LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It wasn’t the night Democrats across Kentucky hoped. 

“This has just been an extremely weird, volatile year for a lot of people,” said Logan Gatti, chair of the Louisville Democratic Party, in response to Vice President Kamala Harris' loss in Tuesday night's election.

Gatti said it'll take some time to digest Harris' disappointing night, falling to President-elect Donald Trump. 

“I think people are exhausted," Gatti said. "I’m not sure what we do in 2026 for the midterms or in 2028 when we have another presidential election, but it is something that we can start to think about after we’ve sort out what happened in 2024.”

A silver lining, Gatti said, was U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey, D-Louisville, winning reelection.

“I’m glad that we were able to send Congressman McGarvey back to Washington," he said. "I’m glad that we’re able to protect our state House seats that are in the city.”

Strategically, Gatti said, Democrats have a lot to learn from the loss at the top of the ticket. Without planning too far ahead, the party will no longer have to face Trump after he finishes a second term.

“We can kind of tap dance some of the issues all we want, but at the end of the day, we really need to reassess what we’re doing,” Gatti said.

Louisville Metro Councilwoman Shameka Parrish-Wright, leader of nonprofit VOCAL-KY, volunteered in North Carolina on behalf of the Harris campaign.

“I think the outcome we wanted was to see that America was ready for the change,” she said.

Parrish-Wright said she feels Democratic leaders mismanaged their game plan to defeat Trump.

“I think once folks knew there was an issue with President (Joe) Biden and that the feasibility had changed, the American people deserved to know as well, right?" she said. "I think we’ve got to stop leaving the American people in the dark and be upfront and honest and transparent because that’s what the American people are looking for.”

She added she's hopeful there's a path forward for Democrats in Kentucky and nationally. 

“There’s a lot of local gains, statewide, congressional, senate seats, state reps, council people; you’ve got the first Black male mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma … there was a lot of wins," Parrish-Wright said. "I know it’s overshadowed by Vice President Harris’ loss." 

Lyndon Pryor, president of the Louisville Urban League, pointed to voter turnout being crucial to elections at all levels of government. 

“Turnout has an impact, and we really have to concentrate on that, even still, moving forward," he said. "That’s a hard thing to say and a hard thing to hear for a lot of people today, that voting still matters and showing up is still important, but it absolutely is.”

Pryor added he's pleased Amendment 2 failed at the ballot box, the measure that sought to allow taxpayer dollars go toward non-public schools. 

“Kentuckians made it known that they are not for taking away public dollars out of public schools, and I think that is really important," Pryor said.