The Kentucky Democratic Party is the affiliate of the
Democratic Party in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
. It is currently the minority party in the state, as the rival
Republican Party of Kentucky overwhelmingly dominates in the state legislature, congressional delegation, and presidential elections. However, the party does currently control the
governorship and
lieutenant governorship, and maintains some strength in local elections.
Historically, the Democratic Party dominated in Kentucky, particularly in state elections, and led in party registration as recently as 2022; even today, a sizable 43.6% of voters are registered Democrats. However, this metric obscures the fact that a large number of registered Democrats in the commonwealth routinely vote Republican. This has been attributed to the fact that Kentucky is contained within the
Bible Belt
The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States and the Midwestern state of Missouri (which also has significant Southern influence), where evangelical Protestantism exerts a strong social and cultural influence. The region has been de ...
, with many of these voters holding
socially conservative views.
Party by-laws
The structure of the Kentucky Democratic Party states that the power rests in the hands of the members and is to be conducted in accordance with the Constitutions of the United States and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. A member is anyone who is registered as a Democrat in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and states that no discrimination will take part in anyone wishing to join the party.
Governing of the Kentucky Democratic Party articulates that proxy votes are not permitted and unit rules are forbidden. The organization aims to take strong stances against forcing members to vote a certain way, but instead endorses all candidates which meet their ideological structure most effectively.
The functions of the State Party are orchestrated by the State Central Executive Committee, County Executive Committees, and Precinct Committees. The members of each committee are nominated and elected at their respective conventions during a party-wide reorganization from the precinct level up which begins in April of every Presidential election year. Members of each precinct must select one man, one woman, and one youth to represent their precinct. One member is then selected as the Precinct Chair. Those elected to their Precinct Committee then meet for the County Convention wherein they elect 10 men and 10 women to serve on as members of the County Executive Committee, who in turn elect a Chair and Vice Chair. Also at the County Convention, certain members will be nominated to represent the county at the Kentucky Democratic Convention to elect new members to the State Central Executive Committee as well as delegates to the
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...
.
Kentucky Democratic Party Executive Committee (2020-2024)
*
History
A rural Southern state, Kentucky politics have historically favored the
Democratic Party, although the state has in recent years rapidly shifted towards the
Republican Party. There has been no Democratic president from Kentucky, but there have been three Democratic vice presidents from the state. The first vice president from Kentucky,
Richard M. Johnson, was the ninth Vice President of the United States. In the earliest part of the 19th century, Johnson was a supporter of the Democratic-Republican Party during his service in the U.S. House. Johnson would work to secure pensions for widows and orphans of wars, in particular those following the War of 1812, a stance that would set precedence for future Kentucky Democrats. Johnson would later become a strong supporter and influence in the Democratic Party along with his service in the White House from 1837 to 1840.
John C. Breckinridge served as the 14th Vice President (1857–1861) and a notable figure in the early Democratic Party of Kentucky. Although Breckinridge claimed that he was not an anti-
Union demonstrator during the civil war, he strongly supported
states' rights
In United States, American politics of the United States, political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments of the United States, state governments rather than the federal government of the United States, ...
to allow slavery and would go on to be an officer in the
Confederate Army
The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...
.
Kentucky Democrat Alben W. Barkley served under Franklin D. Roosevelt as the U.S. vice president from 1949 to 1953, and began his political career in the state as a county judge. He would later be elected to the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
and the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
, advocating strongly for
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...
's liberal policies, and alter those of the Roosevelt Administration as well.
Democrats have largely dominated the office of governor in the Commonwealth. Out of 26 governors since 1900, only seven did not serve as members of the Democratic Party.
A priority for Kentucky Democrats in the 2010s and 2020s has been increasing the
minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. List of countries by minimum wage, Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation b ...
.
Current elected officials
Members of Congress
U.S. Senate
*None
Both of Kentucky's
U.S. Senate seats have been held by
Republicans since
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
.
Wendell Ford was the last Democrat to represent Kentucky in the U.S. Senate. First elected in
1974, Ford opted to retire instead of seeking a fifth term. Congressman
Scotty Baesler ran as the Democratic nominee in the
1998 election and was subsequently defeated by Republican challenger
Jim Bunning.
U.S. House of Representatives
Out of the six seats Kentucky is apportioned in the
U.S. House of Representatives, one is held by a Democrat:
Statewide offices
Democrats control two of the seven elected statewide offices:
File:Governor Beshear 2023 (cropped).jpg, Governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
File:Jacqueline Coleman.png , Lieutenant Governor
A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
State legislative leaders
*
Senate Minority Leader:
Gerald Neal
*Senate Minority Whip:
David Yates
David Yates (born 8 October 1963) is an English filmmaker, who has directed feature films, short films, and television productions. He is best known for directing the final four films in the Harry Potter (film series), ''Harry Potter'' series ...
*Senate Minority Caucus Chair:
Reggie Thomas
*
House Minority Leader:
Pamela Stevenson
*House Minority Whip:
Lindsey Burke
*House Minority Caucus Chair:
Al Gentry
Chief Executive Officers
Chair: Colmon Elridge
Mayors
*
Louisville
Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
:
Craig Greenberg (1)
Kentucky General Assembly
House of Representatives
In the House of Representatives, Democrats hold a minority of seats. The Democratic Party in the House is led by the Minority Floor Leader
Pamela Stevenson; Minority Caucus Chairman is
Al Gentry and Minority Whip is
Lindsey Burke.
Senate
In the Senate, Democrats hold a minority of seats. Leading figures of the Democratic Party in the Senate include Minority Floor Leader
Gerald Neal, Minority Caucus Chairman
Reggie Thomas, and Minority Whip
David Yates
David Yates (born 8 October 1963) is an English filmmaker, who has directed feature films, short films, and television productions. He is best known for directing the final four films in the Harry Potter (film series), ''Harry Potter'' series ...
.
Ideology
Health care
Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, Kentucky Democrats have supported expanding Medicaid under the law. Under the Act, health care providers also cannot refuse coverage based on preexisting conditions.
In 2006, 2,000,231 people between the ages of 25 and 64 were living in Kentucky, and an estimated 19% were living without health insurance. By 2020, the uninsured rate in Kentucky had fallen to 5.5%, and about a half-million Kentuckians had gained insurance under Medicaid expansion.
Infrastructure
The Kentucky Infrastructure Authority was founded in 1988 to develop and fund a better infrastructure for the state. Its main reason for existence has been to finance local development and works as an office under the Governor.
In 2009, the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority distributed 47.8 million dollars to fund wastewater infrastructure projects. An additional 18.9 million dollars was made available to improve funding for drinking water projects in the state. The funding was to be distributed through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, which were directly funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which was strongly supported by Democrats and implemented by President Obama. Governor Beshear, a strong supporter of President Obama's Reinvestment Act, stated that these infrastructure improvements will not only create jobs but address short and long-term water challenges for the state of Kentucky.
["Kentucky: Infrastructure Authority - Recovery Act Investments Announced for Kentucky's Infrastructure." Kentucky: Infrastructure Authority - Home. 1 May 2009. Web. 11 December 2011. ]
See also
*
Political party strength in Kentucky
The following table indicates the party of elected officials in the U.S. state of Kentucky:
* Governor of Kentucky, Governor
* Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, Lieutenant Governor
* Secretary of State of Kentucky, Secretary of State
* Attorney Ge ...
References
External links
Kentucky Democratic PartyKentucky Young Democrats
{{Authority control
Kentucky Democratic Party
Kentucky Democrats
Democratic Party (United States) by state
Democratic Party