Elections in Kentucky

On January 1, 2026, the state had 3,349,449 registered voters, who were registered with the following parties. == Ballot access ==

Kentucky law divides political parties into three classes, depending on the percentage of the statewide vote they received in the previous presidential election. The three classes are political parties, political organizations, and political groups. Candidates from each class are subject to differing rules of ballot access. Political parties Political parties are the first class of parties and must receive twenty percent of the statewide vote in the previous presidential election. Political party candidates are required to be nominated by primary elections, which are operated by the state. Kentucky has closed primaries, meaning that only voters registered with a party may vote in its primary election. Following the 2024 presidential election, there were two political parties in Kentucky: • Republican Party of Kentucky • Kentucky Democratic Party Political organizations Political organizations are the second class of parties and must receive two percent of the statewide vote in the previous presidential election. Political organizations may elect to hold a primary election privately funded by the party, or to nominate a slate of candidates for office by statewide convention. Political organization candidates who are denied nomination by the party may nonetheless run for office by petition with the amount of signatures required for political group candidates. Following the 2024 presidential election, there were zero political organizations in Kentucky. Former political organizations include: • Libertarian Party of Kentucky (2017–2020) • Reform Party of Kentucky (1997–2000) Political groups Political groups are the third class of parties who did not receive at least two percent of the statewide vote in the previous presidential election. Political groups are not automatically given ballot access; political group candidates must instead run for office by petition. Independent candidates must run for office in the same manner. Current political groups recognized by the Kentucky State Board of Elections are: • Libertarian Party of Kentucky • Kentucky Green Party • Constitution Party of Kentucky • Socialist Workers Party of Kentucky • Reform Party of Kentucky The number of signatures required of candidates for each office are as follows: == Presidential elections ==

Since 1952, voters in the Commonwealth supported the three Democratic candidates elected to the White House, all from Southern states: Lyndon B. Johnson from Texas in 1964, Jimmy Carter from Georgia in 1976, and Bill Clinton from Arkansas in 1992 and 1996. But by the 21st century, the state had become a Republican stronghold in federal elections, supporting that party's presidential candidates by double-digit margins since 2000. From 1964 through 2004, Kentucky voted for the eventual winner of the presidential election each time, until losing its bellwether status in the 2008 election. That year Republican John McCain won Kentucky, carrying it 57 percent to 41 percent, but lost the national popular and electoral votes to Democrat Barack Obama. Further hampering Kentucky's status as a bellwether state, 116 of Kentucky's 120 counties supported Republican Mitt Romney in the 2012 election, who lost to Barack Obama nationwide. == See also ==