Look, everyone knew Kentucky was going to be red in 2020. It wasn't exactly a cliffhanger. But if you think the Kentucky 2020 election results were just a boring repeat of 2016, you're kinda missing the forest for the trees. There were some weird, specific shifts under the surface that tell a much bigger story about where the Bluegrass State is actually heading.
Breaking Down the Top of the Ticket
Let's talk raw numbers first because they’re staggering. Donald Trump took the state with 62.1% of the vote, which sounds like a total blowout. And it was. He snagged 1,326,646 votes compared to Joe Biden’s 772,474. Biden ended up with about 36.2%.
If you're comparing this to 2016, Trump actually won more total votes, but his percentage lead shrunk just a tiny bit—from a 29.8% margin down to 25.9%. Basically, Biden did a little better than Hillary Clinton in some key spots, but not enough to make the GOP sweat.
One of the wildest things to happen was in Elliott County. Honestly, this place used to be a Democratic fortress. It went for every Democrat from the 1800s until 2016. In 2020, Trump won it again. Biden became the first Democrat to ever win the White House without carrying Elliott County since the county was basically founded. That’s a huge deal. It shows that the "Coal Country" shift to the right isn't a fluke; it's the new reality.
The McConnell vs. McGrath Money Pit
Then you’ve got the Senate race. Man, the money was insane. Amy McGrath raised something like $90 million. People from all over the country were throwing cash at her, hoping she’d be the one to finally take down Mitch McConnell.
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Spoilers: She didn’t.
McConnell won his seventh term with 57.8% of the vote. McGrath pulled in 38.2%. Despite all that out-of-state money and the hype, McConnell actually won by a larger margin than he did back in 2014. He even won Elliott and Wolfe Counties for the first time in his career. It turns out, being the Senate Majority Leader carries a lot of weight with Kentucky voters, even if national polls suggest he's unpopular.
The Cities vs. The Hollows
If you want to see where Democrats are actually finding a pulse, you have to look at the "Golden Triangle"—the area between Louisville, Lexington, and Northern Kentucky.
For the first time since 1948, Fayette County (Lexington) actually voted more "left" than Jefferson County (Louisville). Usually, Louisville is the bluest dot in the state, but Lexington took the crown in 2020.
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- Jefferson County: Biden won big, but the margin didn't explode.
- Fayette County: A massive stronghold for the Democrats.
- Rural Counties: Total Republican dominance. We're talking 70% or 80% margins in some places.
This divide is getting wider. The Kentucky 2020 election results proved that the state is basically two different worlds right now. You’ve got the urban centers becoming more progressive and the rural areas moving so far right they're almost off the map.
That Primary Drama Nobody Remembers
Before the general election, the June primary was a mess—but a fascinating one. Because of COVID-19, Secretary of State Michael Adams and Governor Andy Beshear actually worked together to expand mail-in voting.
It worked. Sorta.
Turnout was huge, but the Democratic Senate primary was a nail-biter. Amy McGrath barely beat Charles Booker. Booker’s "Hood to the Holler" campaign caught fire late, and he almost pulled off a massive upset. He won the big cities, but McGrath’s support in the rural areas (which are still mostly registered Democrats, even if they vote Republican in November) saved her.
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What Most People Get Wrong
People often assume Kentucky is just "naturally" Republican. But if you look at the registration, it’s weird. For a long time, there were more registered Democrats than Republicans in Kentucky. 2020 was one of the last years where that was true. In fact, it wasn't until around 2022 that Republicans finally overtook Democrats in total registrations.
The Kentucky 2020 election results were the climax of a long-term breakup between rural Kentuckians and the national Democratic Party. It wasn't just about Trump's personality; it was about the coal industry, social issues, and a feeling that the national party had moved on.
- Voter Turnout: It was record-breaking. Over 2 million people voted. That's a 59.7% turnout rate, which is high for Kentucky.
- The "Ye" Factor: Kanye West was actually on the ballot. He got 6,483 votes. Not enough to change anything, but a weird footnote in history.
- Third Parties: Jo Jorgensen (Libertarian) got about 1.2%. People were looking for an "other" option, but the polarization was too strong.
What This Means for You Now
If you're looking at these results today, the takeaway is pretty clear. Kentucky isn't a "swing state" anymore, but it is a "shifting state." The power is consolidating in the cities while the rural areas are becoming a GOP monolith.
If you want to dive deeper into how your specific neighborhood voted, you can actually look up the official precinct-level data on the Kentucky State Board of Elections website. It’s a goldmine if you’re a data nerd. You can see exactly how many people in your local elementary school district went for Trump or Biden.
Another smart move is to track the voter registration trends in your county. Since 2020, the GOP has been gaining ground in places where Democrats used to be the only game in town. Watching those numbers move is the best way to predict what happens in the next big cycle. Honestly, the 2020 results weren't an ending; they were a roadmap for everything that’s happened since.