Louisville members of Kentucky House face challenges as GOP looks to expand
Polls have closed in Jefferson County, where voters were making choices in 10 competitive races to determine their representation in the Kentucky General Assembly.
Republicans went into Election Day with a supermajority in both legislative chambers in Frankfort, holding 75 of the 100 seats in the House and 30 of 38 in the Senate. They were not expected to have a significant net loss this election, with many observers presuming their dominance would grow.
In Louisville, several incumbents from both parties faced reelection challenges, while several other seats were open due to redistricting.
On the Democratic side, two longtime House incumbents in south Louisville are facing Republican challengers in districts where former President Donald Trump won by double digits over President Joe Biden in 2020.
2022 Kentucky election results: All the midterm election results in one spot
Democratic Rep. Charles Miller, an 11-term incumbent in House District 28 of southwest Louisville, faces Republican challenger Jared Bauman.
Democratic Rep. Jeff Donohue, a four-term incumbent in House District 37 of southwest Louisville, faces Republican Emily Callaway.
Rep. Josie Raymond, a Democratic two-term incumbent who was redistricted into House District 41, faces Republican Carrie Sanders McKeehan.
Rep. Al Gentry, a Democratic incumbent who has served three terms, faced Republican Ginny Mulvey-Woolridge in House District 46.
Rep. Jason Nemes is one of the Republican incumbents facing a challenger, as he is running against Democrat Kate Turner in House District 33, which includes part of eastern Jefferson County and southern Oldham County.
In House District 48, including the northeastern edge of Jefferson County and a small slice of Oldham, Republican Rep. Ken Fleming faces Democrat Maria Sorolis — for the third straight election. Sorolis beat Fleming in 2018, then Fleming returned the favor in 2020, with the margin of both races being within 2 percentage points.
The two open House seats in Louisville were created by redistricting displacing Democratic incumbents.
In House District 38, Democrat Rachel Roarx faces Republican Charles Breitenbach. In District 31, Democrat Sue Foster faces Republican Susan Tyler Witten.
In the Senate, Democratic incumbent Karen Berg of District 26 in eastern Jefferson County faces Republican challenger James Peden, who currently serves on Louisville Metro Council.
In Senate District 6, covering part of east Louisville and Oldham and Trimble counties, Republican Lindsey Tichenor faces no Democratic challenger but does face write-in candidate Brian Joseph Easley.
Reach reporter Joe Sonka at jsonka@courierjournal.com and follow him on Twitter at @joesonka.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: 2022 Kentucky legislature elections: GOP seeks more Louisville seats
