Kentucky Senate

The Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. The Kentucky Senate meets at the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort annually beginning in January. Sessions last for 60 legislative days in even-numbered years and 30 legislative days in odd-numbered years.
The Republican Party has had control of the Senate since 1999, currently holding 32 seats, with the Democratic Party holding 5, and 1 seat being vacant. Senators serve four-year terms with no term limits; half of the senators are up for election every second year, coinciding with federal House of Representatives and Senate elections.

WWW lrc.ky.gov/home.htm

Terms and qualifications

According to Section 32 of the Kentucky Constitution, a senator must:

be at least 30 years old;
be a citizen of Kentucky;
have resided in the state at least six years and the district at least one year prior to election.

Per section 30 of the Kentucky Constitution, senators are elected to four year staggered terms, with half the Senate elected every two years.

Leadership

Prior to a 1992 constitutional amendment, the Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky presided over the Senate; the 1992 amendment created a new office of President of the Senate to be held by one of the 38 senators.

Leaders

Additionally, each political party elects a floor leader, whip, and caucus chairman.
Current party leadership of the Kentucky Senate:

List of current senators

District	Name	Party	First elected	Residence	Counties represented
1	Jason Howell	Republican	2020	Murray	Calloway, Crittenden, Fulton, Graves, Hickman, Lyon, Trigg
2	Danny Carroll	Republican	2014	Benton	Ballard, Carlisle, Livingston, Marshall, McCracken
3	Craig Richardson	Republican	2024	Hopkinsville	Caldwell, Christian, Muhlenberg
4	Robby Mills	Republican	2018	Henderson	Henderson, Hopkins, Union, Webster
5	Stephen Meredith	Republican	2016	Leitchfield	Breckinridge, Butler, Grayson, Meade, Ohio
6	Lindsey Tichenor	Republican	2022	Smithfield	Jefferson, Oldham, Trimble
7	Aaron Reed	Republican	2024	Shelbyville	Anderson, Henry, Jefferson, Shelby
8	Gary Boswell	Republican	2022	Owensboro	Daviess, Hancock, McLean
9	David P. Givens	Republican	2008	Greensburg	Barren, Edmondson, Green, Hart, Warren
10	Matthew Deneen	Republican	2022	Elizabethtown	Hardin, Jefferson
11	Steve Rawlings	Republican	2024	Burlington	Boone
12	Amanda Mays Bledsoe	Republican	2022	Lexington	Boyle, Fayette, Mercer, Woodford
13	Reginald L. Thomas	Democratic	2013	Lexington	Fayette
14	Jimmy Higdon	Republican	2009	Lebanon	Larue, Marion, Nelson, Spencer, Washington
15	Rick Girdler	Republican	2016	Somerset	Clinton, Cumberland, Pulaski, Russell, Wayne
16	Max Wise	Republican	2014	Campbellsville	Adair, Allen, Metcalfe, Monroe, Taylor, Warren
17	Matt Nunn	Republican	2024	Sadieville	Fayette, Grant, Kenton, Scott
18	Robin L. Webb	Republican	2009	Grayson	Boyd, Carter, Greenup, Lewis
19	Cassie Chambers Armstrong	Democratic	2023	Louisville	Jefferson
20	Gex Williams	Republican	2022	Verona	Boone, Carroll, Franklin, Gallatin, Kenton, Owen
21	Brandon J. Storm	Republican	2020	London	Casey, Laurel, Lincoln, Rockcastle
22	Donald Douglas	Republican	2021	Nicholasville	Fayette, Garrard, Jessamine
23	Christian McDaniel	Republican	2012	Ryland Heights	Kenton
24	Shelley Funke Frommeyer	Republican	2022	Alexandria	Bracken, Campbell, Kenton, Pendleton
25	Robert Stivers	Republican	1996	Manchester	Clay, Jackson, Knox, McCreary, Owsley, Whitley
26	Karen Berg	Democratic	2020	Louisville	Jefferson
27	Stephen West	Republican	2015	Paris	Bourbon, Fayette, Fleming, Harrison, Mason, Nicholas, Robertson, Rowan
28	Greg Elkins	Republican	2023	Winchester	Bath, Clark, Fayette, Menifee, Montgomery
29	Scott Madon	Republican	2024	Pineville	Bell, Floyd, Harlan, Knott, Letcher
30	Brandon Smith	Republican	2008	Hazard	Breathitt, Estill, Lee, Leslie, Magoffin, Morgan, Perry, Powell, Wolfe
31	Phillip Wheeler	Republican	2019	Pikeville	Elliott, Johnson, Lawrence, Martin, Pike
32	Mike Wilson	Republican	2010	Bowling Green	Logan, Simpson, Todd, Warren
33	Gerald A. Neal	Democratic	1988	Louisville	Jefferson
34	Jared Carpenter	Republican	2010	Berea	Fayette, Madison
35	Keturah J. Herron	Democratic	2024	Louisville	Jefferson
36	Julie Raque Adams	Republican	2014	Louisville	Jefferson
37	Gary Clemons	Democratic	2025	Louisville	Jefferson
38	Michael J. Nemes	Republican	2020	Shepherdsville	Bullitt, Jefferson

2023 special elections

On February 21, 2023, a special election was held to fill the vacant 19th district Senate seat left by Morgan McGarvey. The seat opened up after McGarvey ran and won the U.S. House seat in Kentucky's 3rd congressional district. Democratic candidate Cassie Chambers Armstrong defeated Republican candidate Misty Glin to become Senator.
On May 16, 2023, a special election was held to fill the vacant 28th district Senate seat left by Ralph Alvarado. The seat opened up after Alvarado was appointed the 15th Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health. The candidates were Greg Elkins of Winchester, Robert Sainte of Winchester, and former Kentucky State Representative [Richard Henderson County, Kentucky|Henderson (Kentucky politician)|Richard Henderson] of Mt. Sterling. Republican candidate Greg Elkins defeated Sainte and Henderson to become Senator.

History

Carolyn Conn Moore became the first woman to serve in the Kentucky Senate when in November 1949 she won a special election to replace her husband, J. Lee Moore, in the legislature after his death. Georgia Davis Powers became the first person of color to be elected to the Kentucky Senate in 1967. Gerald Neal became the first African American ever to be elected to a leadership position in the Kentucky General Assembly in 2014. Ralph Alvarado became the first Hispanic to serve in the Kentucky General Assembly when he was elected in 2014.