Breathitt County, Kentucky is a rural county located in the Appalachian region of the state. It is steeped in history as it played an integral part in Appalachia's coal industry and has long been a hub of traditional music and culture. Despite its rich history, Breathitt County has had its share of economic struggles over the years, having some of the lowest income and highest poverty rates in the state. This has had an effect on local politics as well, with many citizens feeling that their needs are not being met or addressed by their elected officials. Breathitt County is represented by State Senator Ray Jones II and State Representatives Chris Fugate and Ben Waide in Frankfort, while several precincts elect Precinct Committee Members to local legislative bodies such as the Fiscal Court. Despite this representation, many residents still feel that their voices are not adequately heard or represented at the local level.
The political climate in Breathitt County, KY is very conservative.
In Breathitt County, KY 23.0% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 75.3% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.7% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Breathitt county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 75.3% to 23.0%.
Breathitt county voted Republican in the last four Presidential elections, after voting Democratic in 2000 and 2004.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Breathitt County, KY is very conservative.
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Kentucky is strongly conservative.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index is based on recent voting in national elections, federal campaign contributions by local residents, and consumer personality profiles.
VoteWord™
Displaying 20 years of Presidential voting, visualized in one word.
Breathitt, Kentucky: D D r R R R
How It Works:
Here at BestPlaces, we were looking at the voting patterns since the 2000 election and realized that we could express the results of each election as one letter. R if the Republican Party candidate won, D for the Democrat and I for the Independent. The six elections (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020) would be expressed as six-letter word (R R D R R).
Then we went a little further and added the dimension of magnitude. If the difference of victory was greater than 10 percent, the letter is upper case, and lower case if the difference was less than 10 percent. This allows us to see interesting voting patterns at just a glance.
Here's the VoteWord for Iowa d r d d r. In the last six elections the state has been closely contested, voting narrowly for the Republican Party candidate in 2016 and 2020 after voting for the Democratic Party in 2008 and 2012. Virginia (r r d d d D) has voted for the Democratic Party in the last three elections.
Individual Campaign Contributions in Breathitt County, KY
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 388 contributions totaling $13,736 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $35 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 9 contributions totaling $900 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $100 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)