Most state lawmakers running for reelection in the Kentucky General Assembly survived the primary election Tuesday, but a few were sent home by voters in their district.
There was a large amount of spending by business-funded PACs to protect Republican incumbents, with most of those surviving their primary challenges — with the exception of one northern Kentucky lawmaker targeted for her vote against an anti-trans bill.
Two Democrats who’ve been the subject of personal controversy in Louisville recently also lost their primaries, with one losing by just five votes.
Kentucky Public Radio reporters Sylvia Goodman and Joe Sonka discussed the primary results and how they could shape Frankfort going forward.
This has been edited for brevity and clarity.
SYLVIA GOODMAN: Kentucky Republicans hold a dominant supermajority in Frankfort, filling at least 80% of the seats in the House and Senate. We don't have reason to believe that will change much next year, but we do know we'll see some new faces thanks to the primary results on Tuesday. Joe, who are some of the incumbents that did not survive their primary?
JOE SONKA: One of the biggest incumbent defeats was GOP Rep. Kim Banta in northern Kentucky. She lost by just 13 votes to Cole Cuzick, a first-time candidate who billed himself as more conservative. Banta had a heavy spending advantage, with PACs spending more than $100,000 on negative ads against Cuzick, but that wasn't enough for her to hold on.
Northern Kentucky is the same region that saw three GOP House incumbents lose their primary in 2022 against challengers from the so-called liberty wing of the party that bills itself as more aggressively small government than the party establishment. Cuzick identified with that liberty movement, but his campaign really put social conservative issues front and center, hitting Banta for being one of the few Republicans to vote against a bill in 2023 that banned all gender-affirming healthcare for transgender minors.
SG: Banta wasn't the only northern Kentucky GOP incumbent who was facing a tough primary based on their vote against that same anti-trans bill, right?
JS: Yes, Rep. Kim Moser only won by 50 votes in her last primary, and she held on Tuesday by a larger yet small margin over challenger Scott Berger. Like Banta, Moser had a lot of support from independent PACs that spent a lot of money on ads attacking Berger, as well as the House Republican Caucuses Campaign Committee.
SG: Banta was the only Republican incumbent who lost their primary, but what about the Democratic side?
JS: There were two Democratic House incumbents who lost their primary in Louisville, and both of them had been the subject of misconduct scandals in recent years.
Rep. Daniel Grossberg finished a distant third in his primary, losing to Mitra Subedi, a Bhutanese refugee and public school educator. Over the past two years, nine women have come forward to accuse Grossberg of sexual harassment or misconduct. The Lexington Herald-Leader wrote about the allegations that he was barred for life by a Louisville strip club, as well as a college classmate who reported being assaulted by him after refusing his sexual advances.
Grossberg denied all the allegations and said he was the victim of a political smear job, but many Democratic officials stood with the women, including Gov. Andy Beshear, who called on Grossberg to resign.
Also losing her primary in Louisville was Rep. Beverly Chester-Burton, who fell just five votes short of challenger Kenya Wade. Chester-Burton in 2025 had her second conviction for driving under the influence within the past several years, but other than those three incumbents, all others running for re-election sailed to victory in their primary.
SG: Kentuckians were subjected to a lot of political ads over the past year, mostly from the GOP Senate primary and Thomas Massie’s congressional primary in northern Kentucky. Was there also a lot of spending in these state primaries as well?
JS: Not on the Democratic side, but there was on the Republican side, and it was also heavily focused on protecting the incumbents, which could be another reason why so many won. A PAC funded by sports betting companies like DraftKings spent more than $800,000 on ads supporting seven different GOP incumbents. Another PAC funded by Churchill Downs and a teacher's union spent $220,000 on ads helping Banta and Moser. The PACs of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity also bought ads for Banta, but fell just short of saving her.
SG: There were also plenty of open primaries where incumbents decided not to run, but as we mentioned earlier, there's not a whole lot of drama this fall as far as who's going to maintain control over each chamber. That's because Democrats left many races unchallenged, ensuring that Republicans will keep their supermajority and keep Democrats largely delegated to Louisville and Lexington, the state's urban areas. Even with that, we'll keep you updated on those general election races going forward this summer and fall.
