Election 2024: GOP’s Grossl beats incumbent Democrat Stevenson in KY House 88th District
Republican Vanessa Grossl has flipped House District 88 red, defeating House Democratic Caucus Chair Cherlynn Stevenson, D-Lexington, by a narrow margin.
Unofficial results indicate Grossl won over 11,602 to 11,388 — a difference of 214 votes, or one percentage point. While close, the vote is outside of the state’s automatic recount trigger of 0.5%.
Grossl declared victory around 10 p.m. Tuesday as the final votes from the district, spanning much of suburban Fayette County as well as a section of Scott County, were counted.
Stevenson was a rising star in the ranks of elected Democrats prior to her apparent loss. As caucus chair, she is the second-highest ranked Democrat in the House and had plans to run for House Democratic caucus leader if reelected.
Known for eking out close races — she won in 2022 and 2018 by less than 50 votes each — Stevenson appears to have found herself on the losing end of a tight contest this time.
Grossl staked her campaign on an appeal to voters’ pocketbooks, championing Republican-led tax cuts. She also sidestepped the Amendment 2 ballot question on public education funding, an issue that Stevenson railed against throughout the campaign.
Stevenson conceded the race publicly on X, formerly Twitter, Wednesday morning.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime serving the people of the 88th district and our commonwealth. Thank you so much to the voters, volunteers, and donors who have supported me over the last 7 years. I wish Ms. Grossl well as she begins her service,” Stevenson wrote.
Grossl adds her name to the long list of Republicans in the House. Given that she represents a swing district, she is likely to join the ranks of representatives who buck party on occasion, particularly on social issues like abortion.
In an interview, Grossl took pride in the fact she had some crossover appeal.
“I believe that we did better than (former president Donald) Trump did in Fayette County. That means we got some of the people who voted for Harris to vote for us. People split their tickets, people believed in me. I think we got some of the teacher vote – the Kentucky Education Association didn’t endorse my opponent and people noticed,” Grossl said.
Grossl got a boost from outside groups like the Republican state-level political action committee GOPAC as well as the centrist political outfit the Forward Party. She embraces the label of “moderate” and says that it fits the politically “purple” district.
“I’m not trying to strong-arm people into believing how I believe,” Grossl said. “I think the Republican party knows that I’m more moderate and I think I’m a great profile for this district.”
This story was originally published November 6, 2024 at 12:18 AM.
