OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
2:34 PM – Wednesday, December 17, 2025
Democrat Gary Clemons has won the special election for Kentucky’s Senate District 37 seat, with 72% of the vote.
The labor union leader and U.S. Army veteran defeated Republican candidate Calvin Leach, who received 25% of the vote, and Libertarian candidate Wendy Highdon, with 2% of the vote. The Jefferson County Clerk’s office released the unofficial election results at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Clemons will replace David Yates (D-Ky.). Yates resigned from the position in October 2025 in order to accept his current position as Jefferson County Clerk following the death of Bobbie Holsclaw in September, keeping the seat Democrat. Yates had represented Kentucky’s 37th district since 2021.
Clemons’ district covers the southwestern area of Jefferson County, and his term will expire in January 2029.
The new senator is the president of United Steelworkers Local 1693, which represents over 200 workers at American Synthetic Rubber Company in Rubbertown, an industrial area in Louisville, Kentucky.
He made a statement claiming to be a voice for working families in Frankfort who understands their struggles and will fight for them.
“I’ve served as an Army Reservist, and for nearly two decades as a union leader — those experiences have shaped my leadership and my commitment to service,” Clemons said. “I understand the struggles of veterans and working families because I’ve lived them, and I am ready to take that same fight to Frankfort.”
He also brought affordability to the forefront of his campaign, highlighting his experience lowering the cost of groceries and gas prices and bringing back “high-paying” jobs as a union leader.
Clemons garnered support from notable elected Democrats, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Lieutenant Governor Jaqueline Coleman and senior advisor Rocky Adkins, who attended a rally with over 100 supporters at the Teamsters Local 89 union hall the night before the vote.
At the rally, Beshear said, “When we elect the right people, we get the right results for our families. … We need candidates like Gary Clemons, and we need them to win.”
The governor also congratulated Clemons’ victory in an X post on Tuesday, touting it as “continuing the trend of Democrats outperforming previous elections by wide margins all over the country.”
“I was proud to campaign for Gary and know he will be a strong voice for working families in the state Senate!” Beshear declared.
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