 8: Incumbent DemocratDavid Boswell
• District 10: Incumbent RepublicanElizabeth Tori
• District 12: Incumbent RepublicanAlice Kerr
• District 14: Incumbent RepublicanJimmy Higdon
• District 16: Incumbent RepublicanDavid Williams
• District 18: Incumbent DemocratRobin Webb
• District 22: Incumbent RepublicanTom Buford
• District 24: Incumbent RepublicanKatie Stine
• District 26: Incumbent RepublicanErnie Harris
• District 28: Incumbent DemocratR.J. Palmer
• District 30: Incumbent RepublicanBrandon Smith
• District 32: Incumbent DemocratMike Reynolds
• District 34: Incumbent DemocratEd Worley
• District 36: Incumbent RepublicanJulie Denton
• District 38: Incumbent RepublicanDan 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 were:

• District 20: Incumbent RepublicanGary Tapp
• District 34: Incumbent DemocratEd Worley

Qualifications

To be eligible to serve in theKentucky State Senate, a candidate must be:^[3]

• 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 had to 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 andHigdon (R), District 14 -- had no challenger in either the primary or the general election.

List of candidates

Partisan dominance instate senates heading into the 2010 state legislative elections

District 2

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• Rex Smitha

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Michael Easta

Independent (no primary):

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

November 2 General election candidates:

Rex Smith 16,657

Michael East 3,790

Bob Leeper17,606

District 4

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• Dorsey Ridleya 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 Ridley26,304

District 6

May 18 Democratic primary result:

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

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Jack Whitfielda

November 2 General election candidates:

Jerry Rhoads17,473

Jack Whitfield 15,750

District 8

May 18 Democratic primary result:

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

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Joe Bowena

November 2 General election candidates:

David Boswell 16,904

Joe Bowen18,073

District 10

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• Dennis Parretta

May 18 Republican primary result:

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

November 2 General election candidates:

Dennis Parrett16,291

Elizabeth Tori 15,250

District 12

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• Don Blevinsa

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Alice Kerr6,805a Incumbent Kerr first joined the Kentucky Senate in 1999.
• Andrew Roberts2,738

November 2 General election candidates:

Don Blevins 19,397

Alice Kerr20,341

District 14

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• No Democrat filed to run for this seat.

May 18 Republican primary result:

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

November 2 General election candidates:

Jimmy Higdon30,360

District 16

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• No Democrat filed to run for this seat.

May 18 Republican primary result:

• David Williams18,407a Incumbent Williams first joined the Kentucky Senate in 1987.
• Denver Capps 4,143

November 2 General election candidates:

David Williams24,484

District 18

May 18 Democratic primary result:

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

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Jack Dittya

November 2 General election candidates:

Robin Webb17,617

Jack Ditty 15,428

District 20

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• David Eaton8,281a
• John Spainhour 6,618

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Paul Hornback5,328a
• David Glauber 3,148

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

November 2 General election candidates:

David Eaton 17,588

Paul Hornback26,883

District 22

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• No Democrat filed to run for this seat.

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Tom Buford6,236a Incumbent Buford first joined the Kentucky Senate in 1991.
• Chad Crouch 5,542

November 2 General election candidates:

Tom Buford32,080

District 24

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• Julie Smith-Morrowa

May 18 Republican primary result:

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

November 2 General election candidates:

Julie Smith-Morrow 9,978

Katie Stine22,398

District 26

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• John Blacka

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Ernie Harris9,109a Incumbent Harris first joined the Kentucky Senate in 1995.
• Don Godfrey 3,626

November 2 General election candidates:

John Black 21,656

Ernie Harris30,305

District 28

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• R.J. Palmer14,575a Incumbent Palmer first joined the Kentucky Senate in 2001.
• Ryan Dotson 6,705

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Ralph Alvarado3,386a
• Bryan Lutz 1,780

November 2 General election candidates:

R.J. Palmer18,876

Ralph Alvarado 16,940

District 30

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• Johnnie Turner, Kentucky candidatea

May 18 Republican primary result:

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

November 2 General election candidates:

Johnnie Turner, Kentucky candidate 10,180

Brandon Smith20,870

District 32

May 18 Democratic primary result:

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

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Mike Wilson5,025a
• Regina Webb 3,077
• Ed Mills 1,656

November 2 General election candidates:

Mike Reynolds 15,490

Mike Wilson18,935

District 34

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• Lee Murphy4,453a
• Landra Lewis 4,106
• Michael Cope 3,966

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Jared Carpenter4,405a
• Kent Kessler 4,264
• Barry Metcalf 2,955

Evangelical Christan Party candidate:

• Donald Paul VanWinkle

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

November 2 General election candidates:

Lee Murphy 11,719

Jared Carpenter23,553

Donald Paul VanWinkle 1,004 (Evangelical Christian Party)

District 36

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• Rick Hilesa

May 18 Republican primary result:

• Julie Denton10,135a Incumbent Denton first joined the Kentucky Senate in 1995.
• Shawn Slone 4,000

November 2 General election candidates:

Rick Hiles 18,291

Julie Denton36,864

District 38

May 18 Democratic primary result:

• Marty Meyera

May 18 Republican primary result:

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

November 2 General election candidates:

Marty Meyer 16,929

Dan Seum26,154

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