Governor of Kentucky

Kentucky Governor
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$152,181
2024 FY Budget:	$7,271,300
Term limits:	2 consecutive terms
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Kentucky Constitution, Article 6, the Executive Department
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Governor of Kentucky Andy Beshear Democratic Party Assumed office: December 10, 2019
Elections
Next election:	November 2, 2027
Last election:	November 7, 2023
Other Kentucky Executive Offices
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Commissioner of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Cabinet Secretary • Public Service Commission

The Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is an elected constitutional officer, the head of the executive branch and the highest state office in Kentucky. The governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and is limited to two consecutive terms.

Kentucky has a divided government where neither party holds a trifecta. The Democratic Party controls the office of governor, while the Republican Party controls both chambers of the state legislature.

Kentucky has a divided government where neither party holds a triplex. The Democratic Party controls the office of governor, while the Republican Party controls the offices of attorney general and secretary of state.

See also: Kentucky State Legislature, Kentucky House of Representatives, Kentucky State Senate

Current officeholder

The 63rd and current governor is Andy Beshear (D). He was elected on November 5, 2019, and sworn in on December 10, 2019.

Authority

The state Constitution addresses the office of the governor in Article 6, the Executive Department.

Under Article IV, Section 69:

The supreme executive power of the Commonwealth shall be vested in a Chief Magistrate, who shall be styled the "Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky."

Qualifications

State Executives
Current Governors
Gubernatorial Elections
2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014
Current Lt. Governors
Lt. Governor Elections
2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014

A candidate for governor is required to be:

• at least 30 years old
• a U.S. citizen
• have resided in the state for at least six years preceding the general election

Elections

Kentucky state government organizational chart

Kentucky belongs to the handful of states that hold off-year elections, that is, elections in off-numbered years that are neither presidential nor midterm years. In Kentucky's case, elections are held in the year after a midterm and before a presidential; thus, 2015, 2019, 2023, and 2027 are all gubernatorial election years. Legally, the inauguration is always held on the fifth Tuesday after an election.

In the event of a tie, a joint session of the legislature shall cast ballots, as set out in § 90.

Results

2023

See also: Kentucky gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2023

General election

General election for Governor of Kentucky

Incumbent Andy Beshear defeated Daniel Cameron and Brian Fishback in the general election for Governor of Kentucky on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Andy Beshear (D)	52.5	694,482
		Daniel Cameron (R)	47.5	627,457
		Brian Fishback (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	83

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,322,022
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Kentucky

Incumbent Andy Beshear defeated Geoff M. Young and Peppy Martin in the Democratic primary for Governor of Kentucky on May 16, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Andy Beshear	91.3	176,589
		Geoff M. Young	5.1	9,865
		Peppy Martin	3.6	6,913

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 193,367
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Kentucky

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of Kentucky on May 16, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Daniel Cameron	47.7	144,576
		Ryan Quarles	21.7	65,718
		Kelly Knight Craft	17.2	52,170
		Eric Deters	5.8	17,464
		Mike Harmon	2.6	7,797
		Alan Keck	2.4	7,317
		David Cooper	0.8	2,282
		Jacob Clark	0.6	1,900
		Robbie Smith	0.5	1,388
		Bob DeVore	0.3	931
		Johnny Ray Rice	0.2	726
		Denny Ormerod	0.2	696

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 302,965
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Savannah Maddox (R)

2019

See also: Kentucky gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2019

General election

General election for Governor of Kentucky

Andy Beshear defeated incumbent Matt Bevin and John Hicks in the general election for Governor of Kentucky on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Andy Beshear (D)	49.2	709,890
		Matt Bevin (R)	48.8	704,754
		John Hicks (L)	2.0	28,433
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	46

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,443,123 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Kentucky

Andy Beshear defeated Rocky Adkins, Adam Edelen, and Geoff M. Young in the Democratic primary for Governor of Kentucky on May 21, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Andy Beshear	37.9	149,448
		Rocky Adkins	31.9	125,981
		Adam Edelen	27.9	110,161
		Geoff M. Young	2.3	8,923

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 394,513
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Kentucky

Incumbent Matt Bevin defeated Robert Goforth, William Woods, and Ike Lawrence in the Republican primary for Governor of Kentucky on May 21, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matt Bevin	52.3	136,069
		Robert Goforth	38.9	101,345
		William Woods	5.5	14,440
		Ike Lawrence	3.2	8,412

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 260,266
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2015

See also: Kentucky gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2015

There was a regularly scheduled election for governor in 2015. Steve Beshear (D) was not eligible for re-election due to term limits. The primary election occurred on May 19, 2015, and the general election took place on November 3, 2015.

Republican Matt Bevin and his running mate, Jenean M. Hampton, defeated Attorney General Jack Conway and independent Drew Curtis.

Governor and Lieutenant Governor, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Matt Bevin/Jenean M. Hampton	52.5%	511,771
	Democrat	Jack Conway/Sannie Overly	43.8%	426,827
	Independent	Drew Curtis/Heather Curtis	3.7%	35,627
Total Votes				974,225
Election results via Kentucky Secretary of State

Term limits

See also: States with gubernatorial term limits

Kentucky governors are restricted to two consecutive terms in office, after which they must wait four years before being eligible to run again.

Kentucky Constitution, Section 71

The Governor shall be ineligible for the succeeding four years after the expiration of any second consecutive term for which he shall have been elected.

Partisan composition

The chart below shows the partisan breakdown of Kentucky governors from 1992 to 2013.

Vacancies

See also: How gubernatorial vacancies are filled

Details of vacancies are addressed under Article 6, Section 84.

Whatever the circumstances, if the elected governor is unable or unwilling to discharge the office, the duties pass to the lieutenant governor. If the governor is on trial for any reason, the Chief Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court must be the presiding officer.

Regarding physical or mental unfitness for office, the Attorney General of Kentucky may petition the Supreme Court for a judgment that the governor must be removed either temporarily or permanently.

Duties

Substantial power is granted to the Governor of Kentucky. Historically, the office has been regarded as one of the most powerful executive positions in the United States.

With regards to the legislature

The governor exercises traditional veto power, which can be overridden by a majority of both houses of the General Assembly. He or she is also granted the privilege of a line-item veto. As with the U.S. President, the governor has the option of a pocket veto. Unlike the federal pocket veto, however, in the event that the legislature dismisses, preventing the return of the bill by the governor, the bill becomes law after 10 days unless the governor explicitly vetoes it. With the federal pocket veto, the bill is considered vetoed after 10 days if the legislature dismisses.

The governor may, in exceptional circumstances, call the General Assembly into special session. This is done by issuing a proclamation that includes the issue or issues to be addressed in the special session. Consideration of any other issues during the session is forbidden. Special sessions are to take place in the state capital except in cases of danger from enemies or disease; in such cases, the governor specifies the location of the session.

The governor is required to give a "State of the Commonwealth" address periodically to the General Assembly. Traditionally, this is an annual address. The governor is also charged with presenting a budget to the General Assembly every other year.

With regards to the judiciary

He or she is granted the traditional executive power of pardon except in cases of impeachment or treason.

With regards to appointments

The governor is given broad appointment power, and names many state commissioners and department heads without the need for legislative approval. The governor is also empowered to reorganize the state government or reduce it in size.

Other duties and privileges of the office include:

• Serving as commander-in-chief of Kentucky's military forces, unless those forces have already been federalized (§ 75)

• Filling all vacancies when the manner is not otherwise prescribed (§ 76)

• Remitting fines and forfeitures, commuting sentences, and granting reprieves, in addition to the judicial pardon (§ 77)

• Requiring written reports from any other member of the Executive on any aspect of that individual's job (§ 78)

Divisions

Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for information that describes the divisions (if any exist) of a state executive office. That information for the Governor of Kentucky has not yet been added. After extensive research we were unable to identify any relevant information on state official websites. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.

State budget

Role in state budget

See also: Kentucky state budget and finances

The state operates on a biennial budget cycle. The sequence of key events in the budget process is as follows:

1. Budget instructions are sent to state agencies in July of the year preceding the start of the biennium.
2. State agencies submit their budget requests by November 15.
3. The governor submits his or her proposed budget to the legislature 10 legislative days after it convenes in early January.
4. The state legislature adopts a budget in April. The biennium begins July 1.

Kentucky is one of 44 states in which the governor has line item veto authority.

The governor is statutorily required to submit a balanced budget proposal. The legislature is constitutionally required to pass a balanced budget.

Governor's office budget

The Office of the Governor's budget for fiscal year 2024 was $7,271,300.

Compensation

See also: Comparison of gubernatorial salaries and Compensation of state executive officers

The salary of the governor and lieutenant governor is determined by the Kentucky State Legislature. Section 74 of the Kentucky Constitution maintains that the governor's pay is fixed by law. Section 96 of the Kentucky Constitution stipulates compensation for duties must be paid as a salary and in no other way.

Kentucky Constitution, Section 74

Compensation of Governor and Lieutenant Governor. The Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall at stated times receive for the performance of the duties of their respective offices compensation to be fixed by law.

Kentucky Constitution, Section 96

Compensation of Constitutional State officers. All officers mentioned in Section 95 shall be paid for their services by salary, and not otherwise.

2022

In 2022, the officer's salary was $152,181, according to the Council of State Governments.

2021

In 2021, the governor received a salary of $152,181, according to the Council of State Governments.

2020

In 2020, the governor received a salary of $152,181, according to the Council of State Governments.

2019

In 2019, the governor received a salary of $148,781, according to the Council of State Governments.

2018

In 2018, the governor received a salary of $145,992, according to the Council of State Governments.

2017

In 2017, the governor received a salary of $142,976, according to the Council of State Governments.

2016

In 2016, the governor received a salary of $140,070, according to the Council of State Governments.

2015

In 2015, the governor’s salary was $151,643, but Gov. Steve Beshear (D) took a voluntary 10% pay decrease, according to the Council of State Governments.

2014

In 2014, the governor received a salary of $138,012, according to the Council of State Governments.

2013

In 2013, the governor's salary was $153,970, reflecting a voluntary 10 percent salary reduction taken by Gov. Steve Beshear.

2012

In 2012, the governor was paid an estimated $151,643, according to the Council of State Governments.

Historical officeholders

There have been 63 governors of Kentucky since 1792. Of the 63 officeholders, nine were Republican, 34 were Democrat, eight were Jeffersonian Republican, nine were Whig, one was Jacksonian Democrat, one was American, and one was Democratic-Republican.

List of officeholders from 1792-present
#	Name	Tenure	Party
1	Isaac Shelby	1792 - 1796	Jeffersonian Republican
2	James Garrard	1796 - 1804	Jeffersonian Republican
3	Christopher Greenup	1804 - 1808	Jeffersonian Republican
4	Charles Scott	1808 - 1812	Jeffersonian Republican
5	Isaac Shelby	1812 - 1816	Jeffersonian Republican
6	George Madison	1816 - 1816	Jeffersonian Republican
7	Gabriel Slaughter	1816 - 1820	Jeffersonian Republican
8	John Adair	1820 - 1824	Democratic-Republican
9	Joseph Desha	1824 - 1828	Jeffersonian Republican
10	Thomas Metcalfe	1828 - 1832	Whig
11	John Breathitt	1832 - 1834	Jacksonian Democrat
12	James Turner Morehead	1834 - 1836	Whig
13	James Clark	1836 - 1839	Whig
14	Charles Anderson Wickliffe	1839 - 1840	Whig
15	Robert Perkins Letcher	1840 - 1844	Whig
16	William Owsley	1844 - 1848	Whig
17	John Jordan Crittenden	1848 - 1850	Whig
18	John Larue Helm	1850 - 1851	Whig
19	Lazarus Whitehead Powell	1851 - 1855	Democratic
20	Charles Slaughter Morehead	1855 - 1859	American
21	Beriah Magoffin	1859 - 1862	Democratic
22	James Fisher Robinson	1862 - 1863	Democratic
23	Thomas Elliott Bramlette	1863 - 1867	Democratic
24	John Larue Helm	1867	Whig
25	John White Stevenson	1867 - 1871	Democratic
26	Preston Hopkins Leslie	1871 - 1875	Democratic
27	James Bennett McCreary	1875 - 1879	Democratic
28	Luke Pryor Blackburn	1879 - 1883	Democratic
29	James Proctor Knott	1883 - 1887	Democratic
30	Simon Bolivar Buckner	1887 - 1891	Democratic
31	John Young Brown	1891 - 1895	Democratic
32	William O. Bradley	1895 - 1899	Republican
33	William Sylvester Taylor	1899 - 1900	Republican
34	William Goebel	1900 - 1900	Democratic
35	John Crepps Wickliffe Beckham	1900 - 1907	Democratic
36	Augustus Everett Willson	1907 - 1911	Republican
37	James Bennett McCreary	1911 - 1915	Democratic
38	Augustus Owsley Stanley	1915 - 1919	Democratic
39	James Dixon Black	1919 - 1919	Democratic
40	Edwin Porch Morrow	1919 - 1923	Republican
41	William Jason Fields	1923 - 1927	Democratic
42	Flem Davis Sampson	1927 - 1931	Republican
43	Ruby Laffoon	1931 - 1935	Democratic
44	Albert Benjamin Chandler	1935 - 1939	Democratic
45	Keen Johnson	1939 - 1943	Democratic
46	Simeon Slavens Willis	1943 - 1947	Republican
47	Earle Chester Clements	1947 - 1950	Democratic
48	Lawrence Winchester Wetherby	1950 - 1955	Democratic
49	Albert Benjamin Chandler	1955 - 1959	Democratic
50	Bert Thomas Combs	1959 - 1963	Democratic
51	Edward Thompson Breathitt	1963 - 1967	Democratic
52	Louie Broady Nunn	1967 - 1971	Republican
53	Wendell Hampton Ford	1971 - 1974	Democratic
54	Julian Morton Carroll	1974 - 1979	Democratic
55	John Y. Brown	1979 - 1983	Democratic
56	Martha Layne Collins	1983 - 1987	Democratic
57	Wallace G. Wilkinson	1987 - 1991	Democratic
58	Brereton C. Jones	1991 - 1995	Democratic
59	Paul E. Patton	1995 - 2003	Democratic
60	Ernie Fletcher	2003 - 2007	Republican
61	Steve Beshear	2007 - 2015	Democratic
62	Matt Bevin	2015 - 2019	Republican
63	Andy Beshear	2019 - present	Democratic

1899 gubernatorial election

Kentucky's 1899 gubernatorial election brought widespread civil disorder to the state and was only decided following a protracted legal battle.

At the time, state law prohibited governors from serving consecutive terms. As a result, then-Gov. William Bradley (R), the first Republican elected as Kentucky's governor, was ineligible to seek re-election. Attorney General William Taylor (R) won the Republican nomination, decided at the time by a convention rather than a primary election.

The Democratic convention was more hotly-contested, with candidates including state Sen. William Goebel (D), 1895 gubernatorial nominee Parker Watkins Hardin (D), and former Rep. William Johnson Stone (D). After four days and 24 rounds of voting, no candidate received enough votes to secure the nomination.

In response to suggestions that the delegates disband and schedule a second convention, Goebel proposed that the last-place nominee on the following, 25th, round of voting be eliminated. Seeking a resolution to the convention, the delegates agreed. Knowing that his own platform had more in common with last-place Stone's than with Hardin's, Goebel instructed some of his delegates to vote instead for Hardin in the 25th round, leading to Stone's elimination. In the 26th round of voting, Goebel won the nomination with the support of many of Stone's delegates. Goebel's tactics at the convention angered some Democrats, who held a second convention and nominated former Gov. John Y. Brown (D).

The officially-reported returns indicated a narrow win for Taylor, who defeated Goebel by 2,383 votes. Brown received 14,050 votes—nearly six times the margin between Taylor and Goebel. Supporters of Goebel alleged election fraud, leading the majority-Democratic legislature to appoint an 11-member select committee to investigate the election's outcome. Although membership on the committee was officially random, only one Republican legislator was selected.

As the committee met to deliberate the election's results, Goebel was mortally wounded by a shot from the Executive Building while entering the state capitol. Armed supporters of both parties had flooded the streets and then-Gov. Taylor ordered the state legislature to move to the Republican stronghold of London, Kentucky.

The day after the shooting, the select committee declared Goebel the winner of the election and swore him in on his deathbed. Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial nominee John Beckham (D) was sworn in as lieutenant governor and acting governor. Three days later, Goebel died.

Goebel's death led to a standoff between two parallel state governments—a Republican-controlled government in London and a Democratic-controlled government in Louisville. An agreement had been brokered under which Taylor and his lieutenant governor would retire and hand the governor's office to Beckham. However, Taylor withdrew his support and said that he preferred to allow the courts to decide the election.

After the state's highest court ruled in favor of Beckham and the Democratic government, an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied on the grounds that the dispute was not a federal matter. By May 1900, the Democratic and Republican governments had been disbanded and regular order was restored. Beckham served out the remainder of Goebel's term and was elected governor in his own right in the 1903 election. Taylor left the state for Indiana. The identity of Goebel's assassin was never determined.

History

Partisan balance 1992-2013

See also: Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States and Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States, Kentucky

Partisan breakdown of the Kentucky governorship from 1992-2013

From 1992 to 2013, in Kentucky there were Democratic governors in office for 18 years, including the last six, while there were Republican governors in office for four years. Kentucky is one of seven states that were run by a Democratic governor for more than 80 percent of the years between 1992 and 2013.

Across the country, there were 493 years of Democratic governors (44.82 percent) and 586 years of Republican governors (53.27 percent) from 1992 to 2013.

Over the course of the 22-year study, state governments became increasingly more partisan. At the outset of the study period (1992), 18 of the 49 states with partisan legislatures had single-party trifectas and 31 states had divided governments. In 2013, only 13 states had divided governments, while single-party trifectas held sway in 36 states, the most in the 22 years studied.

The chart below shows the partisan composition of the Office of the Governor of Kentucky, the Kentucky State Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1992 to 2013.

SQLI and partisanship

The chart below depicts the partisanship of the Kentucky state government and the state's SQLI ranking for the years studied. For the SQLI, the states were ranked from 1-50, with 1 being the best and 50 the worst. Kentucky has been in the bottom-10 of the SQLI ranking regardless of its Democratic trifecta or years under divided government. The state’s highest ranking came in 1998 and 1999 (43rd) under a Democratic trifecta, while the state’s lowest ranking came in between the years 2003 and 2011 (48th) under divided government. The state has never had a Republican trifecta.

• SQLI average with Democratic trifecta: 45.00
• SQLI average with Republican trifecta: N/A
• SQLI average with divided government: 47.31

Chart displaying the partisanship of Kentucky government from 1992-2013 and the State Quality of Life Index (SQLI).

State profile

Demographic data for Kentucky
	Kentucky	U.S.
Total population:	4,424,611	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	39,486	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	87.6%	73.6%
Black/African American:	7.9%	12.6%
Asian:	1.3%	5.1%
Native American:	0.2%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.1%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	3.3%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	84.2%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	22.3%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$43,740	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	22.7%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Kentucky. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Kentucky

Kentucky voted Republican in all six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, one is located in Kentucky, accounting for 0.5 percent of the total pivot counties.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Kentucky had one Retained Pivot County, 0.55 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

More Kentucky coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Kentucky
• United States congressional delegations from Kentucky
• Public policy in Kentucky
• Endorsers in Kentucky
• Kentucky fact checks
• More...

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Kentucky Governor. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Governor of Kentucky - Google News

Contact information

700 Capitol Avenue, Suite 100
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Phone:502-564-2611
Fax:502-564-2517

External links

• Office of the Kentucky Governor