25 to watch in 2025: Rep. Pamela Stevenson hopes to lead House Dems back to relevance
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25 to watch in 2025
The Lexington Herald-Leader is tracking 25 individuals we expect will be making news in 2025.
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Editor’s note: The Herald-Leader is profiling 25 individuals we predict will make news in 2025.
Who we’re watching: House Minority Floor Leader Pam Stevenson, D-Louisville.
Background: The 19-member House Democratic caucus selected Stevenson to serve as its new leader heading into this year’s legislative session. A retired U.S. Air Force judge advocate general, Stevenson first gained office representing her downtown and West Louisville district in 2020. She is the first Black woman floor leader in the history of the Kentucky legislature.
It wasn’t always presumed that Stevenson would take this position. Former House Democratic caucus chair Cherlynn Stevenson was openly vying for the position before she got unseated by Rep. Vanessa Grossl, R-Georgetown. Stevenson rose to prominence within the Democratic party with her run for attorney general in 2023, where she lost to Attorney General Russell Coleman by 16 points.
She also has gone viral on social media multiple times for her fiery floor speeches lamenting Republican policies on LGBTQ issues and education. Her speeches have received applause from progressives, but sometimes the occasional gavel from House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect.
“I met with the speaker... and that went very well. I tried to tell him, ‘You can’t gavel me now.’ He just laughed,” Stevenson said.
Why 2025 will be notable: Stevenson will lead the smallest House caucus in recent memory. As such, affecting legislation won’t prove easy; but Stevenson says she’s up to the task.
One area where that could be put to the test: Legislation targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs at higher education institutions. Stevenson said she’s an opponent of legislation to do away with it and hopes to find common ground with Republicans who might support the conceptual principles of diversity and inclusion but oppose the programs.
Before Stevenson took the top leadership spot, Democrats said they intended to work to remove Rep. Daniel Grossberg, D-Louisville, from the House. Most every elected Democrat called for Grossberg to resign after Herald-Leader reporting revealed several allegations of sexual harassment against him. Stevenson told the Herald-Leader shortly before the session that she has not discussed the plan on Grossberg going forward.
This year also could prove interesting for Stevenson’s own political fortunes, behind the scenes as well as on the House floor. When asked about the possibility of her running for either U.S. Senate or Louisville mayor, two posts with elections in 2026, Stevenson didn’t shy away from those possibilities or taking her talents to some other post.
“Right now I’m going to do that as the Democratic leader, and if something else shows up where it will allow me to use those talents, I’ll look at it,” she said. “.Anything to move Kentucky forward, and I’m really, really interested in making sure that Kentucky is leading the other 49 states and (to) finish the work that the governor has started.”
What Stevenson says about 2025: Stevenson said that Democrats will hone their plan for growing their numbers this year.
“We’re not going to keep doing the same thing. If you keep doing the same thing and you’re getting the same result, you got to change. We’re looking at what would make the most difference in the areas where we need to be so that these (House) numbers can increase. When you have more balance, then Kentucky families get a better product.”
