A special election was held on January 14 to fill a vacant seat in the Kentucky State Senate. Mike Nemes (R) defeated Andrew Bailey (D) with 64% of the vote to win the District 38 seat. Nemes previously served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013.

The seat became vacant in November 2019 after Dan Seum (R) retired. Seum served in the state Senate for the first time from 1989 to 1992 and again for a second time from 1995 to 2019. Prior to his election to the state Senate, he served in the state House from 1982 to 1988. He was re-elected in 2018 with 68% of the vote.

Republicans have a 28-9 majority with one vacancy in the Kentucky State Senate. Kentucky has a divided government, and no political party holds a state government trifecta. A trifecta exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and majorities in both state legislative chambers.

Kentucky also has special elections scheduled on February 25 to fill two vacant seats in the state House. As of January, 27 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2020 in 13 states. Between 2011 and 2019, an average of 77 special elections took place each year.

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Additional reading:
Kentucky State Senate
Kentucky State Senate District 38
State legislative special elections, 2020