Two Kentucky House seats on the ballot in February 25 special election


A special general election is scheduled for February 25, 2020, for Districts 67 and 99 of the Kentucky House of Representatives.

Rachel Roberts (D) and Mary Jo Wedding (R) are competing for the District 67 seat. The seat was formerly occupied by Dennis Keene (D), who resigned on December 16, 2019, to become the commissioner of the Department for Local Government in Gov. Andy Beshear’s (D) administration. Keene represented District 67 from 2005 to 2019.

Bill Redwine (D) and Richard White (R) are competing to represent District 99. The seat became vacant after Rocky Adkins (D) resigned the position on December 10, 2019, to become a senior advisor to Gov. Beshear. Adkins represented District 99 from 1986 to 2019.

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. Republicans hold a majority in the state House by a 61-37 margin with two vacancies. They also hold a majority in the state Senate by a 29-9 margin with no vacancies. Andy Beshear (D) was elected governor on November 5, 2019.

As of February 2020, 32 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2020 in 14 states. Between 2011 and 2019, an average of 77 special elections took place each year.

Click here to learn more about the Kentucky 2020 state legislative special elections

Additional Reading:
Kentucky House of Representatives District 67 
Kentucky House of Representatives District 99
How vacancies are filled in state legislatures
State legislative special elections, 2020