Kentucky 3rd Congressional District: Diversifying Metro district. In 2024, voted D+19%. Democratic peak: D+22 in 2020.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+19MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Diversifying MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 636,2812024 5-year
- Median household income
- $69,8662024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 63.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 20.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 8.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+22 in 2020MIT Election Lab
DW-NOMINATE
Member ideology
D
MCGARVEY, Morgan
MCGARVEY scores -0.50 on the first NOMINATE dimension (−1 most liberal, +1 most conservative).
Predecessors: YARMUTH, John (2021–2023), YARMUTH, John (2019–2021), YARMUTH, John (2017–2019), YARMUTH, John (2015–2017)
Source · Voteview / Lewis, Poole, Rosenthal et al. (CC-BY).
2024 presidential election
Congressional District 3
HarrisD+19
Constituent county margins for Congressional District 3, KYOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
| Kamala Harris ✓Democratic | 58.5% | 194,712 |
|---|---|---|
| Donald TrumpRepublican | 39.6% | 131,797 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 1.8% | 6,151 |
D+60R+60
1 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 2008–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 2008 | +13.8% |
| 2012 | +13.7% |
| 2016 | +15.4% |
| 2020 | +22.4% |
| 2024 | +18.9% |
DemocraticRepublican
5 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 194,712 | 131,797 | 332,660 | ||
| D | 220,379 | 138,600 | 365,866 | ||
| D | 185,486 | 133,529 | 336,667 | ||
| D | 182,049 | 138,142 | 320,191 | ||
| D | 192,343 | 145,151 | 341,333 |
Congressional elections · 16 Senate races
U.S. Senate
| Year | Won | D % | R % | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | R | 38.2% | 61.8% | 1,477,830 |
| 2020 | R | 38.2% | 57.8% | 2,135,057 |
| 2016 | R | 42.7% | 57.3% | 1,903,465 |
| 2014 | R | 40.7% | 56.2% | 1,435,868 |
| 2010 | R | 44.2% | 55.7% | 1,356,096 |
| 2008 | R | 47.0% | 53.0% | 1,800,821 |
| 2004 | R | 49.3% | 50.7% | 1,724,362 |
| 2002 | R | 35.3% | 64.7% | 1,131,313 |
| 1998 | R | 49.2% | 49.7% | 1,145,414 |
| 1996 | R | 42.8% | 55.5% | 1,307,046 |
| 1992 | D | 62.9% | 35.8% | 1,330,858 |
| 1990 | R | 47.8% | 52.2% | 916,010 |
| 1986 | D | 74.4% | 25.6% | 677,280 |
| 1984 | R | 49.5% | 49.9% | 1,292,407 |
| 1980 | D | 65.1% | 34.9% | 1,106,920 |
| 1978 | D | 61.0% | 36.9% | 476,783 |
Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
15.6%
Irish
12.0%
English
12.0%
American
5.7%
Italian
2.7%
Scottish
1.8%
French
1.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 38.4 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$69,866
Congressional District 3 ranks near the middle of US counties.
Congressional District 3$69,866
Kentucky$63,726
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
14.3%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1819.8%
Working age (18–64)12.9%
Seniors (65+)10.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
87.1%
speak English only
Spanish6.7%
Other Indo-European2.6%
Other languages1.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.7%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 48.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Kentucky's 3rd is the state's most reliably Democratic congressional seat, centered on Louisville and Jefferson County, where dense urban precincts and a substantial Black voting population have produced double-digit Democratic presidential margins in every cycle since the 1990s.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of twenty-two points in 2020. Between 2020 and 2024 the district moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was nineteen points.
A population of 636,281, a 63% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $69,866 describe the district.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Congressional District 3, Kentucky. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cd/2103/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Congressional District 3, Kentucky vote in 2024?
In 2024, Congressional District 3, Kentucky voted Democratic by 18.9 points (D+19), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 332,660 votes cast, 194,712 went Democratic and 131,797 went Republican.
What is Congressional District 3, Kentucky's political typology?
Akashic places Congressional District 3, Kentucky in the "Diversifying Metro" typology. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 5 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 5 times, Republican 0 times, and other 0 times.
How many people live in Congressional District 3, Kentucky?
Congressional District 3, Kentucky has a population of 636,281 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Congressional District 3, Kentucky?
Median household income in Congressional District 3, Kentucky is $69,866 — below the national median of $80,734. The Kentucky state median is $63,726.
What is the political history of Congressional District 3, Kentucky?
Akashic tracks 5 presidential elections in Congressional District 3, Kentucky from 2008 to 2024. Of those, 5 went Democratic and 0 went Republican. The district's typology — "Diversifying Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.