The kentucky delegation

congressional officials …

Kentucky is an all-male but electorally stable congressional delegation.

Of the eight 2022-2023 class members, four are lawyers, one is a medical doctor, and two have Master’s degrees. 

The University of Kentucky has conferred five degrees - the highest received by any delegation member.

The average tenure for the delegation currently is 7.25 terms, assuming everyone completes their service through the end of 2024. The longest serving member is Dean of the House, who has been in Congress for 22 terms.

One member of the Kentucky delegation is a freshman.  Neither of the Senators is up for re-election in 2024.

When you look at these profiles, we have given each a letter grade for their effort this Congress, based on various factors, which you will find in What Is Thomas Looking For? These letter grades are probably pretty familiar to you if you have ever been a school student (we hope the answer to that is we all have!)

If you see a meager score for a particular member, it will probably be due to one or two key factors: ethics challenges or anti-democratic behavior.

• Republicans have been hit hard on their lack of pushback on former President Trump and their support of election denying in the 2020 presidential campaign. The unanswered soaring deficit on their watch, the dismantling of allied relationships around the globe, and opposition to funding anti-authoritarian initiatives. The denial of climate change weighs heavily on us as well. We make no secret that transparency and Government in the Sunshine are important to us, and we further argue that some have been awful stewards of this category. For example, one of the eight Kentucky delegation members voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results the same evening as Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol.

• Democrats have been hit hard for their lack of progress on key matters because they do control the United States Senate and have a razor-close margin in the U.S. House of Representatives. They have not been, in our opinion, innovative or necessarily insistent on finding rational, reasonable solutions to the problems plaguing the American public today. We want to see more and better.

• Both have been dinged for being too partisan and not collaborative where evident. In our opinion, being too doctrinaire longest-serving member is the or an obstructionist to good government in the 21st century, which several members of the Kentucky delegation represent, does not get one a good grade from Thomas.

We also indicate what we believe might be the outcome of these Members’ 2024 elections today. The overwhelming majority of House members were re-elected in 2022.

Our prospect ratings fall into three categories:

• Safe Bet - which means what it means. These members of Congress are running strong and look to be overwhelming prospects for re-election at this time. However, we reserve the right to re-categorize their chances if necessary.

• It’s A Race - means this race is too close to call, and we can not reasonably predict who will win this seat.

• Nudging - means the seat is leaning one way or another for this candidate. We have just a small number of current members of Congress in this category. Stay tuned!

So, would you like to meet these fascinating Kentuckians? If so, keep reading on!

what is thomas looking for?

Thomas does not see any of the Kentucky seats being vulnerable in 2024 but because of strife there are several races we are watching out of curiosity:

• KY01 - James Comer’s seat (Incumbent R)

• KY04 - Thomas Massie’s seat (Incumbent R)

the senators

United States Senator & minority leader mitch mcconnell (r)

U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell is the current Minority Leader and the longest such serving Senate party leader in history which also included a stint as Majority Leader from 2015 to 2021. Leader McConnell has announced that he will be stepping down as Minority Leader in the Senate after the November election. A graduate of the University of Louisville with a law degree from the University of Kentucky, Leader McConnell serves on the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee; the Appropriations Committee; the Rules and Administration Committee; and the Intelligence Committee. Married and the father of three, McConnell is in his seventh term in the Senate.

Thomas Take: Not up for re-election in 2024

Thomas Rank: D

Website

United states senator rand paul (R)

Kentucky’s junior senator is serving his third term.  A surgeon by profession before his service in the Senate, Paul serves on the Foreign Relations Committee; the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee; and the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee where he is the ranking member. Senator Paul earned his undergraduate degree from Baylor University and his medical degree from Duke University. He is married and the father of three.

Thomas Take: Not up for re-election in 2024.

Thomas Rank: C

Website

the representatives