Kentucky 86th State House District, Kentucky: Populist district. In 2024, voted R+71%. Republican peak: R+71 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+71MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 39,3062024 5-year
- Median household income
- $38,6032024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 95.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.9%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.4%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+4 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+71 in 2024MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for State House District 86, KYOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 2,426 | 14,703 | 17,367 | ||
| R | 2,785 | 14,495 | 17,487 | ||
| R | 2,277 | 12,972 | 15,734 | ||
| R | 3,069 | 11,188 | 14,459 | ||
| R | 3,766 | 10,797 | 14,761 | ||
| R | 4,615 | 10,629 | 15,364 | ||
| R | 4,417 | 8,011 | 12,625 | ||
| R | 4,380 | 5,919 | 11,356 | ||
| R | 4,469 | 6,297 | 12,079 | ||
| R | 3,461 | 6,296 | 9,829 | ||
| R | 3,421 | 7,171 | 10,635 | ||
| R | 4,137 | 6,867 | 11,186 | ||
| R | 4,212 | 5,857 | 10,168 | ||
| R | 2,145 | 6,107 | 8,320 | ||
| R | 2,506 | 5,324 | 8,980 | ||
| D | 4,693 | 4,333 | 9,066 | ||
| R | 3,301 | 6,935 | 10,235 | ||
| R | 2,885 | 7,326 | 10,215 | ||
| R | 3,104 | 6,334 | 9,457 | ||
| R | 3,141 | 4,855 | 8,069 | ||
| R | 2,699 | 5,933 | 8,641 | ||
| R | 3,746 | 5,778 | 9,535 | ||
| R | 3,819 | 5,638 | 9,464 | ||
| R | 3,909 | 5,235 | 9,199 | ||
| R | 1,667 | 6,661 | 8,336 | ||
| R | 1,754 | 4,256 | 6,333 | ||
| R | 1,776 | 5,863 | 7,701 | ||
| R | 1,301 | 3,548 | 4,907 | ||
| R | 1,052 | 1,553 | 4,062 | ||
| R | 1,041 | 3,176 | 4,351 | ||
| R | 868 | 2,562 | 3,484 | ||
| R | 1,155 | 2,941 | 4,116 | ||
| R | 978 | 2,524 | 3,555 | ||
| R | 793 | 1,466 | 2,380 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
13.2%
American
10.6%
Irish
9.5%
German
5.4%
Scottish
1.2%
Italian
1.0%
French
0.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 39.8 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$38,603
State House District 86 ranks near the middle of US counties.
State House District 86$38,603
Kentucky$63,726
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
33.0%
Nearly half of children live in poverty.
Children under 1841.7%
Working age (18–64)31.5%
Seniors (65+)17.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
98.8%
speak English only
Spanish0.6%
Other Indo-European0.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.3%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 43.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
With a 71-point Republican presidential margin in 2024, this rural Kentucky district ranks among the most one-sided in the state, reflecting the deep realignment of working-class Appalachian communities over the past two decades.
The Democratic margin in Kentucky 86th State House District peaked at four points in 1964. By 1968 the district had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was seventy-one points, the most Republican-leaning result in the district's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $38,603 sits well below state and national norms, and 33% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The shift here is part of a broader realignment of working-class places across the country.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
State House District 86, Kentucky. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-lower/21086/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did State House District 86, Kentucky vote in 2024?
In 2024, State House District 86, Kentucky voted Republican by 70.7 points (R+71), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 17,367 votes cast, 2,426 went Democratic and 14,703 went Republican.
What is State House District 86, Kentucky's political archetype?
Akashic classifies State House District 86, Kentucky as a "Populist" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 1 times, Republican 33 times, and other 0 times.
When did State House District 86, Kentucky last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which State House District 86, Kentucky voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in State House District 86, Kentucky?
State House District 86, Kentucky has a population of 39,306 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in State House District 86, Kentucky?
Median household income in State House District 86, Kentucky is $38,603 — below the national median of $80,734. The Kentucky state median is $63,726.
What is the political history of State House District 86, Kentucky?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in State House District 86, Kentucky from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 1 went Democratic and 33 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.