November 8, 2016 2020 → 1,202,971 628,854 Trump
40-50%
50-60%
60-70%
70-80%
80-90% Clinton
50-60% | Turnout 59.10% 62.5% 32.7% Date 8 November 2016 | |
 | ||
The 2016 United States presidential election in Kentucky was held on November 8, 2016, as part of the 2016 General Election in which all 50 states plus The District of Columbia participated. Kentucky voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting the Republican Party's nominee, businessman Donald Trump, and running mate Indiana Governor Mike Pence against Democratic Party nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her running mate, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine.
Contents
On March 5 and May 17, 2016, in the presidential primaries, Kentucky voters expressed their preferences for the Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian parties' respective nominees for President. Registered members of each party only voted in their party's primary, while voters who were unaffiliated were unable to vote.
Although Kentucky was won twice by southern Democrat Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996, Donald Trump easily carried Kentucky with 62.54% of the vote, to 32.69% of the vote for Hillary Clinton. Trump won Kentucky by the largest margin of any Republican since Richard Nixon in 1972, and swept counties across the state. Clinton only carried the state's two most urban and populous counties, Jefferson County, home to Louisville, and Fayette County, home to Lexington, both of which traditionally vote Democratic.
Trump made history when he won Elliott County. In the nearly 150-year history of the county, it had voted Democratic in every presidential election, never Republican. Trump ended that tradition and won Elliott County handedly with 2,000 votes to Clinton's 740, or 70%-26%.
Republican caucus
In order to avoid a local law forbidding one candidate to run for two offices in the same primary, Rand Paul paid to have a presidential caucus, which took place on March 5. Paul dropped out prior to this.
Democratic primary
Four candidates appeared on the Democratic presidential primary ballot: