Kentucky's 2nd congressional district

Kentucky's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Located in west central Kentucky, the district includes Bowling Green, Owensboro, and Elizabethtown. The district has not seen an incumbent defeated since 1884.

"KY-2" redirects here. For the state route, see Kentucky Route 2.

Kentucky's 2nd congressional district
Kentucky's 2nd congressional district - since January 3, 2013.
Representative	Brett Guthrie R–Bowling Green
Distribution	50.23% rural[1] 49.77% urban
Population (2016)	754,967[2]
Median income	$50,289[3]
Ethnicity	89.03% white 5.84% black 3.17% Hispanic 1.46% Asian 0.38% Native American
Cook PVI	R+19[4]

The district is currently represented by Republican Brett Guthrie.

Former Representative Democrat William Natcher is noted for holding the record for most consecutive roll call votes in the history of Congress - more than 18,000 votes.

Characteristics

The district is similar in character to the 1st district. While Democrats still hold most local offices in the district, they tend to be very conservative on social issues, a trend that leads them to vote Republican in most national elections.

As of June 2016, there were 532,145 registered voters: 267,853 (50.33%) Democrats, 222,631 (41.84%) Republicans, and 29,501 (5.54%) "Others". All of the "Others" included 11,071 (2.08%) Independents, 843 (0.16%) Libertarians, 146 (0.02%) Greens, 65 (0.01%) Constitutionalists, 16 (0.003%) Reforms, and 19 (0.003%) Socialists.[5]

Until January 1, 2006, Kentucky did not track party affiliation for registered voters who were neither Democratic nor Republican.[6] The Kentucky voter registration card does not explicitly list anything other than Democratic Party, Republican Party, or Other, with the "Other" option having a blank line and no instructions on how to register as something else.[7]

Kentucky counties within the 2nd congressional district: Barren, Boyle, Breckinridge, Bullitt, Butler, Daviess, Edmonson, Garrard, Grayson, Green, Hancock, Hardin, Hart, Jessamine (partial), LaRue, Meade, Mercer, Nelson, Spencer (partial), Warren, Washington (partial)

Recent presidential elections

Election results from presidential races
Year	Office	Results
2000	President	Bush 62 - 37%
2004	President	Bush 65 - 34%
2008	President	McCain 61 - 38%
2012	President	Romney 63 - 35%
2016	President	Trump 68 - 27%

List of members representing the district

Member	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history	Location
Alexander D. Orr	Anti-Administration	November 8, 1792 – March 3, 1795	3rd 4th 5th	Elected September 7, 1792. Re-elected in 1793. Re-elected in 1795. Retired.	1792–1797: "Northern district": Bourbon, Fayette, Mason, Scott, and Woodford counties
	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1795 – March 3, 1797
John Fowler	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1797 – March 3, 1803	6th 7th 8th	Elected in 1797. Re-elected in 1799. Re-elected in 1801. Redistricted to the 5th district.	1797–1803: "Northern district": Bourbon, Campbell, Clark, Fayette, Franklin, Harrison, Mason, Scott, and Woodford counties
John Boyle	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1803 – March 3, 1809	9th 10th 11th	Elected in 1803. Re-elected in 1804. Re-elected in 1806. Retired.	1803–1813 [data unknown/missing]
Samuel McKee	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1809 – March 3, 1813	12th	Elected in 1808. Re-elected in 1810. Redistricted to the 7th district.
Henry Clay	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1813 – January 19, 1814	13th	Redistricted from the 5th district and re-elected in 1812. Resigned to accept a position as diplomatic envoy to Great Britain.	1813–1823 [data unknown/missing]
Vacant		January 19, 1814 – March 29, 1814
Joseph H. Hawkins	Democratic-Republican	March 29, 1814 – March 3, 1815		Elected to finish Clay's term. Retired.
Vacant		March 3, 1815 – October 30, 1815	14th	Henry Clay was re-elected in 1814, but the Governor declared the seat vacant as Clay was out of the country.
Henry Clay	Democratic-Republican	October 30, 1815 – March 3, 1821	14th 15th 16th	Elected to finish his vacant term. Re-elected in 1816. Re-elected in 1818. Retired.
Samuel H. Woodson	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1821 – March 3, 1823	17th	Elected in 1820. Redistricted to the 7th district.
Thomas Metcalfe	Adams-Clay Democratic-Republican	March 3, 1823 – March 3, 1825	18th 19th 20th	Redistricted from the 4th district and re-elected in 1822. Re-elected in 1824. Re-elected in 1827. Resigned to run for Governor of Kentucky.	1823–1833 Bourbon, Bracken, Mason, Nicholas counties
	Anti-Jacksonian	March 4, 1825 – June 1, 1828
Vacant		June 1, 1828 – December 1, 1828	20th
John Chambers	Anti-Jacksonian	December 1, 1828 – March 3, 1829		[data unknown/missing]
Nicholas D. Coleman	Jacksonian	March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1831	21st	[data unknown/missing]
Thomas A. Marshall	Anti-Jacksonian	March 4, 1831 – March 3, 1833	22nd	[data unknown/missing] Redistricted to the 12th district.
Albert G. Hawes	Jacksonian	March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1837	23rd 24th	Redistricted from the 11th district. [data unknown/missing]	1833–1843 [data unknown/missing]
Edward Rumsey	Whig	March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1839	25th	[data unknown/missing]
Philip Triplett	Whig	March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1843	26th 27th	[data unknown/missing]
Willis Green	Whig	March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1845	28th	Redistricted from the 6th district. [data unknown/missing]	1843–1853 [data unknown/missing]
John H. McHenry	Whig	March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1847	29th	[data unknown/missing]
Beverly L. Clarke	Democratic	March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1849	30th	[data unknown/missing]
James L. Johnson	Whig	March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1851	31st	[data unknown/missing]
Benjamin E. Grey	Whig	March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1855	32nd 33rd	[data unknown/missing]
					1853–1863 [data unknown/missing]
John P. Campbell Jr.	Know Nothing	March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857	34th	[data unknown/missing]
Samuel Peyton	Democratic	March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1861	35th 36th	[data unknown/missing]
James S. Jackson	Unionist	March 4, 1861 – December 13, 1861	37th	[data unknown/missing] Resigned to enter the Union Army.
Vacant		December 13, 1861 – December 1, 1862
George H. Yeaman	Unionist	December 1, 1862 – March 3, 1865	37th 38th	[data unknown/missing] Lost re-election.
					1863–1873 [data unknown/missing]
Burwell C. Ritter	Democratic	March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1867	39th	[data unknown/missing]
Vacant		March 4, 1867 – March 3, 1869	40th
William N. Sweeney	Democratic	March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1871	41st	[data unknown/missing]
Henry D. McHenry	Democratic	March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1873	42nd	[data unknown/missing]
John Y. Brown	Democratic	March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1877	43rd 44th	[data unknown/missing]	1873–1883 [data unknown/missing]
James A. McKenzie	Democratic	March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1883	45th 46th 47th	[data unknown/missing]
James F. Clay	Democratic	March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885	48th	[data unknown/missing]	1883–1893 [data unknown/missing]
Polk Laffoon	Democratic	March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1889	49th 50th	[data unknown/missing]
William T. Ellis	Democratic	March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1895	51st 52nd 53rd	[data unknown/missing]
					1893–1903 [data unknown/missing]
John D. Clardy	Democratic	March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1899	54th 55th	[data unknown/missing]
Henry D. Allen	Democratic	March 4, 1899 – March 3, 1903	56th 57th	[data unknown/missing]
Augustus O. Stanley	Democratic	March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1915	58th 59th 60th 61st 62nd 63rd	[data unknown/missing]	1903–1913 [data unknown/missing]
					1913–1923 [data unknown/missing]
David H. Kincheloe	Democratic	March 4, 1915 – March 3, 1923	64th 65th 66th 67th 68th 69th 70th 71st	[data unknown/missing] Resigned when appointed to the U.S. Customs Court.
		March 4, 1923 – October 5, 1930			1923–1933 [data unknown/missing]
Vacant		October 5, 1930 – November 4, 1930	71st
John L. Dorsey Jr.	Democratic	November 4, 1930 – March 3, 1931		[data unknown/missing]
Glover H. Cary	Democratic	March 4, 1931 – March 3, 1933	72nd	[data unknown/missing] Redistricted to the at-large district.
District not used.		March 4, 1933 – March 3, 1935
Glover H. Cary	Democratic	March 4, 1935 – December 5, 1936	74th	Redistricted from the at-large district. Died.	1935–1943 [data unknown/missing]
Vacant		December 5, 1936 – March 2, 1937
Beverly M. Vincent	Democratic	March 2, 1937 – January 3, 1945	74th 75th 76th 77th 78th	[data unknown/missing] Retired.
					1943–1953 [data unknown/missing]
Earle Clements	Democratic	January 3, 1945 – January 6, 1948	79th 80th	[data unknown/missing] Resigned when elected Governor of Kentucky.
John A. Whitaker	Democratic	April 17, 1948 – December 15, 1951	80th 81st 82nd	[data unknown/missing] Died.
Vacant		December 15, 1951 – August 2, 1952
Garrett Withers	Democratic	August 2, 1952 – April 30, 1953	82nd 83rd	[data unknown/missing] Died.
					1953–1963 [data unknown/missing]
William Natcher	Democratic	August 1, 1953 – March 29, 1994	83rd 84th 85th 86th 87th 88th 89th 90th 91st 92nd 93rd 94th 95th 96th 97th 98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd 103rd	[data unknown/missing] Died.
					1963–1973 [data unknown/missing]
					1973–1983 [data unknown/missing]
					1983–1993 [data unknown/missing]
					1993–2003 [data unknown/missing]
Vacant		March 29, 1994 – May 24, 1994	103rd
Ron Lewis	Republican	May 24, 1994 – January 3, 2009	103rd 104th 105th 106th 107th 108th 109th 110th	[data unknown/missing] Retired.
					2003–2013
Brett Guthrie	Republican	January 3, 2009 – Present	111th 112th 113th 114th 115th 116th	[data unknown/missing]
					2013–Present Counties: Barren, Boyle, Breckinridge, Bullitt, Butler, Daviess, Edmonson, Garrard, Grayson, Green, Hancock, Hardin, Hart, Jessamine (partial), LaRue, Meade, Mercer, Nelson, Spencer (partial), Warren, Washington (partial)

Recent election results

2002

2002 Kentucky's 2nd congressional district election)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ron Lewis (Incumbent)	122,773	69.64%
	Democratic	David Lynn Williams	51,431	29.17%
	Libertarian	Robert Guy Dyer	2,084	1.18%
Total votes			176,288	100.00%
Turnout
	Republican hold

2004

2004 Kentucky's 2nd congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ron Lewis (Incumbent)	185,394	67.92%
	Democratic	Adam Smith	87,585	32.08%
Total votes			272,979	100.00%
Turnout
	Republican hold

2006

2006 Kentucky's 2nd congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ron Lewis (Incumbent)	118,548	55.41%
	Democratic	Mike Weaver	95,415	44.59%
Total votes			213,963	100.00%
Turnout
	Republican hold

2008

2008 Kentucky's 2nd congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brett Guthrie	158,936	52.57%
	Democratic	David E. Boswell	143,379	47.43%
Total votes			302,315	100.00%
Turnout
	Republican hold

2010

2010 Kentucky's 2nd congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brett Guthrie (Incumbent)	155,906	67.89%
	Democratic	Ed Marksberry	73,749	28.75%
Total votes			229,655	100.00%
Turnout
	Republican hold

2012

2012 Kentucky's 2nd congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brett Guthrie (Incumbent)	181,508	64.30%
	Democratic	David Lynn Williams	89,541	31.72%
	Independent	Andrew R. Beacham	6,304	2.23%
	Libertarian	Craig Astor	4,914	1.74%
Total votes			282,267	100.00%
Turnout
	Republican hold

2014

2014 Kentucky's 2nd congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brett Guthrie (Incumbent)	156,936	69.19%
	Democratic	Ron Leach	69,898	30.81%
Total votes			226,834	100.00%
Turnout
	Republican hold

2016

2016 Kentucky's 2nd congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brett Guthrie (Incumbent)	251,823	100.00%
Total votes			251,823	100.00%
Turnout
	Republican hold

2018

2018 Kentucky's 2nd congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brett Guthrie (Incumbent)	171,700	66.7%
	Democratic	Hank Linderman	79,964	31.1%
	Independent	Thomas Loecken	5,681	2.2%
Total votes			257,345	100.0%
	Republican hold

See also

• Kentucky's congressional districts
• List of United States congressional districts

References

1. Geography, US Census Bureau. "Congressional Districts Relationship Files (state-based)". www.census.gov. Archived from the original on 2017-07-17. Retrieved 2018-02-11.
2. Bureau, Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census. "My Congressional District". www.census.gov.
3. Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census Bureau. "My Congressional District". www.census.gov.
4. "Partisan Voting Index – Districts of the 115th Congress" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
5. "Voter Stats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-29.
6. "Kentucky Administrative Regulations 31KAR4:150". Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. November 2005. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
7. "Register To Vote". Kentucky State Board of Elections. August 2003. Retrieved 2014-02-06.

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present