Forty-five Legislators Unchallenged for Reeelection
As we have noted, there are dozens of legislators in the Senate* and House* who have no opponents challenging their reelection to the Kentucky General Assembly this year.
From the AP:
Out of 119 legislative seats up for election this year, only 36 will be on primary election ballots - 28 House seats and eight Senate seats. In all, 40 state representatives and five senators are running unopposed.
That's not unusual in Kentucky. In some election years, the number of incumbent lawmakers without challengers is even higher. The reasons are varied, including the necessity for lawmakers living in distant parts of the state having to be away from home for about three months a year while the Legislature is in session.
"It is a daunting task to run for a legislative seat - raising six-figure sums to challenge an incumbent candidate or even to run for an open seat," said Democratic strategist Dale Emmons. "To do that, a person has to give up a lot of personal time and time away from their vocation just to make the race. And once you're elected, you continue to have to do that. Seldom does that legislative pay of $30,000 or so make up for that."
Of the unopposed, only Reps. Jim DeCesare and Joe Fisher regularly score adequately on our legislative scorecard.
* - Note: Charts will be updated in future posts. Five Senators and forty Representatives are unopposed.
