Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Brandon Smith (Kentucky)
2008 - Present
2027
17
Brandon Smith (Republican Party) is a member of the Kentucky State Senate, representing District 30. He assumed office in 2008. His current term ends on January 1, 2027.
Smith (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Kentucky State Senate to represent District 30. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Smith served as Senate majority whip from 2013 to 2014. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 2001 to 2008 and was commissioner of the City of Hazard from 1993 to 1998.
Biography
Smith's professional experience includes working as Retail Operations Director for Perry Oil Company, Vice-President of Hazard Food Mart, Inc. and Owner of Daniel Boone Investments.
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
Smith was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Banking and Insurance Committee
- Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee, Chair
- Senate Transportation Committee
- Senate Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection Committee
- Banking and Insurance Committee
- Natural Resources and Environment Committee, Co-Chair
- Transportation Committee
- Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection Committee
2021-2022
Smith was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Banking and Insurance Committee
- Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee, Chair
- Senate Transportation Committee
- Senate Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection Committee
2019-2020
Smith was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Banking and Insurance Committee
- Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee, Chair
- Senate Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Kentucky committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Appropriations and Revenue |
| • Natural Resources and Energy, Vice chair |
| • Transportation, Vice chair |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:
| Kentucky committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Appropriations and Revenue |
| • Natural Resources and Energy |
| • Transportation, Vice Chair |
| • Appropriations and Revenue, Vice Chair |
| • Natural Resources and Environment |
| • Transportation |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:
| Kentucky committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Committee on Committees |
| • Natural Resources and Energy, Vice chair |
| • Rules |
| • Transportation |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:
| Kentucky committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Appropriations and Revenue |
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Appropriations and Revenue |
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Natural Resources and Environment |
| • Transportation |
| • Natural Resources and Energy, Chair |
| • Transportation, Vice chair |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:
| Kentucky committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Appropriations |
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Natural Resources and Energy |
| • Transportation |
Sponsored legislation
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
2022
See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Kentucky State Senate District 30
Incumbent Brandon Smith defeated Sid Allen in the general election for Kentucky State Senate District 30 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Brandon Smith (R) | 73.7 | 25,581 |
| Sid Allen (D) | 26.3 | 9,116 | ||
| Total votes: 34,697 | |||
 = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Kentucky State Senate District 30
Sid Allen defeated Terry Salyer in the Democratic primary for Kentucky State Senate District 30 on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Sid Allen | 56.7 | 7,148 | |
| Terry Salyer | 43.3 | 5,468 | ||
| Total votes: 12,616 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Brandon Smith advanced from the Republican primary for Kentucky State Senate District 30.
2018
- See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2018
General election
General election for Kentucky State Senate District 30
Incumbent Brandon Smith defeated Paula Clemons-Combs in the general election for Kentucky State Senate District 30 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Brandon Smith (R) | 73.2 | 27,747 |
 | Paula Clemons-Combs (D) | 26.8 | 10,151 | |
| Total votes: 37,898 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Kentucky State Senate District 30
Paula Clemons-Combs advanced from the Democratic primary for Kentucky State Senate District 30 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Paula Clemons-Combs |
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Kentucky State Senate District 30
Incumbent Brandon Smith advanced from the Republican primary for Kentucky State Senate District 30 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Brandon Smith |
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2014
- See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for the Kentucky State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was January 28, 2014. Jordan Bowling Palmer ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, while incumbent Brandon D. Smith ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Smith defeated Palmer in the general election.[1][2][3]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Brandon D. Smith Incumbent |
73.8% | 27,447 | |
| Democratic | Jordan Bowling Palmer | 26.2% | 9,733 | |
| Total Votes | 37,180 | |||
2010
- See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2010
Smith defeated Democratic candidate Johnnie Turner, Kentucky candidate by a margin of 20,870 to 10,180 in the November 2 general election.[4]
In the May 18 primary election, Smith ran unopposed.[5]
| Kentucky State Senate, District 30 (2010) General Election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Brandon Smith (R)
|
20,870 | 67.2% | ||
| Johnnie Turner (D) | 10,180 | 32.8% | ||
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Brandon Smith did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
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.
Scorecards
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
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2024, the Kentucky State Legislature was in session from January 2 to April 15.
|
2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2023, the Kentucky State Legislature was in session from January 3 to March 30.
|
2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2022, the Kentucky State Legislature was in session from January 4 to April 14.
|
2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2021, the Kentucky State Legislature was in session from January 5 to March 30.
|
2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2020, the Kentucky State Legislature was in session from January 7 to April 15.
|
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2019, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 8 through March 29.
|
2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2018, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 2 through April 14.
|
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2017, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 3 through March 30.
|
2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2016, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 5 through April 15.
|
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2015, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 6 through March 23.
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2014, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 7 to April 15.
|
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2013, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 8 to March 26. Ballotpedia staff did not find any state legislative scorecards published for this state in 2013. If you are aware of one, please contact editor@ballotpedia.org to let us know. |
2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2012, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 3 through April 9.
|
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Smith and his wife, Jamie, have three children.
Noteworthy events
Climate change comments
In a meeting of the Interim Joint Committee on Natural Resources and Environment held on July 2, 2014, Smith, a coal company owner speaking in opposition to federal regulations on carbon emissions, stated: "In academia we all agree that the temperature on Mars is exactly as it is here. Nobody will dispute that. Yet there are no coal mines on Mars. There’s no factories on Mars that I’m aware of." At the time of the comments, Earth's average temperature was 57 degrees Fahrenheit, while Mars' was -81 degrees Fahrenheit.[6][7]
DUI arrest
- See also: Politicians convicted of DUI
In January 2015, Smith was charged with speeding and DUI after allegedly having a 0.16 blood-alcohol level on the night of January 6. Bill Johnson, Smith's attorney, filed a motion to dismiss his client's charges, saying that a constitutional provision dating back to 1891 should have prevented his arrest.[8] Section 43 of the Kentucky Constitution reads: "The members of the General Assembly shall, in all cases except treason, felony, breach or surety of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance on the sessions of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either House they shall not be questioned in any other place." Johnson said that the language was added to "keep legislators from being bothered by people who would arrest them during sessions."[9] He concluded, "If you can't arrest them, you can't try them."[10] Assistant Franklin County Attorney David Garnett told The State Journal that Smith's position is "an interesting argument," but posited that "the 1891 constitution did not intend to give legislators blanket immunity for any act committed during the legislative session." The court will decide on the motion when Smith appears for his postponed arraignment on February 12.[8]
On May 22, a jury found Smith guilty of speeding but not guilty of DUI. His lawyer withdrew the "privileged from arrest" motion.[11]
See also
2022 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Kentucky State Senate District 30 |
Officeholder Kentucky State Senate District 30 |
Footnotes
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Election: 2014 General Election," accessed October 29, 2014
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Official 2014 Primary Election Results," accessed October 29, 2014
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Official 2014 General Election Results," accessed December 5, 2014
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Official 2010 General Election Results," accessed July 10, 2014
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Official 2010 Primary Election Results," accessed July 10, 2014
- ↑ WKMS, "Kentucky Lawmakers Attack Climate Change Science In Discussion on Carbon Regulations," July 4, 2014
- ↑ The Raw Story, "Kentucky GOP lawmaker defends coal: ‘We all agree’ Mars is the same temperature as Earth," July 8, 2014
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 The State Journal, "Attorney Wants Senator's DUI Charge Dismissed, Says His Client Is 'Privileged from Arrest' During Session," January 22, 2015
- ↑ WKYT, "State senator wants DUI charge dismissed based on 1891 rule," January 22, 2015
- ↑ Associated Press, "Attorney: Lawmaker can't be charged with DUI during session," January 22, 2015
- ↑ Lexington Herald Leader, "Jury finds state Sen. Brandon Smith not guilty of DUI but guilty on speeding charge," May 22, 2015
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Kentucky State Senate District 30 2008-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Kentucky House of Representatives 2001-2008 |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Commissioner City of Hazard 1993-1998 |
Succeeded by - |
