Every single one of Kentucky's 100 state house seats is up for re-election this year. In 2017, Republicans took control of the chamber, and GOP members currently hold 62 of the 100 seats.
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Alexandra Kanik | wfpl.org
Here's a list of all of the contested races in Jefferson County and nearby:
26th District (includes parts of Bullitt and Hardin counties)
Russell Webber (R)
- Republican incumbent Russell Webber was first elected in 2012 and is the co-chair of the Budget Review Subcommittee on Health and Family Services. He was was one of eight lawmakers to file formal disciplinary charges against former House Speaker Jeff Hoover amid a recent sexual harassment scandal.
Scott Hrebicik (Write-in)
- Scott Hrebicik is a teacher in Hardin County Schools and ran unsuccessfully for the Bullitt County Public Schools Board of Education in 2014. He opposed changes to the state’s pension system that passed out of the legislature earlier this year.
29th District (parts of Jefferson County)
Kevin Bratcher (R)
- Republican incumbent Kevin Bratcher was first elected 22 years ago. He is a Navy veteran and was the sponsor of the “blue lives matter” bill that passed out of the legislature in 2017, as well as unsuccessful neighborhood schools legislation that would have transformed how Louisville’s school assignment plan operates.
Ronel Brown (D)
- Democrat Ronel Brownis an instructional assistant at duPont Manual High School. He also served as a captain and public information officer with the Louisville Fire Department, where he worked for more than 30 years. His wife, Denise Brown, is a family court judge in Louisville.
30th District (parts of Jefferson County)
Tom Burch (D)
- Democratic incumbent Tom Burch has served in the House for more than 40 years.Burch is a Navy veteranand was chair of the House Health and Welfare Committee, but was kicked off the panel when Republicans assumed control of the chamber in 2017. An outspoken advocate for abortion rights, Burch rankled conservative legislators by refusing to take up anti-abortion bills.
Christina O’Connor (R)
- Republican Christina O’Connor is an accounting manager at commercial construction and management company Amstar.
31st District (parts of Jefferson County)
The 31st District seat is currently held by Democrat Steve Riggs, who is not seeking re-election.
Josie Raymond (D)
- Democrat Josie Raymond is a former middle school teacher who works as a student success coordinator at the University of Louisville. She says she wants to raise the minimum wage, lower health costs and improve education. The Kentucky Registry of Election Finance recently said Raymond could use campaign funds to pay for child care.
Leigh Boland Jones (R)
- Republican Leigh Boland Jones is a pediatric nurse. She says she wants to eliminate the state’s income tax and push for increased penalties for child and elder abuse.
32nd District (parts of Jefferson County)
Phil Moffett (R)
- Republican incumbent Phil Moffett is a small-business owner and real-estate broker, first elected in 2015. He was one of eight lawmakers who filed a complaint against former House Speaker Jeff Hoover over a recent sexual harassment scandal. Moffett hasadvocated for rewriting the Kentucky Constitution for the first time since 1891 and wants to eliminate the state’s income tax.
Tina Bojanowski (D)
- Democrat Tina Bojanowski is a special education teacher who coached gymnastics for 29 years as a manager and head coach at Kentucky Gymnastics Academy. She says she opposes pension changes passed out of the legislature and wants to repeal Kentucky’s charter schools law.
33rd District (parts of Jefferson and Oldham counties)
Jason Michael Nemes (R)
- Republican incumbent Jason Nemes is an attorney first elected in 2016. He used to be the director of Kentucky’s Administrative Office of the Courts and was the chief of staff of the Kentucky Supreme Court. His father is a former representative and current deputy secretary of the Labor Cabinet. Nemes has recently advocated for legalizing sports betting and medical marijuana in Kentucky.
Rob Walker (D)
- Democrat Rob Walker is an attorney who also ran for the 33rd district in 2016. According to his website, Walker says he wants to repeal the state’s right-to-work law, legalize medical marijuana and pass an expanded gambling bill.
34th District (parts of Jefferson County)
Mary Lou Marzian (D)
- Democratic incumbent Mary Lou Marzian is running for re-election to keep the seat she’s held since 1994. Marzian is a registered nurse and transplant coordinator and an outspoken advocate for the Affordable Care Act and abortion rights. Marzian has also pushed for new gun laws like requiring parents to lock up firearms when they have a child under the same roof.
Robert James Douglas (R)
- Republican Robert James Douglas ran unopposed in the GOP primary. According to his Facebook page, he wants to push for legalizing medical marijuana and legislative term limits and is against charter schools and education budget cuts.
35th District (parts of Jefferson County)
The seat is currently held by Democratic Rep. Jim Wayne, who is not seeking re-election.
Lisa Willner (D)
- Democrat Lisa Willner is the vice chair of the Jefferson County Public Schools board and is also the executive director of the Kentucky Psychological Association. She opposed JCPS’ recent settlement with the Kentucky Department of Education that avoided a state takeover.
Donna D. Lawlor (R)
- Republican Donna Lawlor is a retired Spanish teacher and ASL interpreter. This is Lawlor’s fourth bid for the seat. She previously served as a Jefferson County district commissioner.
36th District (parts of Jefferson and Oldham counties)
Jerry T. Miller (R)
- Republican incumbent Jerry Miller has held the seat since 2015 and was a Louisville Metro Councilman from 2011-2014. Miller is the chair of the House State Government committee and co-chair of the Public Pension Oversight Board. Miller has been an advocate for pension reform and allowing casino gambling in Kentucky.
Maurice M. Sweeney (D)
- Democrat Maurice Sweeney is a retired businessman who served on the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights for seven years and also worked at the state Transportation Cabinet for five years. Sweeney was a critic of the “gang bill” that passed out of the legislature earlier this year.
37th District (parts of Jefferson County)
Jeffery Martin Donohue (D)
- Democratic incumbent Jeff Donohue was first elected in 2013. A labor supporter, Donohue advocates for repealing the state’s right-to-work law, raising the minimum wage and restoring the prevailing wage for public works projects. Donohue also recently pre-filed legislation to enable the attorney general’s office to launch a statewide investigation into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.
Katharine Sweeton-Windsor (R)
- Republican Katharine Sweeton-Windsor is an army veteran, business owner and real estate agent according to her candidate filing.
38th District (parts of Jefferson County)
McKenzie Cantrell (D)
- Incumbent Democrat McKenzie Cantrell is anon-profit employment attorney. She has been a vocal opponent to Gov. Matt Bevin’s attempts to reshape Medicaid and is a member of task force studying the the opioid epidemic in Kentucky.
Karl Licht (R)
- Republican Karl Licht is an actor and analyst for health care credentialing company, Aperture. He’s also an Army and Navy veteran.
40th District (parts of Jefferson County)
The seat is currently held by Democrat Dennis Horlander, who was defeated in the primary.
Nima Kulkarni (D)
- Democrat Nima Kulkarni is an immigration lawyer and founder of the New Americans Initiative, a nonprofit that supports immigrants and educates about immigration issues. She ousted 22-year Democratic incumbent Dennis Horlander in this year’s primary. She also currently serves on Louisville Public Media’s board.
Joshua Neubert (R)
- Republican Joshua Neubert is an industrial engineer at UPS.
Richard Ramirez (Write-in)
- Richard Ramirez is running as a write-in candidate.
42nd District (parts of Jefferson County)
Reginald K. Meeks (D)
- Incumbent Democrat Reginald Meeks is the director of external programs at U of L’s College of Arts & Sciences and has been in the House since 2001. He’s been an advocate for gun reform, sponsoring bills that would create a firearms offense registry and repeal the law that allows confiscated guns to be resold at police auctions.
Judy Martin Stallard (R)
- Republican Judy Stallard manages a Louisville real estate company called Stallard Investments and worked in the steel industry for 37 years.
43rd District (parts of Jefferson County)
The 43 district position had been held by Democrat Darryl Owens since 2005, but Owens announced this January that he would not run for re-election.
Charles Booker (D)
- Democrat Charles Booker is a policy analyst for the Louisville Urban League and one of the directors for art gallery 1619 Flux: Art + Activism. Booker was a legislative aide for longtime State Sen. Gerald Neal; he challenged his former boss in a primary election in 2016, but lost.
John Hicks (Libertarian)
- Libertarian John Hicks is a business analyst and software developer. He is the founderand organizer of the Kentucky Open Source Society, and volunteers at the non-profit Portland Now.
Everett C. Corley (R)
- Republican Everett Corley is a Louisville realtor. GOP leaders recently renounced support for Corley after news he made racist comments on a white nationalist show. Corley also made news for calling University of Louisville’s Pan-African Studies Chair a “damn dirty black bastard.”
44th District (parts of Jefferson County)
Joni Jenkins (D)
- Incumbent Democrat Joni Jenkins was first elected in 1994 and has been an advocate for the Affordable Care Act, reforming the state’s gun laws and addressing the state’s opioid epidemic. She helped organize a local rally opposing the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court this year. She was also one of the primary sponsors of this year’sadoption overhaul.
Margaret Adkins (R)
- Republican Margaret Adkins is a nurse at Baptist Hospital East.
46th District (parts of Jefferson County)
Alan “Al” Gentry (D)
- Incumbent Democrat Al Gentry is a real estate entrepreneur and former engineering consultant first elected in 2016. He lost his arm in an accident working as an environmental consultant and opposed legislation weakening workers compensation benefits this year.
James Stansbury (R)
- Republican James Stansbury is the chair of the Jefferson County Republican Party, a retired teacher and Navy veteran. On his website, Stansbury says he wants to eliminate the state’s income tax and push for tax reform. Stansbury defendedthen-candidate Donald Trump’s claims that the 2016 election would be rigged.
48th District (parts of Jefferson and Oldham counties)
Ken Fleming (R)
- Incumbent RepublicanKen Fleming was first elected in 2016 and previously served on Louisville Metro Council. He is the executive director of the Kilgore Samaritan Counseling Center. This year, Fleming proposed a bill to tweak Kentucky’s secretive Angel Investor tax break program and shift the program’s benefits to rural counties.
Maria Sorolis (D)
- Democrat Maria Sorolis works part-time at Kammerer Middle School and worked as an attorney for 22 years before teaching.
49th District (parts of Bullitt County)
Linda H. Belcher (D)
- Incumbent Democrat Linda Belcher is a retired teacher who served in the House from 2008 to 2012 and 2014-2016. She was ousted by former GOP Rep. Dan Johnsonin 2016, but won the seat back this year in a special election after Johnson died by suicide.
Thomas Huff (R)
- Republican Thomas Huff is a partner at a used car dealership in Shepherdsville. According to his website, he supports gun rights and the legislature’s passage of a new abortion restriction, which has been temporarily blocked by a federal court. His Facebook page features a video endorsementfrom Sen. Rand Paul.
58th District (parts of Shelby County)
Rob Rothenburger (R)
- Incumbent Republican Rob Rothenburger was first elected in 2016 and previously served as Shelby County judge-executive and as a firefighter. He chairs the House Local Government Committee.
Bobby Lacer (D)
- Democrat Bobby Lacer is an insurance agent and adjunct professor at KCTC and Sullivan University.
59th District (parts of Oldham County)
David W. Osborne (R)
- Incumbent Republican David Osborneis a real estate investor and owns a horse farm in Oldham County. He was first elected in 2004 and has been serving as the acting speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives since Rep. Jeff Hoover stepped down from the position amid a sexual harassment scandal this year.
Samantha Nicole Gerges (I)
- Samantha Gergesis an Independent candidate running for the seat. On her website, she says she owns a business cleaning newly-built homes, and is “pro firearms” and in favor of medical marijuana legalization, increasing funding for public education and raising the minimum wage
Diane Seaman (D)
- Democrat Diane Seaman is a retired health care executive and actuary. According to her website, she wants to “work to fix our broken health care system,” is not in favor of diverting money from public schools to charter schools, and believes there should be “common sense restrictions” to reduce gun violence.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected. An earlier version stated that 59th District candidate Democrat Diane Seaman supports diverting public school funds to charter schools. Per Seaman's website, she is not in favor of diverting funds from public schools to charter schools.
This story has also been updated to correct that 43rd District candidate John Hicks volunteers, but does not work for "Portland Now."
Capitol reporter Ryland Barton and Producer Kyeland Jackson contributed to this guide.