Open Seat Watch: Democrat makes it a race in GOP stronghold in south Fayette Co.

While much of the attention in the state House races have been on Republicans’ efforts to pick up seats, they’re also defending three open GOP seats, including one in the Republican-performing southern Lexington suburbs.

The district, which contains slightly more Democrats than registered Republicans, covers the suburbs south of New Circle Road in Lexington and has been reliably Republican for the last decade.

With the retirement of Republican Rep. Bill Farmer, the seat was expected to pass to the next Republican: Robert Benvenuti, a Lexington lawyer with experience navigating Frankfort as the former inspector general of the state’s health cabinet.

But Democrat Reggie Thomas, a lawyer and associate professor of social work at Kentucky State University, has worked himself into the race by knocking on doors in every precinct and out raising his Republican counterpart.

Here’s the latest in the Pure Politics profiles of House races: