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Drew Curtis

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Drew Curtis
Image of Drew Curtis

Democratic Party

Education

High school

Lafayette High School, 1991

Bachelor's

Luther College, 1995

Graduate

Haas School of Business

Personal
Profession
Chief executive officer, Fark.com

Drew Curtis (Democratic Party) ran for election for Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts. Curtis did not appear on the ballot for the Democratic primary on May 21, 2019.

[1][2]

Curtis was previously an independent candidate for Governor of Kentucky in the 2015 election. Curtis and his running mate and wife, Heather Curtis, announced their candidacies on January 23, 2015.[3] He officially filed for the election on August 10, 2015.[4] The Curtis couple was defeated by Republican candidates Matt Bevin and Jenean M. Hampton.[5]

The ticket of Curtis and Curtis sought to build on the momentum of independent candidates in the 2014 elections. Learn more about their campaign themes by jumping to the campaign themes section.

Biography

Education

  • High school diploma, Lafeyette High School (1991)
  • Undergraduate degree in computer science, Luther College (1995)
  • M.B.A., Columbia Business School/Haas School of Business (2012)[6]

Career

After graduation from Luther College, Curtis assisted the state's Department of Personnel in fixing issues in the employee insurance tracking system. He founded Internet service provider Digital Crescent, Inc. in 1996 and Fark.com in 1999. Curtis remains the chief executive officer and owner of Fark.com, an aggregator of news stories.[6]

Elections

2019

See also: Kentucky Auditor election, 2019

General election

General election for Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts

Incumbent Mike Harmon defeated Sheri Donahue and Kyle Hugenberg in the general election for Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts on November 5, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Mike Harmon
Mike Harmon (R)
 
55.7
 
779,730
Image of Sheri Donahue
Sheri Donahue (D)
 
41.0
 
574,820
Image of Kyle Hugenberg
Kyle Hugenberg (L)
 
3.3
 
46,563

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

Total votes: 1,401,113
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

Democratic primary for Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts

Sheri Donahue defeated Kelsey Hayes Coots and Chris Tobe in the Democratic primary for Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts on May 21, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Sheri Donahue
Sheri Donahue
 
46.7
 
134,988
Image of Kelsey Hayes Coots
Kelsey Hayes Coots
 
33.1
 
95,691
Image of Chris Tobe
Chris Tobe
 
20.2
 
58,551

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 289,230
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Mike Harmon advanced from the Republican primary for Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts.

2015

See also: Kentucky gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2015

General election

Republican Matt Bevin and his running mate, Jenean M. Hampton, defeated Attorney General Jack Conway and independent Drew Curtis.[7]

Governor and Lieutenant Governor, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngMatt Bevin/Jenean M. Hampton 52.5% 511,771
     Democrat Jack Conway/Sannie Overly 43.8% 426,827
     Independent Drew Curtis/Heather Curtis 3.7% 35,627
Total Votes 974,225
Election results via Kentucky Secretary of State

Campaign media

Drew Curtis speech: Not a Spoiler (August 15, 2015)

Polls

General election

Governor of Kentucky
Poll Jack Conway (D) Matt Bevin (R)Drew Curtis (I)UndecidedMargin of errorSample size
Vox Populi Polling
October 26-27, 2015		 44%44%6%7%+/-3.9618
Western Kentucky University Social Science Research Center
October 19-25, 2015		 45%40%7%8%+/-3.5770
SurveyUSA/Bluegrass Poll
September 22-27, 2015		 42%37%7%14%+/-3.8701
SurveyUSA/Bluegrass Poll
July 22-28, 2015		 43%38%8%11%+/-3.8685
Public Policy Polling
June 18-21, 2015		 35%38%6%21%+/-2.91,108
AVERAGES 41.8% 39.4% 6.8% 12.2% +/-3.58 776.4
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Hypothetical match-ups

Governor of Kentucky, Conway v. Bevin
Poll Jack Conway (D) Matt Bevin (R)UndecidedMargin of errorSample size
SurveyUSA/Bluegrass Poll
July 22-28, 2015		 45%42%13%+/-3.8685
SurveyUSA/Bluegrass Poll
May 5-10, 2015		 48%37%16%+/-2.41,677
SurveyUSA/Bluegrass Poll
March 3-8, 2015		 42%36%22%+/-2.31,917
Harper Polling
January 28-29, 2015		 45%41%14%+/-3.87640
AVERAGES 45% 39% 16.25% +/-3.09 1,229.75
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.


Democratic primary

Republican primary

Debates

September 15 Bluegrass Poll debate

Curtis participated, along with Matt Bevin (R) and Jack Conway (D), in the Bluegrass Poll debate at Bellarmine University, the first televised debate in the gubernatorial race. The debate took place on September 15, 2015, and was sponsored by the four media partners behind the Bluegrass Poll: WHAS11, the Courier-Journal, WKYT and the Lexington Herald Leader.[8][9]

Curtis took shots at both major party opponents, drawing audience laughter with lines such as "I think you're both wrong" and "I'll actually answer this question."[8]

Questions surrounding controversial Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis dominated the debate. Curtis said on the issue of compliance with Obergefell v. Hodges, "At the end of the day people who volunteer to serve their government must do their jobs -- period."[8]

Debate qualifications

Because of a dearth of polls since Curtis filed to run, he did not qualify for an October 6 debate hosted by Centre College/AARP. Kentucky Sports Radio, which hosted a debate on September 30, adjusted its 10 percent polling threshold to allow Curtis to join, saying the lack of public polling was unfair to him. Curtis, Bevin and Conway ultimately participated.[10][11]

Campaign finance

First quarter report (2015)
Comprehensive donor information for this election was collected from the state's campaign finance authority. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $3,712,481 and spent a total of $5,132,368.71 during this reporting period. This information was last updated on April 24, 2015.[12]

Fourth quarter report (2014)
Comprehensive donor information for this election was collected from the state's campaign finance authority. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $880,190.47 and spent a total of $545,733.73 during this reporting period. This information was last updated on February 3, 2015.[13]

Campaign themes

2019

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Drew Curtis did not complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

2015

Curtis' campaign website listed the following themes for the 2015 campaign:

“

We have a theory that we’re about to see a huge change in how elections and politics work. Across the country, we have seen regular citizens stepping up and challenging the status quo built by political parties and career politicians. They have been getting closer and closer to victory and, here in Kentucky, we believe we have a chance to win and break the political party stronghold for good.

We are not politicians. We are Citizen Candidates.

Citizen Candidates evaluate ideas on merit, not on outside influence, campaign contribution sources, or party ideology. They believe a good idea is a good idea, no matter which political party supports it. Citizen Candidates are regular people with common sense. They are capable leaders who would be fantastic elected officials - if they chose to run.

Most don’t. And we can’t blame them.

Political parties have shut out any outsiders from the process. But we think we see another way.

We're not the only ones either. In just 2014 alone, we saw the following:

- Bob Healey, an educator and political activist, ran for Governor of Rhode Island and won 22% of the vote - and spent just $35 to do it.
- Greg Orman, an entrepreneur and Independent candidate for Senate in Kansas, knocked the Democratic candidate out of the race and was polling close with the Republican incumbent the entire election.
- Columbia Law professor Tim Wu ran a campaign that almost put him on the Lt. Governor ballot for the November 2014 election.
- House of Representatives Majority Whip Eric Cantor was knocked out of the GOP primary by David Brat, a professor from Randolph Macon College.

None of these people were politicians.

All ran for office with the goal of finding a new way to seek elected office. And now we believe there is a path to victory in Kentucky and a chance to shatter the glass permanently. It goes beyond Kentucky though. Win or lose, our plan is to produce a blueprint others can use to get elected - in any state - without party help.

This campaign is important to everyone, not just citizens of Kentucky.

This is our chance. But it takes everyone’s help to make it happen. We are standing up against career politicians, political parties, special interests, and every group that thinks they deserve more influence than you.

Influence money can’t stop the power of citizens when they are unified.

In 2014, 1,000,000 people contacted the FCC in support of net neutrality – a policy that Big Telecom like AT&T and Comcast have been fighting for decades. They have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to fight it, and yet, none of it mattered once a million people voiced their support to the FCC. Now even the President has come out in support of it, addressing the issue in the State of the Union.

If we are ever going to change the tide...

...against special interests and political parties in our electoral process, we need that same kind of overwhelming support. We need more than just your votes. To remain viable in the face of so many forces trying to keep third party candidates out of the election, we need your financial support too. Citizen Candidates can’t raise money from special interest groups - because it doesn’t buy influence. We won’t cater to their demands. We need to raise it from their grassroots supporters, so please donate what you can.

If every voter gave their candidate just $5, special interest money would be powerless.

Not only does your financial support help us stay competitive, it proves legitimacy to the mainstream media. The deck has been stacked against us, but you can change that.

Not only do we want to win this election and shatter the electoral status quo, but we need to produce a blueprint so Citizen Candidates can win in all 50 states without political party support. [14]

”
—Drew Curtis' campaign website, (2015)

[15]

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Before running for governor, Curtis regularly appeared on television and radio for interviews. He also spoke at numerous conferences and symposiums, including a 2012 TED talk about "patent trolls." Curtis released a book in 2006 called It's Not News, It's Fark: How Mass Media Tries to Pass Off Crap As News, a book about the state of the mainstream media.[6]

Curtis sits on the University of Kentucky iNet (Innovation Network for Entrepreneurial Thinking) board, advocating for digital entrepreneurship. He is also a member of Lexington’s Economic Development Investment Board.[6]

Curtis also collaborated with blogger Wil Wheaton and Greg Koch of Stone Brewing Company to brew an imperial stout craft beer.[6]

In his free time, Curtis enjoys playing soccer and cooking. He and his wife Heather have three children.[6]


See also

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External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ [0=68.ARDs16ho_iIjDAcpHw5OesGlGVA3b90XuR3dFbCKfEkcf0O6xcSgdgOjtQoN3vU80IMRxupL95uw3JVEyhkZQ5G972aLgK-JyaOnJyQm1_MEgzC67eR6zGPckpjdPD0D_CAPGhsTlrsWv1ByQ8K5PI2JSB7K_X22kaBcROrqHtQTYWYW5rd6S2gL7n34ZThbF4JSlqpTHvL_ZzfNIf4mJjua70P6y9KxC-9msHTcSDSNoujWkdRp1rgoqaX223fHYkzL5bVckuVdFGYKI7sWzl-tea8S5bgoTYGP0HSrjYalQ4aCeT-J7Q6LEZhIIpzbNj7IF6bM6Y5El13_Wh0rJA&__tn__=-R Facebook, "Drew Curtis for KY Auditor 2019," April 1, 2019]
  2. ↑ Kentucky New Era, "Democrat Drew Curtis withdraws from auditor's race," April 2, 2019
  3. ↑ Insider Louisville, "Fark.com founder Drew Curtis says he’s running for governor of Kentucky," January 23, 2015
  4. ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Information for Drew Curtis, Candidate for Governor," August 10, 2015
  5. ↑ [results.enr.clarityelections.com/KY/57510/156550/Web01/en/summary.html Kentucky Secretary of State, "Governor and Lieutenant Governor," accessed Nov. 4, 2015]
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Drew Curtis for Governor, "About Drew," accessed January 26, 2015
  7. ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Governor and Lieutenant Governor," accessed November 4, 2014
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Kayla Moody, WHAS11.com., "Independent candidate Curtis gains recognition following Ky. gubernatorial debate," September 16, 2015
  9. ↑ Adam Beam, Courier-Journal, "Drew Curtis takes on major party candidates," September 16, 2015
  10. ↑ Sam Yougman, Kentucky.com, "Drew Curtis will join debate on Kentucky Sports Radio, but other fall debates look iffy," September 21, 2015
  11. ↑ WKYT.com, "Kentucky Sports Radio hosts governor's debate," October 2, 2015
  12. ↑ Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, "Candidate Search Results," accessed April 24, 2015
  13. ↑ Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, "Candidate Search Results," accessed February 3, 2015
  14. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  15. ↑ Drew Curtis for Governor, "Home," accessed January 26, 2015
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