Going into tomorrow’s special
election to fill the vacant seat in House District 56, the Democrats hold 68 of
the 138 seats in the Kentucky General Assembly — 54 in the House of
Representatives, 14 in the Senate. And the Republicans hold 68 seats as well —
45 in the House, 23 in the Senate. There's one independent.
That the two parties are dead even
in total representation is interesting but not as significant as it might
appear to the legislative untutored, because the Democrats control the House
and the Republicans control the Senate, and ruling a chamber is the important
thing.
However, the overall tie is very
significant for its symbolism. For 20 years now, Kentucky has been a
competitive two-party state, in terms of state-house politics (election of
governor, constitutional officers and the General Assembly). Local and federal races
are different, but that’s a story for another day.
All three candidates in tomorrow’s
election reside in Versailles (Woodford County). A win by Democrat James Kay would suck some the wind out of the sails of the Republicans, who have high
hopes of capturing control of the House in 2014. On the other hand, if R’s
nominee, Lyen Crews, get a victory, watch out for the dancing pachyderms.
But in a small turnout special
election — about 25 percent is expected — the outcome is even more unpredictable. Independent candidate, John-Mark Hack, has visions of pulling off
a Wallace Wilkinson-style surprise. Older readers will recall the 1987 governor’s
race, where, in the Democratic primary, John Y. Brown Jr. and Steve Beshear went head-to-head with so much negativity, Wilkinson (creating a wave with the lottery)
surfed in the back door. Conditions seem ripe for Hack to do well, despite not being able
to compete financially in this race.
Below is a profile of the current
Kentucky General Assembly from Who’s What
In Kentucky 2013-2014, the biennial legislative directory produced and
published by Kentucky Roll Call. Click here to review the book.
