Population (2000) 673,588 Cook PVI R+15 | Median income 40,150 | |
 | ||
Current Representative Thomas Massie (R–Garrison) Distribution 59.79% urban
40.21% rural Ethnicity 95.8% White
2.3% Black
0.5% Asian
1.1% Hispanic
0.2% Native American
0.0% other | ||
Kentucky's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Located in the northeastern portion of the state, it is a long district that follows the Ohio River. The majority of voters live in the booming suburban Cincinnati counties of Boone, Kenton and Campbell, which includes such suburbs as Fort Mitchell, Covington, Florence, Newport, and Fort Thomas. It also stretches into the outer suburbs of Louisville (including a small portion of Louisville itself) and Lexington.
The district is currently represented by Republican Thomas Massie, who was elected in a special election in 2012 to succeed Republican Geoff Davis, who resigned on July 31, 2012 citing family concerns.
Characteristics
The 4th was one of the first areas of Kentucky to turn Republican outside of traditionally Republican south-central Kentucky; it has been in GOP hands for all but six years since 1967. Its politics are dominated by Republicans in the wealthy Cincinnati suburbs, which have swelled with former Cincinnati residents since the early 1960s. Indeed, when Massie took office, he became the first congressman from the district's eastern portion in 45 years. Nonetheless, Democrats still hold state and local offices in rural counties.
As of November 7, 2006, there were a total of 476,480 registered voters. Of these, 250,986 (52.67%) identified as Democrats, 184,705 (38.76%) identified as Republicans, and 40,789 (8.56%) identified as "Others."
As of September 2013, there were 529,548 registered voters: 245,211 (46.30%) Democrats, 229,731 (43.38%) Republicans, and 54,606 (10.31%) "Others". All of the "Others" included 38,561 (7.28%) unclassified Others, 14,931 (2.82%) Independents, 841 (0.16%) Libertarians, 185 (0.03%) Greens, 51 (0.01%) Constitutionalists, 24 (0.0045%) Reforms, and 13 (0.0025%) Socialist Workers.
Until January 1, 2006, Kentucky did not track party affiliation for registered voters who were neither Democratic nor Republican. The Kentucky voter registration card does not explicitly list anything other than Democratic Party, Republican Party, or Other, with the "Other" option having a blank line and no instructions on how to register as something else.