Democrats and Republicans continue to battle to hold on to — or gain — state legislative seats in Louisville’s suburbs ahead of the November election.
Since gaining her seat by just a 376-vote margin two years ago, Democratic Rep. Rachel Roarx says her record in office will carry her through to another win. She’s facing off against Republican Carrie Sanders McKeehan, a Jefferson County Public Schools teacher and a principal at a small Louisville Christian school that promotes a “Christian environment with a biblical worldview.”
District 38’s voter registration numbers still remain staunchly in the Democratic camp, with 55.5% registered with the party and only roughly 33% identifying as Republican. And just a year after Roarx won her seat by a narrow margin, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear won the district with 66% of the vote in a blow out.
Here’s what you need to know about the candidates vying for District 38, stretching from the Iroquois neighborhood down to Fairdale.
Rachel Roarx
Before being elected to the legislature, Roarx worked as a legislative aid for former Louisville Metro Councilwoman Nicole George. She attended Holy Cross High School in Louisville and the University of Louisville, where she majored in political science. Roarx says she sees her district as a politically diverse area, getting more conservative as one travels farther south.
Since Roarx was elected, the legislature has turned its attention to the politically-fraught relationship Louisville metro area has with its suburbs and the urban services district. Roarx has occasionally been at odds with Republican state representatives representing Louisville suburbs, as the GOP-controlled legislature passed a law requiring Louisville to rely progressively less on suburban taxes to provide urban services while simultaneously making Louisville elections nonpartisan.
Roarx’s district traverses the edge of the urban services district, which maps roughly to Louisville's boundaries before it merged with Jefferson County, meaning some of her constituents, in exchange for lower taxes, have to individually arrange for things like trash pickup or streetlights.
“But folks often who have lived outside of urban services, it's kind of like the failures of merger are just on full display,” Roarx said. “[Louisville Metro] tries to bridge that gap, but it's just not the same level of service. And I think there is a correlation between people's connection with government.”
Roarx says she is running on her wins in the legislature — which are difficult to come by as a member of the Democratic super minority. None of the 13 bills for which she was the primary sponsor passed the legislature. But she did add her name to or serve as a top co-sponsor on a couple of bills that are now law.
Co-sponsored alongside Republican Rep. Jared Bauman, 2023's House Bill 191 required that vacancies in Louisville Metro Council be filled by special election, rather than a majority vote of the council. Roarx also took credit for a piece of House Bill 271, which offered a couple of changes to the way child abuse cases are reported and investigated. Although Roarx acknowledged that it was on a list of bills that Gov. Andy Beshear said is unfunded.
Roarx said another one of the big conversations she’s having with constituents right now is around Amendment 2, which would allow the legislature to spend state money on education outside of public schools. Roarx acknowledged that there are several Catholic schools in her district, and some of the people she's spoken to would like to see the state redirect funding to help pay for their private school tuition. But Roarx, who voted against the amendment, said she thinks it's “Pandora's box.”
“You don't know what you are ultimately going to get,” Roarx said. “People have ideas in their head about what they'd like to see, especially the cost of their tuition if they are sending their kid to a private school, because they like that option better… At the same time, my district has many public schools and many students in public education, and a lot of multilingual learners.”
Roarx said her top priorities are supporting first responders — this year, she unsuccessfully advocated for a one-time retention bonus for Kentucky State Police officers — and addressing better road safety for pedestrians and drivers. She also said she is a supporter of labor unions and will “fight against policies that make it harder for workers to organize and collectively bargain.”
Roarx has received $10,000 in contributions and $12,313 in in-kind spending — like digital advertising and mailers — from the House Democratic Caucus Campaign Committee as she fights to hold onto her seat. She also has received contributions from several labor union political action committees, including the PAC funded by the Jefferson County Teachers Association. She’s also received direct contributions from about a dozen sitting state lawmakers.
Carrie McKeehan
After several attempts to schedule an interview, McKeehan canceled and declined to reschedule in time for publication.
On her website, McKeehan writes, “Once elected, I will serve in the majority in Frankfort. That means that, unlike our current representative, our community will actually have a voice in Frankfort for our district’s needs. With that voice, I can get things done for our district including much needed funding for roads, infrastructure and community projects.”
McKeehan also says she supports “public safety,” calling for more investment in her district and said would support “criminal justice reforms.” She says she would fight for “additional investment” for local schools, although it is unclear from her public materials if she is for or against Amendment 2.
McKeehan is in the interesting position of being both a Jefferson County Public School teacher at Breckinridge Metro High and a principal of More Grace Christian Academy, a private school in the Taylor Berry neighborhood that promotes “a Christian environment with a biblical worldview.”
McKeehan has received support from several of the big GOP political action committees in the state, including former Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s All 120 PAC, Sen. Rand Paul’s leadership PAC and Sen. Mitch McConnell’s Bluegrass Committee. She’s also received contributions from more than a dozen sitting state lawmakers. All in all, McKeehan has raised roughly $48,100 for the general election, compared to the $92,400 that Roarx has raised.
McKeehan previously ran in 2022 for state representative in the 41st district against Democratic Rep. Josie Raymond, where she lost by a 47-point margin.
State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
