Number of state House Democrats not seeking re-election grows to 8

FRANKFORT -- Two veteran state House Democrats — Jody Richards of Bowling Green, who was House speaker for a record 14 years, and Darryl Owens of Louisville — announced Monday that they won’t seek re-election this year.

So far, eight Democratic House incumbents have said publicly that they own’t run this year for another two-year House term. That means it will be harder for Democrats to cut into the substantial 64-36 margin that Republicans hold in the House, because Democrats will have to find candidates to try to replace the incumbents.

The filing deadline to run for the legislature this year is Jan. 30. All 100 House seats and 19 of the Senate’s 38 seats are up for grabs.

Brad Bowman, a spokesman for the Kentucky Democratic Party, said the departure of several House Democrats isn’t because Republicans gained control of the House two years ago for the first time since 1921.

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