Democrat Gary Clemons didn’t just win Kentucky’s vacant Senate District 37 seat Tuesday—he obliterated the competition. With 72.6 percent of the vote to Republican Calvin Leach’s 25.1 percent, Clemons turned what should have been a routine Democratic hold into a statement: the party of working families is surging, even in traditionally sleepy special elections.
“Another election, another massive Democratic overperformance, this time in Kentucky,” said Democratic National Committee spokesman Abhi Rahman. “While Republicans keep bending the knee to Trump and billionaires, Democrats are fighting for working families. That’s why Democrats are consistently overperforming in 2025 and will continue building momentum into 2026 and beyond.”
Clemons, a union leader and Army veteran, ran on a clear, no-nonsense platform: support working families, lower everyday costs, create jobs, and represent blue-collar interests. “I’ve spent my life working alongside the people who keep Louisville running—in factories, in shops, and in all jobs important in our neighborhoods–union or not,” he said, highlighting the authenticity that voters clearly responded to.
And respond they did. Clemons’ 47.5-point margin doesn’t just hold the seat—it shatters previous benchmarks. In 2024, David Yates took the seat by 20 points. Kamala Harris carried the area by a mere six. This wasn’t just a victory; it was a landslide in a low-turnout race of just over 5,000 ballots.
“State Democrats are overperforming and winning special elections across every part of the country,” said Heather Williams, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. “Momentum is on our side as voters turn away from MAGA Republicans and back state Democrats who are fighting to lower costs.”
And she’s right. From Virginia to Rhode Island to Tennessee, Democrats are consistently outperforming—even when they don’t win. In Virginia, James Walkinshaw crushed his state House opponent by roughly 50 points, and in Rhode Island, Stefano Famiglietti scored a 67-point victory. Even in Tennessee’s deep-red 7th Congressional District, Democrat Aftyn Behn narrowed Trump’s 22-point margin to just nine points.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear celebrated Clemons’ victory on X: “Continuing the trend of Democrats outperforming previous elections by wide margins all over the country, congratulations to State Senator-Elect Gary Clemons in KY’s 37th Senate District…I was proud to campaign for Gary and know he will be a strong voice for working families in the state Senate!”
Zachary Donnini, head of data science at Vote Hub, offered a warning to Republicans: “The new reality of consistent Democratic overperformances in recent special elections, combined with the GOP’s push for mid-decade redistricting, is likely to create real tension for Republican incumbents through the rest of the 2020s.”
Clemons will be sworn in on January 6, just in time for Kentucky’s 2026 legislative session, giving the Democrats a labor-focused voice in a Republican-dominated chamber. And with a string of special elections coming fast in Iowa, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and Minnesota, Republicans may be facing a rough few months.
