Democrat wins Kentucky state Senate special election
https://www.wdrb.com/news/politics/democrat-gary-clemons-wins-special-election-to-fill-kentucky-senate-seat/article_d3290a6f-43f1-4f11-b1f8-6c6993001de8.html
271 points · 13 comments · view on lemmy.world 
13 Comments
spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works · 63 pts · 273d
Harris won the district by 5%. It's shifted 42% further blue in just 11 months.
daannii@lemmy.world · 21 pts · 273d
Nice. But also this wasn't even a close race. Damn.
Yondoza@sh.itjust.works · 11 pts · 273d
While this is really hopeful news, be careful not to extrapolate too far. Turnout for a special election is not equal to turn out for a general or presidential election.
Sc00ter@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 272d
Isnt it usually biased the otherway? Doesnt the right typically get higher turnout for special elections than the left?
DrWorm@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 272d
Historically, this is true. But I believe over the last decade this has flipped the other way around. I do not have a source though, so don't take this as truth. I'm actually interested in looking at that data.
Edit: I found this, which is pretty informative. Basically, the last 6 decades, regardless elections more often flipped against the party that holds the White House. So maybe the perception that conservatives get out and vote more often in special elections is actually incorrect. It's just a weird perception we have. https://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/the-mini-midterms-five-takeaways-from-six-decades-of-house-special-elections/
Fetus@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 272d
With 35 months remaining until the presidential election, it looks like we should see a about a 133% shift further blue.
cattywampas@midwest.social · 23 pts · 273d
Reminder, do not listen to the doomers who have told you that elections would be canceled or rigged.
Dozens of elections have taken place over the last year, and the Democrats have flipped 21 percent of GOP-held legislative seats in 2025 and are currently +13 compared to 2024. GOP has flipped 0. There has been a blue wave so far that has affected special Congressional elections, gubernatorial and mayoral races, all the way down to local school boards.
This district that Clemons won was, I believe, Harris +5 in the presidential election. Quite a swing here, as we've seen over and over in 2025.
Buffalox@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 273d
The districting system is a flawed form of democracy. It can be manipulated, and a minority of voters can get a majority representation.
I can understand the origin of it, but not to let it continue when the flawed democracy of it is well understood.
SinningStromgald@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 273d
Agreed. Given what computers can do districting should be something done automatically with minimal human intervention. Plug data in and the computer figures out the optimal grid and suggests best places for polling centers for each district. No funny spaghetti monster districts.
muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 272d
That solves nothing. Humans are still the once’s feeding the criteria to the computer so it will just do whatever they tell it to.
BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 272d
Is he even a little bit leftist or is he another two-faced, neoliberal Democrat that will push the populace even further right when he inevitably screws them over?
TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 272d
Wow, 72.6% is a landslide!
prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone · -2 pts · 273d
This is why we won't have free and fair elections in 2028.