Exit Interview: Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson might not be done running for office
Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson was political teflon — until she wasn’t.
A rising star in the Democratic party, Stevenson routinely won her politically “purple” Lexington-area House District 88 seat by the skin of her teeth. As caucus chair, she was set up well to become the next House Democratic floor leader in the 2025 legislative session.
Then she found herself on the losing end of a close general election race against Representative-Elect Vanessa Grossl this year, falling to the rookie Republican politician by about one percentage point.
“When you have a national movement combined with a gerrymandered map, you know, at some point it’s going to catch up with you,” Stevenson said. “My luck was probably going to run out at some point.”
Stevenson was a central voice in the effort against Amendment 2, the ballot question on public school funding that nearly all elected Democrats in the state railed against. The amendment was defeated in a resounding 65-35 statewide result, losing in all 120 Kentucky counties.
With Democrats notching their second victory against a nonpartisan ballot — they generally fought hard against the anti-abortion rights amendment question in 2022 — a question arises: why isn’t that resulting in state legislative gains? Stevenson says “education” on issues is the key.
“I would knock on a door and somebody would say, ‘Why did Andy Beshear put this on the ballot?’ And I’m like, ‘Andy Beshear doesn’t do that, and this is how that works,’” Stevenson said. “I think we need to be doing a better job of connecting dots for people. We can’t assume that everyone is keeping up with what’s happening in Frankfort and how all of this happens.”
In her interview with the Herald-Leader, Stevenson also offered thoughts on Beshear (he’d do “a great job” as president), where the national Democrats could go from here (lean toward labor and middle America) and her own future (very little is off the table).
She had little to say on the potential field for the Democratic field in 2027’s gubernatorial primary — Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and former House leader Rocky Adkins are seen as leading candidates — and the ongoing sexual misconduct investigation into Rep. Daniel Grossberg, D-Louisville.
Answers have been edited for space and clarity.
Herald-Leader: You’ve won a ton of close political races. How did it feel — how does it feel — to be on the other end?
Cherlynn Stevenson: You know, I was always taught to be humble in victory and gracious in defeat, and I’m trying my best to be that way. It obviously wasn’t what I wanted, and a lot of people have been surprised, and a lot of people have reached out. It has been hard, but I never meant to do this as a career, so we’ll see. When one door closes, a window, at least, opens, so we’ll see what happens.
H-L: To ask about another candidate, not your opponent: Donald Trump, I think, won the 88th House District by almost seven points. What was his appeal, not just to voters nationwide — plenty of people are talking about that — but in your district?
CS: I wish I knew. I really don’t know. I think what you see nationwide is probably what was on the ground here. I think a lot of people were really worried about the economy. We’ve seen worldwide that administrations everywhere, no matter which side they were on, lost and parties got flipped because of the economy; it’s still a global issue because of the pandemic and resulting inflation and then corporate greed taking advantage of that. So I think that played a really big part. And I hate to say it, but I think we can see now that America is not ready for a female president, and that pains me greatly to say that.
H-L: With a month of distance to it now, what do you make of the final result in your district? What’s the “why” there?
CS: I think when you have a national movement combined with a gerrymandered map, at some point it’s going to catch up with you. My district, from the get-go, has always leaned red. I’ve always run in a “pinkish” purple district. My luck was probably going to run out at some point. We worked really, really hard — harder than we’ve ever worked. It was by far the largest, most professional campaign that we had run. I really don’t think that there’s anything that we could have done differently to change the results. I’m super, super proud of my team and the way that they have worked so hard and so diligently for the last seven years.
H-L: From the numbers that I’ve seen, there’s a diminishing amount of people splitting their tickets. When you’ve got Harris only winning about 17 out of 100 districts compared to 34% of all voters, how can state-level Democrats expect to gain legislative power? Or is there only so much the party on the state level and caucuses on the state level can do until the national mood changes?
CS: I think that there are some things that we can do, and I think that it’s good that it’s an off year. I think in this building year, that’s something that the caucus and the party really need to talk about and think about and put a lot of effort into. There’s a lot of party rebuilding that needs to happen on our side, but we know that the pendulum always swings, and, at this point, I think the country is poised for a big swing back the other way. So I think that finding a way to capitalize on the momentum that we all think will be coming and really getting out, doing a lot of town halls, talking to folks, rebuilding local parties, is something that we need to do.
H-L: We’ve seen it with abortion and to some extent with education — in ‘22 and ‘24 when both of those issues were on the ballot — with state legislative Democrats trying to leverage amendment issues to their advantage. That didn’t work in either case. Are there any state-level issues that will actually animate Democrats to win, or is it mostly just about organization and hoping that the national mood shifts?
CS: Well, I think the national mood needs to shift a little bit, but I think we need to do a better job of connecting those issues to the candidates — making sure that the electorate understands how some of those issues get on the ballot. You know, I would knock on a door and somebody would say, “Why did Andy Beshear put this on the ballot?” And I’m like, “Andy Beshear doesn’t do that, and this is how that works.”
Sometimes people are busy in their lives, right? They’re working multiple jobs, taking care of kids, mom is probably cleaning up the kitchen, the laundry, all that good stuff, then falls into bed, gets up and like it’s Groundhog Day all over again. I think we need to be doing a better job of connecting dots for people. We can’t assume that everyone is keeping up with what’s happening in Frankfort and how all of this happens. I think we need to do a better job of connecting and saying “Hey, you are really, really against this issue. Well, you need to understand how it got on the ballot.” I think we’ve got a lot of people going out and voting against both of those amendments, but then they turned around and put the same people back in office that put it there in the first place. It’s on us to educate those folks about how this is happening.
H-L: How does that work, from an actual logistical standpoint? Is that incumbent on the candidates? Is it the party?
CS: I think it’s on all of us. It’s important, as candidates that are going door to door, to deep canvas and get out there and really have conversations to get into what issues matter to people — talking to them about what the biggest issues facing their family are, what are they worrying about, what’s really important to them.
I also think the party should be getting out and doing some town halls. And we saw them doing that this fall a little bit. I think more of that needs to be done. I think both caucuses should be involved in that. There should be more op-eds out there about it, and there are multiple ways to reach out and start that education process. It needed to happen yesterday. So, I hope and think that there are some plans coming for that, because, honestly I foresee the trend of (Republican lawmakers) putting an amendment on the ballot every two years continuing.
H-L: In a couple different mailers you were partially blamed for Daniel Grossberg’s behavior towards women, though you were on the leadership team that suspended him and later called on an investigation into him. Is that just politics as usual or did that cross the line?
(Stevenson declined to answer)
H-L: Is there anything at all you want to add on that situation? Obviously, it’s still a live, hot issue.
CS: Not while the ethics investigation is still going.
H-L: Do you think Gov. Beshear should run for president?
CS: I think Gov. Beshear should do what he feels is right for himself and his family. I think he’d be a great president. I think we see what he’s done here. He’s been able to bridge the divide with a lot of voters and he has every person’s best interest at heart. I think he would do a great job and I would love, love, love to see a Kentuckian in that Oval Office.
H-L: What did you make of Kamala Harris’s run, and how do you think Beshear would fare any better?
CS: You know, I think Kamala was doing, from what I saw, a lot of the right things. I love that she brought joy back to the process — that people were hopeful again — and that’s something that we hadn’t seen in a long time. I am someone who wants to be able to vote for someone, not against someone, and unfortunately I think that we are in a time where that’s pretty prevalent and negative partisanship is the way that a lot of people vote anymore.
We have seen with Gov. Beshear over his elections that he was very much someone that people wanted to vote for rather than voting against someone. I think he’d run a positive campaign. I’m not sure how it would look versus what she did. I think that there would be some similarities, but I think some would be very big differences there. They’re very different people. If it’s what he wants to do, obviously I will be in full support.
H-L: It’s a month out from the presidential election and there’s a lot of disagreement over where the national party should go from here: Some people say that changes need to be made at the margins and the party can rely on a backlash to Trump in the coming elections. Then there’s another group that sort of sees this as a juncture where the party can redefine itself. What say you?
CS: I think there’s a hybrid that needs to happen. I think we just really need to sit down and look at the things that we’re doing right, and sit down and look at the things that aren’t going well. It’s a chance to change a little bit of the trajectory. We’ve always said that we were the big tent and that we were inclusive of people, but I know that there are a lot of pundits and people out there saying that we have gone too “woke.” I hate that word, but there is a small amount of truth in that. When you see that we have lost some of the labor voters, that we’ve lost a lot of middle America – folks that used to be very, very strong Democrats are not anymore – I think we really need to sit down and look at why that is.
At the same time, I believe that we have been messaging on those kitchen table issues. We’ve been talking about health care, we’ve been talking about affordable housing, we’ve been talking about public schools, and I think that we deserve the higher ups truly looking at what about our message is not resonating, and what about their message is. I don’t want to believe what a lot of people are saying, that “We’re a very racist and misogynistic country.” I don’t want to accept that. Some people say the proof’s in the pudding, but again, I don’t want to accept that. I think there need to be a lot of focus groups. Again, with it being an off year here in Kentucky especially, I think that’s something that we need to be looking at. We need to be trying to drill down and figure that out what’s not resonating. I very much believe that we are on the right side of issues. What about that is not breaking through?
H-L: Some see Democratic primaries as an exercise in proving your bona fides to the left. Beshear is somebody who’s seen as a moderate or, at the very least, has a moderate affect. Given that, what’s his lane in the primary?
CS: Well, he does “purple” very well. As someone who is always run in a “purple” district, I think that that’s honestly where most people are. All across my district for seven years now, I hear people say, “I’m tired of the extremes on both sides. I just want to come back to the middle.” I think that he fits that mold pretty well. Primaries do tend to cause folks to outdo each other to the edge, but then in a general, they kind of run back to the middle. And I think a lot of what you see out of the governor is that he is who he is. I think that authenticity will break through, and I think that when you’re not being yourself and you’re not being authentic, that voters can smell it a mile away.
H-L: Do you have any insight as to who will run for Senate for Democrats in 2026?
CS: Personally, I don’t.
H-L: Then governor in 2027, with Lt. Gov. Coleman and former House leader Rocky Adkins looking like the most likely?
CS: You know, Frankfort is a hotbed of rumors. Some of them end up being true, but more are false than are true, so I am not ready to speculate.
H-L: What’s next for you?
CS: I don’t know. I’ve gotten a lot of phone calls about that and I just really haven’t had time to think about it. I am still a representative until the end of the year, and I am focused on that job, and I’m having conversations with a lot of people. I don’t know if you’ll see my name on a ballot again or not, but I can promise you that what I do end up doing will be something that hopefully will continue to affect our community in a very positive way.
H-L: Does that include both potentially being on the ballot and potentially serving in this administration?
CS: I think anything’s possible at this point. It’s still very early. Lots of conversations are happening. I love being in service to my community, and I feel like the opportunity that’s right for me will present itself, so we’ll see. Never say never.
H-L: On that note, I’m going to list some offices, and I’m wondering if there are any that you’re willing to rule out at this point: Congress?
CS: I don’t know
H-L: U.S. Senate?
CS: I don’t know.
H-L: Lieutenant Governor?
CS: I don’t know.
H-L: Local Lexington Council and/or Lexington mayor?
CS: I will not run for council. I have no interest in running for council. I’m never gonna say never. I’m not young, but I’m not old. Hopefully I’ve got a lot of life left and a lot of service left to give, so we’ll see. But Council does not really appeal to me.
H-L: The 88th House District again?
CS: Probably not, but never say never.
H-L: When it comes to state legislature work, I think there are a lot of reasons for Democrats to be disappointed with the trajectory of a four-fifths Republican majority in both chambers. Are there any reasons for them to hope?
CS: There is always a reason to hope, and if you’ve lost hope then you need to get out of office and let somebody else in there. I think relationships matter a lot in this situation, and building relationships across the aisle matter. I think that there are a lot of bills that get passed that start as an idea or a bill from a Democrat that gets passed off to Republicans that come out, and the general public never knows. There are so many of us there that are not there for ourselves, that are there to do good things for Kentuckians, and if it means our name doesn’t get to be on a bill, but that bill passes, then we are all very willing to do that.
There are some good things, some common sense things. They might not be the big pie in the sky stuff — universal pre-K, we might not be giving women their reproductive rights back immediately today — but there’s a lot of good that can be done, and I think we should never give up hope that there are ways to get things done in Frankfort. There are things that I was able to do that can make a real difference.
And Democrats do not need to give up hope; that pendulum is going to swing. And so we have to keep trying. We have to keep standing up. We have to call out the BS and fight for the good.
