The contests include a rematch in a politically divided House district, a former state senator seeking a return to office in Eastern Kentucky, and challenges to two Republican senators in the Louisville region. The campaigns touch on public schools, health care, affordability and the influence of outside money.

In House District 45, Democratic Rep. Adam Moore is defending his seat against Republican Killian Timoney, who previously represented the district from 2021 through 2025. The district includes parts of Jessamine and Fayette counties and is considered politically competitive.

Timoney lost the 2024 Republican primary to Thomas Jefferson, a Liberty Republican who criticized Timoney over his vote against legislation concerning transgender youths’ medical treatment and public schools. Jefferson then lost the general election to Moore.

Timoney said he wants to return because he felt his time in the legislature ended before he had finished his work. He also argues that a Republican representative can be more effective in a chamber controlled by the GOP.

“In the supermajority, you get bills passed and you get projects, and if you’re not, you don’t,” Timoney said.

Moore said he expects a serious contest and is continuing to campaign. He has emphasized good-paying jobs, affordable health care and investment in public schools, along with efforts to establish safeguards for data centers. He described himself as a bipartisan lawmaker focused on practical issues rather than what he called culture-war politics.

“I know he’s a real candidate,” Moore said of Timoney. “I’m sure he’s working hard, and that’s why I just have to keep working hard.”

House District 95 is an open-seat race between Democrat Johnny Ray Turner and Republican Tanner Hesterberg. Democrat Ashley Tackett Laferty, who has represented the district since 2019, is not seeking reelection and is running for Floyd District Judge.

Turner served in the state Senate from 2001 to 2021. He lost his 2020 reelection bid to Republican Johnnie Turner, who died in 2024 after being injured in an accident. Johnny Ray Turner said the House race gives him an opportunity to return to public service in a smaller district closer to his community, particularly in Floyd and Pike counties.

He said he would draw on relationships built during his Senate tenure to help Eastern Kentucky and work across party lines. Hesterberg, an attorney, did not respond to an interview request, according to the campaign reporting.

In Senate District 36, Republican incumbent Julie Raque Adams faces Democrat Sarah Cole McIntosh, a former Jefferson County School Board member. McIntosh said her school-board experience led her to conclude that local challenges are often shaped by decisions made in Frankfort. She has pledged to represent constituents rather than corporate lobbyists and said she expects to be outspent but will campaign vigorously.

Republican outside groups have spent more than $620,000 to support Adams’ reelection, according to an October report. Earlier reporting said Adams had received $80,500 since 2023 from Kentucky Strong, an inactive political committee she headed that has been funded by lobbying interests in recent years. Adams did not respond to an interview request.

Senate District 6 features Republican incumbent Lindsey Tichenor and Democrat Christian Furman, a physician and Prospect City Council member. Tichenor, first elected in 2022, is facing a Democratic challenger for the first time in the district, which includes portions of Jefferson County as well as Oldham and Trimble counties.

Furman said her work as a doctor has taught her to listen and collaborate, skills she believes are useful in the Senate. She said she would work with Republicans to advance proposals and has focused her campaign on making Kentucky more affordable, safer and healthier.

Tichenor has backed proposals involving diversity, equity and inclusion programs in public schools, minors’ attendance at drag performances, and school-district transparency in spending. She did not respond to an interview request.

Another House race changed after a Republican candidate dropped out, leaving Democratic Rep. Anne Donworth unopposed in District 76. The candidate cited a job promotion as the reason for withdrawing, according to the report.

The November contests come alongside a U.S. Senate election to replace retiring Republican Mitch McConnell, a proposed constitutional amendment and local races. While Democrats are seeking to add seats in Frankfort, the outcome of the legislative races will determine whether the GOP’s large majorities narrow or remain intact.