Kentucky's 2nd congressional district

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

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, Elizabethtown, and a portion of eastern Louisville. The district has not seen an incumbent defeated since 1884.

Kentucky's 2nd congressional district
Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023
Representative	Brett Guthrie R–Bowling Green
Distribution	57.53% urban[1] 42.47% rural
Population (2023)	775,707[2]
Median household income	$63,080[3]
Ethnicity	83.5% White 5.4% Black 4.2% Hispanic 4.1% Two or more races 2.0% Asian 0.7% other
Cook PVI	R+21[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.

Voter registration and party enrollment as of October 2023[5]
Party		Number of voters	Percentage
	Republican	280,024	49.65%
	Democratic	227,264	40.30%
	Other	33,936	6.02%
	Independent	22,761	4.03%
Total		563,985	100%

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]

Recent statewide elections

Election results from statewide 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 68–28%
	Senate	Paul 61–39%
2019	Governor	Bevin 54–44%
	Attorney General	Cameron 64–36%
2020	President	Trump 67–31%
	Senate	McConnell 62–33%
2022	Senate	Paul 68–32%
2023	Governor	Cameron 54–46%

Composition

#	County	Seat	Population
9	Barren	Glasgow	45,008
27	Breckinridge	Hardinsburg	21,124
29	Bullitt	Shepherdsville	84,863
31	Butler	Morgantown	12,375
59	Daviess	Owensboro	103,458
61	Edmonson	Brownsville	12,448
85	Grayson	Leitchfield	26,825
87	Green	Greensburg	11,468
91	Hancock	Hawesville	8,920
93	Hardin	Elizabethtown	112,273
99	Hart	Munfordville	19,724
111	Jefferson	Louisville	772,114
123	LaRue	Hodgenville	15,303
149	McLean	Calhoun	9,054
163	Meade	Brandenburg	30,131
177	Muhlenberg	Greenville	30,568
179	Nelson	Bardstown	47,730
183	Ohio	Hartford	23,626
227	Warren	Bowling Green	142,229

Cities of 10,000 or more people

• Louisville – 624,444
• Bowling Green – 76,212
• Owensboro – 60,037
• Elizabethtown – 31,892
• Radcliff – 22,953
• Mount Washington – 18,424
• Glasgow – 15,282
• Shepherdsville – 14,486
• Bardstown – 13,739

2,500 – 10,000 people

• Middletown – 9,706
• Hillview – 8,771
• Fort Knox – 7,742
• Vine Grove – 6,880
• Leitchfield – 6,432
• Central City – 5,810
• Greenville – 4,401
• Beaver Dam – 3,490
• Hodgenville – 3,283
• Rineyville – 3,039
• Brandenburg. – 2,929
• Pioneer Village – 2,708
• Hartford – 2,636

List of members representing the district

Member	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history	Location
District created November 8, 1792
Alexander D. Orr (Maysville)	Anti-Administration	November 8, 1792 – March 3, 1795	2nd 3rd 4th	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 (Lexington)	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1797 – March 3, 1803	5th 6th 7th	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 (Lancaster)	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1803 – March 3, 1809	8th 9th 10th	Elected in 1803. Re-elected in 1804. Re-elected in 1806. Retired.	1803–1813 [data missing]
Samuel McKee (Lancaster)	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1809 – March 3, 1813	11th 12th	Elected in 1808. Re-elected in 1810. Redistricted to the 7th district.
Henry Clay (Lexington)	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 missing]
Vacant		January 19, 1814 – March 29, 1814
Joseph H. Hawkins (Lexington)	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 (Lexington)	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 (Lexington)	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1821 – March 3, 1823	17th	Elected in 1820. Redistricted to the 7th district and lost re-election.
Thomas Metcalfe (Carlisle)	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 (Washington)	Anti-Jacksonian	December 1, 1828 – March 3, 1829		Elected to finish Metcalfe's term. Retired.
Nicholas D. Coleman (Washington)	Jacksonian	March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1831	21st	Elected in 1829. Retired.
Thomas A. Marshall (Paris)	Anti-Jacksonian	March 4, 1831 – March 3, 1833	22nd	Elected in 1831. Redistricted to the 12th district.
Albert G. Hawes (Hawesville)	Jacksonian	March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1837	23rd 24th	Redistricted from the 11th district and re-elected in 1833. Re-elected in 1835. Retired.	1833–1843 [data missing]
Edward Rumsey (Greenville)	Whig	March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1839	25th	Elected in 1837. Retired.
Philip Triplett (Owensboro)	Whig	March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1843	26th 27th	Elected in 1839. Re-elected in 1841. Retired.
Willis Green (Green)	Whig	March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1845	28th	Redistricted from the 6th district and re-elected in 1843. Retired.	1843–1853 [data missing]
John H. McHenry (Hartford)	Whig	March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1847	29th	Elected in 1845. Renominated but withdrew prior to election.
Beverly L. Clarke (Franklin)	Democratic	March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1849	30th	Elected in 1847. Retired to become a delegate to the state constitutional convention.
James L. Johnson (Owensboro)	Whig	March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1851	31st	Elected in 1849. Renominated but declined.
Benjamin E. Grey (Hopkinsville)	Whig	March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1855	32nd 33rd	Elected in 1851. Re-elected in 1853. Lost re-election.
					1853–1863 [data missing]
John P. Campbell Jr. (Belleview)	Know Nothing	March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857	34th	Elected in 1855. Renominated but declined.
Samuel Peyton (Hartford)	Democratic	March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1861	35th 36th	Elected in 1857. Re-elected in 1859. Lost renomination.
James S. Jackson (Hopkinsville)	Union Democratic	March 4, 1861 – December 13, 1861	37th	Elected in 1861. Resigned to enter the Union Army.
Vacant		December 13, 1861 – December 1, 1862
George H. Yeaman (Owensboro)	Union Democratic	December 1, 1862 – March 3, 1865	37th 38th	Elected to finish Jackson's term. Re-elected in 1863. Lost re-election.
					1863–1873 [data missing]
Burwell C. Ritter (Hopkinsville)	Democratic	March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1867	39th	Elected in 1865. Retired.
Vacant		March 4, 1867 – March 3, 1869	40th	John Y. Brown was elected in 1867 but the seat was declared vacant due to Brown's alleged disloyalty during the Civil War, and the district refused to elect anyone to fill the vacancy.
William N. Sweeney (Owensboro)	Democratic	March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1871	41st	Elected in 1868. Renominated but declined.
Henry D. McHenry (Hartford)	Democratic	March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1873	42nd	Elected in 1870. Retired.
John Y. Brown (Henderson)	Democratic	March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1877	43rd 44th	Elected in 1872. Re-elected in 1874. Retired.	1873–1883 [data missing]
James A. McKenzie (Long View)	Democratic	March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1883	45th 46th 47th	Elected in 1876. Re-elected in 1878. Re-elected in 1880. Lost renomination.
James F. Clay (Henderson)	Democratic	March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885	48th	Elected in 1882. Lost renomination.	1883–1893 [data missing]
Polk Laffoon (Madisonville)	Democratic	March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1889	49th 50th	Elected in 1884. Re-elected in 1886. Retired.
William T. Ellis (Owensboro)	Democratic	March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1895	51st 52nd 53rd	Elected in 1888. Re-elected in 1890. Re-elected in 1892. Retired.
					1893–1903 [data missing]
John D. Clardy (Newstead)	Democratic	March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1899	54th 55th	Elected in 1894. Re-elected in 1896. Retired.
Henry D. Allen (Morganfield)	Democratic	March 4, 1899 – March 3, 1903	56th 57th	Elected in 1898. Re-elected in 1900. Retired.
Augustus O. Stanley (Henderson)	Democratic	March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1915	58th 59th 60th 61st 62nd 63rd	Elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Re-elected in 1906. Re-elected in 1908. Re-elected in 1910. Re-elected in 1912. Retired to run for U.S. Senator.	1903–1913 [data missing]
					1913–1923 [data missing]
David H. Kincheloe (Madisonville)	Democratic	March 4, 1915 – October 5, 1930	64th 65th 66th 67th 68th 69th 70th 71st	Elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. Re-elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Resigned when appointed to the U.S. Customs Court.
					1923–1933 [data missing]
Vacant		October 5, 1930 – November 4, 1930	71st
John L. Dorsey Jr. (Henderson)	Democratic	November 4, 1930 – March 3, 1931		Elected to finish Kincheloe's term. Retired.
Glover H. Cary (Owensboro)	Democratic	March 4, 1931 – March 3, 1933	72nd	Elected in 1930. Redistricted to the at-large district.
District inactive		March 4, 1933 – March 3, 1935	73rd
Glover H. Cary (Owensboro)	Democratic	March 4, 1935 – December 5, 1936	74th	Redistricted from the at-large district and re-elected in 1934. Died.	1935–1943 [data missing]
Vacant		December 5, 1936 – March 2, 1937
Beverly M. Vincent (Brownsville)	Democratic	March 2, 1937 – January 3, 1945	74th 75th 76th 77th 78th	Elected to finish Cary's term. Also elected to the next full term. Re-elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Retired.
					1943–1953 [data missing]
Earle Clements (Morganfield)	Democratic	January 3, 1945 – January 6, 1948	79th 80th	Elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. Resigned when elected Governor of Kentucky.
Vacant		January 6, 1948 – April 17, 1948	80th
John A. Whitaker (Russellville)	Democratic	April 17, 1948 – December 15, 1951	80th 81st 82nd	Elected to finish Clements's term. Re-elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Died.
Vacant		December 15, 1951 – August 2, 1952	82nd
Garrett Withers (Dixon)	Democratic	August 2, 1952 – April 30, 1953	82nd 83rd	Elected to finish Whitaker's term. Re-elected later in 1952. Died.
					1953–1963 [data missing]
Vacant		April 30, 1953 – August 1, 1953	83rd
William Natcher (Bowling Green)	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	Elected to finish Wither's term. Re-elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Re-elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Re-elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Died.
					1963–1973 [data missing]
					1973–1983 [data missing]
					1983–1993 [data missing]
					1993–2003 [data missing]
Vacant		March 29, 1994 – May 24, 1994	103rd
Ron Lewis (Cecilia)	Republican	May 24, 1994 – January 3, 2009	103rd 104th 105th 106th 107th 108th 109th 110th	Elected to finish Natcher's term. Re-elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Retired.
					2003–2013
Brett Guthrie (Bowling Green)	Republican	January 3, 2009 – present	111th 112th 113th 114th 115th 116th 117th 118th	Elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022.
					2013–2023 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)
					2023–present

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

2020

2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brett Guthrie (incumbent)	255,735	70.9
	Democratic	Hank Linderman	94,643	26.3
	Libertarian	Robert Lee Perry	7,588	2.1
	Populist	Lewis Carter	2,431	0.7
	Write-in		2	0.0
Total votes			360,399	100.0
	Republican hold

2022

2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brett Guthrie (incumbent)	170,487	71.8
	Democratic	Hank Linderman	66,769	28.1
Total votes			237,256	100.0
	Republican hold

See also

• United States portal

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

References

1. Geography. "Congressional Districts Relationship Files (state-based) Bureau". www.census.gov. Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
2. "My Congressional District". www.census.gov. Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census Bureau.
3. "My Congressional District Bureau". www.census.gov. Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census Bureau.
4. "2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List". Cook Political Report. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
5. "Registration Statistics". Kentucky State Board of Elections. January 2022.
6. "Kentucky Administrative Regulations 31KAR4:150". Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. November 2005. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
7. "Register To Vote". Kentucky State Board of Elections. August 2003. Retrieved February 6, 2014.

• 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

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