Kentucky Senate Democrat plans to jump from statehouse to Jefferson County Clerk
Senate Minority Whip David Yates, a Democrat from Louisville, is running for Jefferson County Clerk in 2026, potentially foregoing the final two years of his term.
Yates updated both his political website and his social media pages Friday to reflect that he will run for the county-level role, which is currently held by longtime Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie Holsclaw, a Republican. Holsclaw has offered a rare example of a Republican winning countywide office in the progressive-leaning Louisville area.
In an interview with the Herald-Leader, Yates said that the county’s problems with voting machines and long lines during the 2024 election compelled him to consider the role.
“I’m excited about it,” Yates said. “It’s one that I’ve been talking about for a while. The most recent election debacle had a lot of people saying ‘Something’s gotta be done.’”
The news comes on the same day that Yates’ colleague, Sen. Robin Webb of Grayson, announced that she would switch from Democrat to Republican.
With Webb’s departure, the number of Democrats in the 38-member Senate shrank from seven to six, a historically low number not seen by any major party since the late 1800s.
There are signs Republicans may seek to flip Yates’ district, sinking the Democrats even further.
Though the current state Senate map largely silos deep blue urban districts from bright red rural and suburban ones, Yates’ South Louisville district is the lightest shade of blue of any of them. Elections analysis website Dave’s Redistricting calculated that Democrats had a roughly 15-point advantage there over the course of the 2016-2020 elections.
Over the past few election cycles, multiple House Democrats from that region have either lost their seats or come within a tiny margin of losing them.
Yates, who served on Louisville Metro Council before election to the Senate in 2020, won his first race unopposed in the general election.
In 2024, he defeated Republican Calvin Leach by about 20 points. He said he believes the seat will stay blue.
“I think it will be a Democratic seat. Ultimately, it’s up to the candidate like any election. If they’re willing to do the job and put in the work, then they’ll win the race,” Yates said.
If he wins election as county clerk and does not resign from his seat before doing so, a special election would be held to replace Yates. If Yates does not win the election, he could continue to serve out his term, which expires in 2028.
Yates has competition in the Democratic primary in Rosalind “Roz” Welch, a vice chair of the local party, who launched her campaign for county clerk this week.
This story was originally published May 30, 2025 at 2:57 PM.
