Age in the 2025 Kentucky Legislature
The State of Kentucky held its elections for a new Kentucky House of Representatives and Kentucky State Senate on November 4th 2024. In January 2025 the currently active 2025-2026 legislative session of the Kentucky General Assembly. Among the members elected 10 were aged 35 or younger on election day in 2024. Below is a map of these representatives within both chambers of the Kentucky General Assembly.
Kentucky Demographic Background in the 2024 Election
Preliminary estimates from CIRCLE at Tufts University indicate that 42% of young people aged 18–29 voted in the 2024 election, with turnout surpassing 50% in key battleground states. Nearly 50 million young citizens were eligible to vote nationwide, including over 8 million who turned 18 since the 2022 midterms.
According to the Pew Research Center, Millennials surpassed Baby Boomers in 2020 to become the largest generation in the U.S., making up 31% of the population, followed closely by Boomers at 30.9%. Generation X accounts for 28%, while the Silent Generation makes up just 9.9%.
This election showcased the increasing diversity of the youth electorate, with notable differences in voting patterns by race, gender, and issue priorities. Given Kentucky’s unique demographics, voters elected ten members to the Kentucky House of Representatives, who were age 35 and under on election day. Below is information about the generational backgrounds of the current Kentucky House of Representatives.
The Kentucky House of Representatives 2025-26 Legislative Session
Below is information covering age dynamics in the recently elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives
- the average age of Kentucky House of Representatives members is 51.76 years
- the youngest Representative Peyton Griffee was born in 1998
- the oldest Representative Gerald A. Neal was born in 1948
- 10 Representatives are Young Elected Leaders age 35 or younger as of Election Day 2024
Generational Breakdown
Within the Kentucky House of Representatives, most representatives come from the Millennial, Generation X or The Baby Boomer generation. Importantly, only a few members of the current Kentucky House of Representatives belong to Generation Z. Scroll below to see the generations in the Kentucky House of Representatives visualized.
* One House members age is currently missing.
Partisanship in the Kentucky House of Representatives
The chart below further breaks down the current partisan makeup of the 2025 Kentucky House of Representatives. Each dot represents a single member, colored by both party affiliation and whether the legislator qualifies as a Young Elected Leader (YEL)—defined as age 35 or younger at the time of the election. This format provides a visual snapshot of generational and partisan distribution within the chamber, highlighting how younger legislators are positioned across party lines.
Partisan dynamics in the Kentucky House of Representatives reflect not only ideological differences but also generational contrasts. The visual below highlights one key distinction: the average age of legislators by party. Overall Republicans have a higher mean age in the Kentucky House of Representatives. Differences in average ages may reflect broader trends in political recruitment, generational turnover, and candidate emergence in recent election cycles.
* One House member’s age is currently missing.
Young Elected Representatives – Kentucky House of Representatives
Following the 2024 State Legislative Elections in Kentucky, ten members aged 35 or under were elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives. Below are all ten of these members along with information about their local districts and party affiliation.
| Name | District |
Birth year (Age on Election Day) |
Year first elected to Kentucky House | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
J. T. Payne (R) | 11th District –
Henderson, KY |
1998 (Age 26) | 2024 |
 |
T. J. Roberts (R) | 66th District –
Burlington, KY |
1998 (Age 26) | 2024 |
 |
Rachel Roarx (D) | 38th District –
Louisville, KY |
1997 (Age 27) | 2022 |
 |
Peyton Griffee (R) | 26th District –
Mount Washington, KY |
1996 (Age 28) | 2024 |
 |
Mitch Whitaker (R) | 94th District –
Fleming-Neon, KY |
1993 (Age 31) | 2024 |
 |
Samara Heavrin (R) | 18th District –
Leitchfield, KY |
1992 (Age 32) | *2019 |
 |
Felicia Rabourn (R) | 47th District –
Turners Station, KY |
1991 (Age 32) | 2020 |
 |
Aaron Thompson (R) | 98th District –
Russell, KY |
1991 (Age 33) | 2024 |
 |
Nicholas Wilson (R)
|
82nd District –
Williamsburg, KY |
1990 (Age 34) | 2022 |
 |
William Lawrence (R)
|
70th District –
Maysville, KY |
1989 (Age 35) | 2020 |
Photos courtesy of the Kentucky House of Representatives member roster.
Gender in the Kentucky House of Representatives
The Kentucky House of Representatives reflects a range of age and gender dynamics that help shape the composition of the state’s legislative body. Across all members, 67% are men, while women make up the remaining 33%. Both men and women in the Kentucky House have identical mean ages. For male representatives there was an average age of 51.75 at the time of the election, compared to 51.77 for their female colleagues. Of the the 10 Young Elected Leaders, 7 are male and 3 are female.
When examining both gender and party affiliation, notable age differences emerge within the Kentucky House of Representatives. Among women, Democrats have an average age of 51.11 and Republicans 52.20. Among men, the averages are similar, with Republican men at 51.93 and Democratic men at 50.23. Across all gender–party combinations, the average age exceeds 50. These patterns show how age representation in the Kentucky House varies by both gender and party, reflecting different pathways to political office across demographic groups.
* One House member’s age is currently missing.
Race and Ethnicity in the Kentucky House of Representatives
The racial and ethnic composition of the Kentucky House of Representatives varies significantly across generations. In the 2024 Kentucky House younger generations are overall more diverse, following national trends. This table highlights how race and ethnicity intersect with age in shaping the diversity of the legislative body.
Generations by Race/Ethnicity in the Kentucky House of Representatives
|
Generation Z 1997 – |
Millennial Generation
1981 – 1996 |
Generation X
1965 –1980 |
Boomer Generation
1946 – 1964 |
Silent Generation
1928 – 1945 |
Full Chamber | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 3
(100%) |
21
(95.45%) |
41
(97.62%) |
29
(90.62%) |
– | 94
(94.95%) |
| Black/African American | – | 1
(4.55%) |
– | 3
(9.38%) |
– | 4
(4.04%) |
| Other | – | – | 1
(2.38%) |
– | – | 1
(1.01%) |
| Total (Precent of Kentucky House) | 3
(3.03%) |
22
(22.22%) |
42
(42.42%) |
32
(32.32%) |
– | 99*
(100%) |
* One House member’s age is currently missing. The full Kentucky House of Representatives is comprised of 100 seats.
The Kentucky Senate
Below is information covering age dynamics in the recently elected Kentucky State Senate.
- the average age of Kentucky State Senate members is 57.92 years
- the youngest Senator is Cassie Chambers Armstrong who was born in 1986
- the oldest Senator is Gerald A. Neal who was born in 1945
- Currently no Kentucky Senators are Young Elected Leaders, aged 35 or younger as of Election Day 2024
Young Elected Senators in the Kentucky State Senate
At present, no members of the Kentucky State Senate are aged 35 or below as of Election Day in 2024. All Young Elected Leaders within the Kentucky State Legislature hold office in the Kentucky House of Representatives.
Partisanship in the Kentucky State Senate
In the Kentucky State Senate, 38 senators belong to the Republican Party, 6 senators are Democrats. The mean age of Republican state senators after the 2024 election was 57.79, while the mean age of Democratic state senators was 57.79. Each generation had a different partisan makeup. Below is the breakdown of party composition for each generation within the Kentucky State Senate.
Gender in the Kentucky Senate
The generational makeup of the Kentucky Senate reveals notable gender dynamics. Overall, men outnumber women, particularly among Generation X and Baby Boomer senators. Millennials, however, maintain an equal gender balance, while the Silent Generation includes only men. These patterns indicate that gender representation varies across generations, with women present in every age cohort but often in smaller numbers than men.
Race and Ethnicity in the Kentucky Senate
The racial and ethnic composition of the Kentucky Senate reveals generational variation in representation. Below is the breakdown of race and ethnicity within the Kentucky Senate.
Generations by Race/Ethnicity in the Kentucky State Senate
| Millennial Generation | Generation X | Boomer Generation | Silent Generation | Full Chamber | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 2 (100%) | 18 (94.74%) | 14 (87.5%) | 1 (100%) | 34 (89.47%) |
| Black/African American | – | 1 (5.26%) | 2 (12.5%) | – | 4 (10.53%) |
| Total | 2 (5.26%) | 19 (50%) | 16 (42.11%) | 1 (2.63%) | 38 (100%) |
The full Kentucky State Senate is comprised of 38 seats.
Notes
The Young Elected Leaders Project applies the generational categorization of the Pew Research Center:
- Silent Generation: 1928 – 1945
- Baby Boomer Generation: 1946 – 1964
- Generation X: 1965 – 1980
- Millennial Generation: 1981 – 1996
- Generation Z: 1997 – 2012
This analysis is based on data from the most recent state legislative election in Kentucky which took place on November 5th 2024.
Citation Guideline
In referencing the Young Elected Leaders Project in publication please use the following language: “The Young Elected Leaders Project is housed at the Center for Youth Political Participation at The Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University – New Brunswick.”
Bibliographic Citation For this document
Author: Young Elected Leaders Project
Corresponding Authors: George D. Quinn
Year: 2024
Title: Age in the 2025 Kentucky General Assembly