Republicans release Congressional, state senate redistricting maps; Barr gets boost
Senate Republican leadership released proposed maps for Kentucky’s U.S. Congressional Districts and State Senate Districts Tuesday evening.
The maps include dramatic changes to the state’s 1st Congressional District, occupied by James Comer. The map snakes the district starting at the tip of Western Kentucky all the way to Frankfort.
At the very northeastern tip of Comer’s proposed district is a Franklin County house he and his wife purchased in 2012, according to the Franklin County Property Value Administrator (PVA). Comer also owns a house with his wife in Monroe County, where he is from, as well as multiple farm properties there according to the Monroe County PVA.
Technically, residency within a given district is not a requirement to run for Congress. The only residency requirement for U.S. House of Representatives candidates is that they live in the state they represent.
The congressional map gives Central Kentucky’s 6th District U.S. Rep. Andy Barr a major boost. It would remove Franklin County from the 6th. The county is traditionally more aligned with Democrats — though Barr won the county in 2020. Barr also picked up Republican strongholds in Wilmore, Garrard County and Mercer County, but lost some in portions of Bath County and Wolfe County.
Barr’s 2018 3.2 percentage point win over Democrat challenger Amy McGrath was the most recent close congressional race in the state.
As expected, Eastern Kentucky’s 5th Congressional District grew. Congressman Hal Rogers would pick up Ashland as well as Wolfe, Menifee and much of Bath County. The 2nd District lost a tail that extended into Central Kentucky, representing communities as far East as Wilmore. The 3rd District is left largely untouched.
The proposed senate map leaves Fayette County with only one senate district entirely within the county line. Previously, both Senate Districts 12 and 13 were located exclusively in the county. Six districts with other counties in them now share parts of Lexington.
In a press release sent along with the new maps, legislative sponsor Sen. Robby Mills, R-Henderson, chair of the Senate State and Local Government Committee, emphasized that the maps meet all legal requirements. Those requirements are that districts stay within a certain window of population total and that districts should be “contiguous” and preserve whole counties when possible.
“Ensuring equal representation among the state’s population is a great responsibility entrusted to the legislative branch,” Mills said. “We have worked hard to ensure these maps meet the requirements outlined by federal law and the Constitutions of the United States and Kentucky.”
This story was originally published January 4, 2022 at 6:51 PM.
