Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY) on Tuesday heralded the results of a special election in Kentucky as evidence that the Democratic Party is “overperforming.”
Gary Clemons’s landslide victory over Republican Calvin Leach in the Kentucky Senate’s 37th District “continues the trend of Democrats outperforming previous elections by wide margins all over the country,” Beshear said in a statement on X.
Clemons, who won the Tuesday election with about 72% of the vote, said his career in the army and as a labor leader prepared him for the role.
“I understand the struggles of veterans and working families because I’ve lived them, and I am ready to take that same fight to Frankfort,” Clemons said.
Republicans across the country have faced the historic disadvantage that the incumbent party experiences during an off-year election. The party also faces the additional challenge of low voter turnout, a common occurrence in special elections.
In the state Senate race this week, 5,178 ballots were cast, compared to 41,584 in 2024 and 34,165 in 2020.
The race teed up in a solidly blue district this year when Democratic state Sen. David Yates vacated the seat after being appointed Jefferson County clerk.
Yates won reelection in 2024, defeating Leach by a margin of 60% to 40%. Yates first clinched victory in the 2020 election when he ran unopposed. That year, he won a four-way Democratic primary with 67% of the vote.
Before 2020, the seat was held for nearly 15 years by Democrat Perry Clark, who last ran uncontested for reelection in 2016. Clark defeated Republican challenger Chris Thieneman in 2012 with approximately 58% of the vote, and kept his seat in the 2008 election against Republican Doug Hawkins with 56% of the vote.
Like Beshear, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee hailed Clemons’s performance in the 37th District this week as signaling “momentum” for the party.
“State Democrats are overperforming and winning special elections across every part of the country,” DLCC President Heather Williams said in a statement. “The DLCC congratulates Sen.-elect Clemons on this victory as we gear up to compete on our most expansive target map ever in 2026, including making real inroads in red territory. Momentum is on our side as voters turn away from MAGA Republicans and back state Democrats who are fighting to lower costs. We must keep up this enthusiasm as we tackle our next special elections just weeks away, where majorities in our most competitive chambers are on the line.”
However, some have warned against reading too much into Democratic victories this year, with Sen. Chris Coon (D-DE) saying this week that his party’s “success in larger elections in 2026 and especially 2028 will require a more affirmative vision.”
“If we want to win again, we need to offer voters a concise, accessible framework that rests on the ideas that drew me and so many others to the party in the first place,” he continued.