Kentucky just elected its first African-American to statewide office

Lt. Governor Jenean Hampton.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

The state of Kentucky is 8.2 percent African-American, according to U.S. Census data, but last night marked the first time a black Kentuckian was elected to statewide office.

The trailblazer in question is Lieutenant Governor-elect Jenean Hampton, a Republican. A Detroit native and Air Force veteran, Hampton is a newcomer to politics, though in 2014 she unsuccessfully challenged a Kentucky state house representative. Hampton is a Tea Party activist whose 2014 race was endorsed by fellow Kentuckian Sen. Rand Paul (R).

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Bonnie Kristian

Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.