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Damon Thayer

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Damon Thayer
Image of Damon Thayer

Republican Party

Prior offices
Kentucky State Senate District 17
Successor: Matt Nunn

Education

Bachelor's

Michigan State University, 1989

Personal
Religion
Christian: Catholic
Profession
Business owner
Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

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Personal LinkedIn

Damon Thayer (Republican Party) was a member of the Kentucky State Senate, representing District 17. He assumed office in 2003. He left office on January 1, 2025.

Thayer (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Kentucky State Senate to represent District 17. He won in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Thayer served as the state Senate majority leader. Thayer served as Treasurer of the Grant County Republican Party from 1995 to 1999, Republican Chairman for the Fourth Congressional District from 1997 to 1999, and Vice-Chair of the Republican Executive Committee of Kentucky from 1999 to 2004.

Biography

Damon Thayer was born in Georgetown, Kentucky. He earned a bachelor of arts from Michigan State University. Thayer’s career experience includes working as the president of Thayer Communications & Consulting. He has been a member of the Scott County Chamber of Commerce, the Grant County Chamber of Commerce, the NRA, and the Scott County Farm Bureau.[1]

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Thayer was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Thayer was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Thayer was assigned to the following committees:

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Kentucky committee assignments, 2017
• Agriculture
• Committee on Committees
• Licensing, Occupations and Administrative Regulations
• Rules
• State and Local Government

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Thayer served on the following committees:

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Thayer served on the following committees:

Kentucky committee assignments, 2013
• Agriculture
• Committee on Committees
• Licensing, Occupations and Administrative Regulations
• State and Local Government

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Thayer served on the following committees:

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Thayer served on the following committees:

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2024

See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2024

Damon Thayer did not file to run for re-election.

2020

See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Kentucky State Senate District 17

Incumbent Damon Thayer defeated Jason Stroude in the general election for Kentucky State Senate District 17 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Damon Thayer
Damon Thayer (R)
 
69.3
 
44,772
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Jason Stroude (D)
 
30.7
 
19,852

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 64,624
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Jason Stroude advanced from the Democratic primary for Kentucky State Senate District 17.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Damon Thayer advanced from the Republican primary for Kentucky State Senate District 17.

2016

See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2016

Elections for the Kentucky State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on May 17, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was January 26, 2016.

Incumbent Damon Thayer defeated Charlie Hoffman in the Kentucky State Senate District 17 general election.[2][3]

Kentucky State Senate District 17, General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Damon Thayer Incumbent 67.93% 36,656
     Democratic Charlie Hoffman 32.07% 17,302
Total Votes 53,958
Source: Kentucky State Board of Elections


Charlie Hoffman ran unopposed in the Kentucky State Senate District 17 Democratic primary.[4]

Kentucky State Senate District 17, Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Charlie Hoffman  (unopposed)


Incumbent Damon Thayer ran unopposed in the Kentucky State Senate District 17 Republican primary.[5]

Kentucky State Senate District 17, Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Republican Green check mark transparent.png Damon Thayer Incumbent (unopposed)

2012

See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2012

Thayer won re-election in the 2012 election for Kentucky State Senate District 17. He defeated Rick Hostetler in the Republican primary on May 22, 2012, and defeated David Holcomb (D) in the general election on November 6, 2012.[6][7]

Kentucky State Senate, District 17, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngDamon Thayer Incumbent 66.3% 35,343
     Democratic David Holcomb 33.7% 17,926
Total Votes 53,269
Kentucky State Senate, District 17 Republican Primary, 2012
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngDamon Thayer Incumbent 63.2% 3,687
Rick Hostetler 36.8% 2,147
Total Votes 5,834

2008

On November 4, 2008, Thayer was re-elected to the 17th District Seat in the Kentucky State Senate, defeating Robert Powell (D) and Micah L. Ingram (I).[8] Thayer raised $374,151 for his campaign, while Powell raised $30,430 and Ingram raised $745.[9]

Kentucky State Senate, District 17 (2008)
Candidates Votes Percent
Green check mark transparent.png Damon Thayer (R) 31,835 61.6%
Robert Powell (D) 18,342 35.5%
Micah L. Ingram (C) 1,478 2.9%

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Damon Thayer did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2016

Thayer's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

“

As your State Senator, I will work to protect taxpayers, promote transparency and accountability in government, and stand up for our conservative values.[10]

”
—Damon Thayer[11]

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Damon Thayer campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2020Kentucky State Senate District 17Won general$598,354 N/A**
2016Kentucky State Senate, District 17Won $418,294 N/A**
2012Kentucky State Senate, District 17Won $210,989 N/A**
2008Kentucky State Senate, District 17Won $374,151 N/A**
2004Kentucky State Senate, District 17Won $354,309 N/A**
Grand total$1,956,097 N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Kentucky

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Kentucky scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.


2024

In 2024, the Kentucky State Legislature was in session from January 2 to April 15.

Legislators are scored on their stances on conservative fiscal policy.
Legislators from the Louisville area are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to family issues.


2023


2022


2021


2020


2019


2018


2017


2016


2015


2014


2013


2012

See also

2020 Elections

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External links

Candidate

Kentucky State Senate District 17
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    Personal

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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Kentucky General Assembly, "Senator Damon Thayer (R)," accessed March 10, 2020
    2. ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Candidate Filings with the Office of the Secretary of State," accessed August 17, 2016
    3. ↑ Kentucky State Board of Elections, "2016 General Election Results," accessed November 25, 2016
    4. ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Candidate Filings with the Office of the Secretary of State," accessed January 26, 2016
    5. ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Candidate Filings with the Office of the Secretary of State," accessed January 26, 2016
    6. ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Official 2012 General Election Results," accessed January 7, 2015
    7. ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, Official 2012 Primary Election Results
    8. ↑ Kentucky State Board of Elections, "Report of 'Official' Election Night Tally Results," November 26, 2008
    9. ↑ District 17 Kentucky State Senate, 2008 Money Raised
    10. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
    11. ↑ Damon Thayer, "Issues," accessed October 21, 2016

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    -     		Kentucky State Senate District 17
    2003-2025    		 Succeeded by
    Matt Nunn (R)
    v • e
    State senate majority leaders
    SLP badge.png
    AL: Steve Livingston (R) • AK: Catherine A. Giessel (R) • AZ: Janae Shamp (R) • AR: Blake Johnson (R) • CA: TBD • CO: Robert Rodriguez (D) • CT: Bob Duff (D) • DE: Bryan Townsend (D) • FL: Jim Boyd (R) • GA: Jason Anavitarte (R) • HI: Dru Kanuha (D) • ID: Lori Den Hartog (R) • IL: Kimberly Lightford (D) • IN: Chris Garten (R) • IA: Jack Whitver (R) • KS: Chase Blasi (R) • KY: Max Wise (R) • ME: TBD (D) • MD: Nancy King (D) • MA: Cynthia Stone Creem (D) • MI: Winnie Brinks (D) • MN: Erin Murphy (D) • MO: Tony Leutkemeyer (R) • MT: Tom McGillvray (R) • NV: Nicole Cannizzaro (D) • NH: Regina Birdsell (R) • NJ: Teresa Ruiz (New Jersey) (D) • NM: Peter Wirth (D) • NY: Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D) • NC: Paul Newton (R) • ND: David Hogue (R) • OH: Theresa Gavarone (R) • OK: Julie Daniels (R) • OR: Kayse Jama (D) • PA: Joe Pittman (R) • RI: Frank Ciccone (D) • SC: Shane Massey (R) • SD: Jim Mehlhaff (R) • TN: Jack Johnson (R) • UT: Kirk Cullimore (R) • VT: Kesha Ram Hinsdale (D) • VA: Scott Surovell (D) • WA: Jamie Pedersen (D) • WV: Patrick Martin (R) • WI: Devin LeMahieu (R) • WY: Tara Nethercott (R)


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    Majority Leader:Max Wise
    Minority Leader:Gerald Neal
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