Kentucky — Elections 1876–2024

Kentucky: state. In 2024, voted R+31%. Republican peak: R+31 in 2024.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin: R+31MIT Election Lab
Political typology: Akashic typology
Population: 4,534,8242024 5-year
Median household income: $63,7262024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic): 82.6%2024 5-year
Black: 7.7%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino: 5.0%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin: D+28 in 1964MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin: R+31 in 2024MIT Election Lab

2024 presidential election

Kentucky

TrumpR+31

—

How it voted

Share of the 2024 vote

Donald Trump ✓Republican	64.4%	1,337,494
Kamala HarrisDemocratic	33.9%	704,043
OtherAll other candidates	1.7%	35,269

D+60

R+60

120 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.

presidential history

Presidential margin, 1876–2024

Democratic minus Republican, by election

Presidential margin over time
Year	Margin (D minus R)
1876	No data
1880	No data
1884	No data
1888	No data
1892	+11.7%
1896	−0.1%
1900	+1.7%
1904	+2.7%
1908	+1.7%
1912	+23.2%
1916	+5.4%
1920	+0.4%
1924	−2.9%
1928	−18.9%
1932	+18.9%
1936	+18.6%
1940	+15.1%
1944	+9.2%
1948	+15.3%
1952	+0.1%
1956	−9.1%
1960	−7.2%
1964	+28.4%
1968	−6.1%
1972	−28.6%
1976	+7.2%
1980	−1.5%
1984	−20.7%
1988	−11.6%
1992	+3.2%
1996	+1.0%
2000	−15.1%
2004	−19.9%
2008	−16.2%
2012	−22.7%
2016	−29.8%
2020	−25.9%
2024	−30.5%

DemocraticRepublican

38 presidential elections

Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
Year	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
2024	R	−30.5%	704,043	1,337,494	2,076,806
2020	R	−25.9%	772,474	1,326,646	2,136,268
2016	R	−29.8%	628,854	1,202,971	1,924,150
2012	R	−22.7%	679,370	1,087,190	1,798,048
2008	R	−16.2%	751,985	1,048,462	1,826,508
2004	R	−19.9%	712,733	1,069,439	1,796,079
2000	R	−15.1%	638,898	872,492	1,544,187
1996	D	+1.0%	636,614	623,283	1,388,708
1992	D	+3.2%	665,104	617,178	1,492,900
1988	R	−11.6%	580,368	734,281	1,322,517
1984	R	−20.7%	539,589	822,782	1,370,461
1980	R	−1.5%	616,417	635,274	1,294,627
1976	D	+7.2%	615,717	531,852	1,167,142
1972	R	−28.6%	371,159	676,446	1,067,499
1968	R	−6.1%	397,541	462,411	1,055,893
1964	D	+28.4%	669,659	372,977	1,046,105
1960	R	−7.2%	521,855	602,607	1,124,462
1956	R	−9.1%	476,453	572,192	1,053,805
1952	D	+0.1%	495,729	495,029	993,148
1948	D	+15.3%	466,756	341,210	822,658
1944	D	+9.2%	472,589	392,448	867,921
1940	D	+15.1%	557,322	410,384	970,163
1936	D	+18.6%	541,944	369,702	926,219
1932	D	+18.9%	580,574	394,716	983,063
1928	R	−18.9%	381,070	558,734	941,286
1924	R	−2.9%	375,642	399,656	816,790
1920	D	+0.4%	456,497	452,480	918,636
1916	D	+5.4%	269,990	241,791	519,551
1912	D	+23.2%	219,584	115,516	448,330
1908	D	+1.7%	244,092	235,711	490,760
1904	D	+2.7%	217,250	205,277	435,855
1900	D	+1.7%	235,123	227,128	468,253
1896	R	−0.1%	217,894	218,171	445,928
1892	D	+11.7%	175,465	135,467	340,871
1888	—	No data	—	—	—
1884	—	No data	—	—	—
1880	—	No data	—	—	—
1876	—	No data	—	—	—

Congressional elections · 16 Senate races

U.S. Senate

Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), Senate. CC-BY 4.0.
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.

English

14.5%

German

12.7%

American

11.5%

Irish

11.0%

Italian

2.0%

Scottish

2.0%

French

1.1%

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: 39.2 in this county, 39.1 nationally

Male

Age

Female

0.6%

85+

1.1%

2.2%

75–84

2.9%

5.0%

65–74

5.5%

6.3%

55–64

6.7%

6.2%

45–54

6.1%

6.3%

35–44

6.3%

6.7%

25–34

6.4%

4.7%

18–24

4.4%

8.6%

5–17

8.2%

3.0%

2.9%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

2024 ACS

Median household income

Inflation-adjusted dollars

$63,726

Kentucky ranks near the middle of US counties.

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

16.1%

Children face moderate poverty.

Children under 1820.4%

Working age (18–64)14.9%

Seniors (65+)14.0%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

2024 ACS

Language at home

Population aged 5 and older

93.2%

speak English only

Spanish3.4%

Other Indo-European1.7%

Asian & Pacific Islander1.0%

Other languages0.7%

Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.

2020 religion census

Religious adherents

Adherents per capita by tradition

Baptist

22.5%

Other Christian

9.5%

Catholic & Orthodox

8.0%

Methodist

4.3%

Pentecostal & Holiness

2.3%

Mainline Protestant

2.2%

Non-Christian

0.7%

Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 50.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Kentucky sits in the Border South. In 2024 it voted Republican.

Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of twenty-eight points in 1964 and a Republican high of thirty-one points in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024 the state moved five points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was thirty-one points.

A population of 4,534,824, a 83% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $63,726 describe the state.

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.

Kentucky. Akashic. https://akashic.app/state/KY/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.

License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Kentucky vote in 2024?

In 2024, Kentucky voted Republican by 30.5 points (R+31), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 2,076,806 votes cast, 704,043 went Democratic and 1,337,494 went Republican.

What is Kentucky's political typology?

Akashic places Kentucky in the "" 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 38 elections in the dataset, the state has voted Democratic 17 times, Republican 17 times, and other 0 times.

When did Kentucky last vote Democratic?

The most recent presidential election in which Kentucky voted Democratic was 1996.

How many people live in Kentucky?

Kentucky has a population of 4,534,824 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.

What is the median household income in Kentucky?

Median household income in Kentucky is $63,726 — below the national median of $80,734. The Kentucky state median is $63,726.

What is the political history of Kentucky?

Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Kentucky from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 17 went Democratic and 17 went Republican. The state's typology — "" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.

Fayette County, KY	D +11,057
Jefferson County, KY	D +5,695
Nelson County, KY	R +2,927

Kentucky has voted Republican in seven straight presidential elections — R+31 in 2024.

Key facts

U.S. Senate

Demographics

Compare two places, side by side

Frequently asked questions