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 6. Senators serve four-year terms with no term limits; half (19) of the senators are up for election every second year, coinciding with federal House of Representatives and Senate elections.
Contents
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
President (elected by full body): Robert Stivers (R-25)
President pro tempore (elected by full body): David P. Givens (R-9)
Additionally, each political party elects a floor leader, whip, and caucus chairman.
Current party leadership of the Kentucky Senate:
Republican Party
Leader: Max Wise (R-16)
Whip: Mike Wilson (R-32)
Caucus chair: Robby Mills (R-4)
Democratic Party
Leader: Gerald Neal (D-33)
Whip: Cassie Chambers Armstrong (D-19)
Caucus chair: Reginald L. Thomas (D-13)
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 (R) of Winchester, Robert Sainte (D) of Winchester, and former Kentucky State Representative Richard Henderson (I) 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.