Redrawn district: Top Kentucky state Dem ends reelection bid

By BRUCE SCHREINER
Associated Press

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s top-ranking state House Democrat has announced she won’t seek reelection this year, saying she won’t stand in the way of a “person of color” being elected in her newly redrawn Louisville-area district where Blacks make up nearly 50% of the voting-age population. State Rep. Joni Jenkins, who is white, said Wednesday she’ll maintain her legislative seat and caucus leadership through her term. She withdrew a day after the filing deadline for candidates to run in this year’s primary. GOP supermajorities in Kentucky’s legislature passed a House redistricting map recently though it’s facing a court challenge. A Black Democratic woman was the only other candidate to file to run in Jenkin’s district.