How Kentucky has voted since 1960
Kentucky has 8 electoral votes in 2028. Since 1960 it has voted Democratic 4 times and Republican 13 times. It has backed the national winner in 13 of 17 elections. Donald Trump carried it in 2024 by 30.5 points, 29.1 points more Republican than the nation. In 2024, 62.9% of its eligible voters cast a ballot, ranking 36th among the 50 states and DC (nationally, 64.3%). It has voted Republican in every election since 2000. Its closest result was in 1996, when Bill Clinton won it by 1 point.
- 1960Nixon+7.2
- 1964Johnson+28.4
- 1968Nixon+6.1
- 1972Nixon+28.6
- 1976Carter+7.2
- 1980Reagan+1.4
- 1984Reagan+20.6
- 1988Bush+11.6
- 1992Clinton+3.2
- 1996Clinton+1.0
- 2000Bush+15.1
- 2004Bush+19.9
- 2008McCain+16.2
- 2012Romney+22.7
- 2016Trump+29.8
- 2020Trump+25.9
- 2024Trump+30.5
Each box is one election: the winner in Kentucky and the margin in points. Darker boxes were won by 10 points or more, lighter by under 5.
Election night
6 p.m. ET
Polls close at 6 p.m. ET; in western Kentucky (Central Time) they close at 7 p.m. ET.
Also closing at 6 p.m. ET: IN.
Times from the 2024 general election; states rarely change them, and they will be confirmed for 2028.
2028 ratings
- Safe R Electoral Vote Map Sept. 27, 2026
In Congress
Senate
- Mitch McConnell (R) since 1985
- Rand Paul (R) since 2011
House: 5 Republicans, 1 Democrat
All 6 members
- 1 James Comer (R)
- 2 Brett Guthrie (R)
- 3 Morgan McGarvey (D)
- 4 Thomas Massie (R)
- 5 Harold Rogers (R)
- 6 Andy Barr (R)
From Congress.gov, as of Sept. 28, 2026. Vacant seats are not listed.
Margin by election
Kentucky margin National popular vote
By county
Donald Trump won 118 of Kentucky's 120 counties in 2024; Kamala Harris won 2.
Loading the county map…
Largest counties, 2024
| County | Votes | Margin | Shift from 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County | 354,094 | D+16.5 | →R 3.6 |
| Fayette County | 143,935 | D+18.1 | →R 2.7 |
| Kenton County | 80,948 | R+21.7 | →R 2.4 |
| Boone County | 67,421 | R+37.2 | →R 1.4 |
| Warren County | 56,891 | R+24.3 | →R 7.4 |
| Campbell County | 48,334 | R+19.7 | →R 1.0 |
| Hardin County | 48,082 | R+29.3 | →R 5.4 |
| Daviess County | 47,097 | R+31.9 | →R 4.0 |
| Madison County | 45,188 | R+30.9 | →R 4.1 |
| Bullitt County | 43,209 | R+51.0 | →R 2.9 |
Biggest shifts from 2020 to 2024: toward the Republican, Elliott County (10.7), Magoffin County (9.7), Bath County (8.4); toward the Democrat, Leslie County (0.4), Owsley County (0.6), Campbell County (1.0) — in points of margin.
County returns from the MIT Election Data and Science Lab (official state data), 2000–2024. Margin is the Democrat's share minus the Republican's, of all votes cast.
Results by year
| Year | Winner | Democrat | Republican | Other | Margin | Nation | Turnout | EV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Donald TrumpTrump | Harris 33.9%704,043 | Trump 64.5%1,337,494 | 1.6% | R+30.5 | R+1.5 | 62.9% | 8 |
| 2020 | Donald TrumpTrump lost | Biden 36.2%772,474 | Trump 62.1%1,326,646 | 1.8% | R+25.9 | D+4.5 | 64.4% | 8 |
| 2016 | Donald TrumpTrump | Clinton 32.7%628,854 | Trump 62.5%1,202,971 | 4.8% | R+29.8 | D+2.1 | 59.6% | 8 |
| 2012 | Mitt RomneyRomney lost | Obama 37.8%679,370 | Romney 60.5%1,087,190 | 1.7% | R+22.7 | D+3.9 | 56.1% | 8 |
| 2008 | John McCainMcCain lost | Obama 41.2%751,985 | McCain 57.4%1,048,462 | 1.4% | R+16.2 | D+7.3 | 59.0% | 8 |
| 2004 | George W. BushBush | Kerry 39.7%712,733 | Bush 59.6%1,069,439 | 0.8% | R+19.9 | R+2.5 | 59.3% | 8 |
| 2000 | George W. BushBush | Gore 41.4%638,923 | Bush 56.5%872,520 | 2.1% | R+15.1 | D+0.5 | 52.5% | 8 |
| 1996 | Bill ClintonClinton | Clinton 45.8%636,614 | Dole 44.9%623,283 | Perot 8.7% | D+1.0 | D+8.5 | 49.3% | 8 |
| 1992 | Bill ClintonClinton | Clinton 44.6%665,104 | Bush 41.3%617,178 | Perot 13.7% | D+3.2 | D+5.6 | 53.8% | 8 |
| 1988 | George H.W. BushBush | Dukakis 43.9%580,368 | Bush 55.5%734,281 | 0.6% | R+11.6 | R+7.7 | 49.4% | 9 |
| 1984 | Ronald ReaganReagan | Mondale 39.4%539,539 | Reagan 60.0%821,702 | 0.6% | R+20.6 | R+18.2 | 51.8% | 9 |
| 1980 | Ronald ReaganReagan | Carter 47.7%617,417 | Reagan 49.0%635,274 | 3.3% | R+1.4 | R+9.7 | 50.5% | 9 |
| 1976 | Jimmy CarterCarter | Carter 52.8%615,717 | Ford 45.6%531,852 | 1.7% | D+7.2 | D+2.1 | — | 9 |
| 1972 | Richard NixonNixon | McGovern 34.8% | Nixon 63.4% | 1.9% | R+28.6 | R+23.2 | — | 9 |
| 1968 | Richard NixonNixon | Humphrey 37.7% | Nixon 43.8% | Wallace 18.3% | R+6.1 | R+0.7 | — | 9 |
| 1964 | Lyndon B. JohnsonJohnson | Johnson 64.0% | Goldwater 35.7% | 0.3% | D+28.4 | D+22.6 | — | 9 |
| 1960 | Richard NixonNixon lost | Kennedy 46.4% | Nixon 53.6% | 0.0% | R+7.2 | D+0.2 | — | 10 |
Margin is the Democrat's share minus the Republican's, in percentage points; Nation is the same for the national popular vote. "Other" is everyone else combined, or the leading third-party candidate where one took 5% or more. Vote counts from 1976. Turnout is ballots cast as a share of eligible voters, from 1980 (UF Election Lab; the newest year is preliminary).
Electoral votes
Electoral votes change after each census, when House seats are reapportioned.
- 1019601950 census
- 91964–19681960 census
- 91972–19801970 census
- 91984–19881980 census
- 81992–20001990 census
- 82004–20082000 census
- 82012–20202010 census
- 82024–20282020 census
- 82032–2040projected
Projected: Kentucky's share of House seats after the 2030 census if each state's population keeps changing at its pace since 2020, from the Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey population estimates (July 1, 2024). If the count were taken today it would have 8. An estimate, not a forecast.