Democrat Gary Clemons defeated Republican Calvin Leach to fill a vacant seat in the Kentucky state Senate. Clemons, a South Louisville union leader and U.S. Army veteran, won the race to fill the vacant seat by nearly 50 points. Kamala Harris carried the district by about six points in the 2024 presidential election. Kentucky State Senate 37 Special Election Fully reported: Gary Clemons – 3,752 (72.5%) Calvin Leach – 1,297 (25.0%) This district was just Harris+6 in 2024, so this is a 42 point overperformance for Democrats. pic.twitter.com/MXx3jPAMFp — VoteHub (@VoteHub) December 17, 2025 The Hill has more: “Another election, another massive Democratic overperformance, this time in Kentucky,” Democratic National Committee (DNC) spokesman Abhi Rahman said in a statement, lauding the win. “While Republicans keep bending the knee to Trump and billionaires, Democrats are fighting for working families. That’s why Democrats are consistently overperforming in 2025 and will continue building momentum into 2026 and beyond,” he added. Democrats were expected to hold on to the seat, which is located in southwest Louisville and leans blue. Their victory Tuesday comes after a recent spate of special election wins that saw them flip a number of seats in conservative areas of the country. “I’ve spent my life working alongside the people who keep Louisville running—in factories, in shops, and in all jobs important in our neighborhoods–union or not,” Clemons told Newsweek. “Continuing the trend of Democrats outperforming previous elections by wide margins all over the country, congratulations to State Senator-Elect Gary Clemons in KY’s 37th Senate District,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said. Continuing the trend of Democrats outperforming previous elections by wide margins all over the country, congratulations to State Senator-Elect Gary Clemons in KY's 37th Senate District. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/GyPt8bTmck — Andy Beshear (@AndyBeshearKY) December 17, 2025 Newsweek shared further: The south‑end Louisville district has long leaned Democratic, but Clemons’ margin far exceeds recent benchmarks. Democrat David Yates beat Leach by about 20 points in 2024, and former Vice President Kamala Harris only carried the area by roughly 6 points in the presidential election that year. Tuesday’s special drew a turnout of around 7 percent (just over 5,000 ballots), illustrating how low‑turnout December contests can produce outsized swings. The seat remained vacant after Yates was appointed interim Jefferson County clerk earlier this year. Clemons, president of United Steelworkers Local 1693, campaigned on bolstering support for working families, lowering costs for essentials, creating jobs, and representing blue-collar interests in the state legislature.