How the Kentucky GOP expanded its supermajorities in the state legislature

Republicans in Frankfort have wielded a dominant supermajority in both chambers of the Kentucky General Assembly over the past two years — which will now grow even stronger after flipping more Democratic seats in Tuesday's election.

Currently holding a 75 to 25 seat supermajority in the House, Republicans knocked off five Democratic incumbents in the general election this week, giving them 80 of the 100 seats when they return for the 2023 regular session in January.

In the Senate, Republicans flipped one seat held by a retiring Democratic incumbent, with the party not fielding a candidate in the race. Currently holding 30 of the 38 seats in the Senate, the GOP supermajority in the chamber will grow to 31 in January.

2022 Kentucky elections: See all the midterm election outcomes in one spot

Democrats did have some success in races across the state, including the defeat of two GOP-backed constitutional amendments, while Republican-supported candidates in two Kentucky Supreme Court races and the Franklin Circuit Court race were also defeated.

However, Republican dominance in the legislature will only grow over the next two years. The party has a supermajority that could easily dispel any vetoes from Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear with a majority vote override — as well as ignore the governor's policy wish list.

Democrats will now have no representatives or senators from Kentucky's Central time zone, along with just two members from rural Kentucky and three from outside of Jefferson and Fayette counties.

More coverage:3 key takeaways from Kentucky's midterm election results

As for their legislative victories Tuesday, Republican Party of Kentucky spokesman Sean Southard issued a statement touting their "unprecedented effort this year to put Democrats on the defense with messages focused on inflation and crime" — and signaling optimism that they will defeat Beshear in his reelection bid next year, tying him to President Joe Biden.

"Kentucky voters overwhelmingly sided with Republicans in rejecting the Biden agenda," Southard stated. "There is no difference between a Kentucky Democrat and a Biden Democrat. We will capitalize upon this momentum in 2023 when we make Andy Beshear, Biden’s biggest Kentucky cheerleader, a one term Governor.”

Democrats lose seats in east, north, Bowling Green

Among the five Democratic House incumbents to lose Tuesday was Rep. Angie Hatton of Whitesburg, who is the minority whip for the party in that chamber.

Hatton was defeated by Republican challenger Jacob Justice in the race for District 94, which was made more difficult by Republican redistricting by including areas that former President Donald Trump had won by an overwhelming 62 percentage points in 2020.

Justice won with 57% of the votes, though Democrats were able to hold onto their last remaining rural seat in District 95 of Eastern Kentucky, where Rep. Ashley Tackett Laferty defeated Republican challenger Brandon Spencer by a 60% to 40% margin.

Tackett Laferty's wins comes despite Trump winning the district by 51 percentage points in 2020, and Spencer's campaign using the coded anti-Biden slogan "Let's Go Brandon!"

More:Republican challengers knock off Democratic legislators Miller, Donohue in Louisville

Democrats also lost their last remaining legislative seat in the Central time zone, as Rep. Patti Minter, D-Bowling Green, lost to Republican Kevin Jackson by 9 percentage points.

In Northern Kentucky, Rep. Buddy Wheatley, D-Covington, lost a close race to Republican attorney Stephanie Dietz, who won by less than 300 votes.

More:Kentucky GOP poised to expand supermajority, but Democratic hopes hinge on one factor

The districts of Minter and Wheatley were heavily redistricted to areas more hospital to Republicans, where Trump had won by a few points.

Rep. Rachel Roberts, D-Newport, also faced a redistricting challenge in Northern Kentucky, but won with 56% of the vote over Republican Jerry Gearding. Unlike the other GOP challengers who won, Gearding did not receive support from the Republican Party or Kentuckians for Strong Leadership, a PAC that spent well more than $500,000 on House races.

Democrats lose two incumbents in Louisville

GOP challengers also knocked off two Democratic House incumbents in southwest Louisville districts that have trended Republican in recent years.

Rep. Charles Miller, an 11-term incumbent in District 28, was defeated by Republican challenger Jared Bauman, who won 56% of the vote, while Rep. Jeff Donohue, a four-term incumbent in District 37, lost to Republican Emily Callaway by a slightly larger margin.

The two Democratic incumbents were greatly outspent in their races, with the RPK and Republican PAC hitting Miller and Donohue with ads highlighting increased violent crime rates in Louisville. Both also faced an uphill climb in new districts where former Trump won by double digits in 2020.

Republicans also flipped an open seat in Louisville's District 31 seat, with Republican Susan Tyler Witten knocking off Democrat Sue Foster by 4 percentage points.

GOP advances blocked in Lexington

Republicans came an eyelash away from knocking off another Democratic incumbent in Lexington, as Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson hung on to defeat Republican challenger Jim Coleman by just 35 votes in District 88.

Stevenson win came despite her south Lexington district being dramatically altered by Republicans to include much of the northern outskirts of Fayette County and part of Scott County, with Trump winning the area by 5 points in 2020.

Democrat Lamin Swann also flipped a GOP-held open seat in District 93 of south Fayette County, winning with 54% over Republican Kyle Whalen.

In a statement from House Democratic leadership — including Hatton, Rep. Derrick Graham and Rep. Joni Jenkins, who did not run for reelection — they said their poor results Tuesday would not stop their caucus "from continuing to fight for laws and budgets that benefit families, strengthen public education, improve our collective health and promote justice and fairness for all."

The Democratic leaders went on to state that the hurdles their candidates faced on the GOP nationalization of races, flood of "dark" money ads against them and "gerrymandered" redistricting was "beyond their control."

Reach reporter Joe Sonka at jsonka@courierjournal.com and follow him on Twitter at @joesonka.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky election: GOP ups legislative supermajority to 80% of seats