Gerald Watkins
Gerald Watkins is a former Democratic member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, representing District 3 from 2013 to 2018.
Biography
Watkins earned his MBA from Murray State University. When he worked in the state House, his professional experience included working as a professor of political science at West Kentucky Community and Technical College.[1]
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Kentucky committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Economic Development & Workforce Investment |
| • Education |
| • Judiciary |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Watkins served on the following committees:
| Kentucky committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Education, Vice Chair |
| • Judiciary |
| • Tourism Development and Energy, Vice Chair |
| • Economic Development and Tourism |
| • Education |
| • Judiciary |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Watkins served on the following committees:
| Kentucky committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Education, Vice chair |
| • Judiciary |
| • State Government |
Campaign themes
Watkins' website highlighted the following campaign themes:[1]
Welfare Reform
- Excerpt: "I would start with the premise that we as a people have a moral and financial obligation to support the elderly and the disabled. However, I believe those of working age and physically and mentally capable have both a moral and financial obligation to support themselve"
Kentucky Criminal Code
- Excerpt: "I support a three strikes and your out bill for Kentucky. After convicted of ones third felony life in prison should be the sentence. No parole or probation would be possible."
Education Reform
- Excerpt: "We need to eliminate much of the testing in Kentucky K-12 Education, teachers find themselves teaching the test and are not really educating our children as they could. We need to trust our teachers and let them do their jobs of educating our youth."
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
2018
Gerald Watkins did not file to run for re-election.
2016
Elections for the Kentucky House of Representatives 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 Gerald Watkins defeated Joni Hogancamp in the Kentucky House of Representatives District 3 general election.[2][3]
| Kentucky House of Representatives District 3, General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Gerald Watkins Incumbent |
55.36% | 9,869 | |
| Republican | Joni Hogancamp | 44.64% | 7,958 | |
| Total Votes | 17,827 | |||
| Source: Kentucky State Board of Elections | ||||
Incumbent Gerald Watkins ran unopposed in the Kentucky House of Representatives District 3 Democratic primary.[4]
| Kentucky House of Representatives District 3, Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Gerald Watkins Incumbent (unopposed) | |
Joni Hogancamp ran unopposed in the Kentucky House of Representatives District 3 Republican primary.[5]
| Kentucky House of Representatives District 3, Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Joni Hogancamp (unopposed) | |
2014
Elections for the Kentucky House of Representatives 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. Incumbent Gerald Watkins ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Randy Bridges ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Watkins defeated Bridges in the general election.[6][7][8]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Gerald Watkins Incumbent |
53.6% | 7,153 | |
| Republican | Randy Bridges | 46.4% | 6,188 | |
| Total Votes | 13,341 | |||
2012
Watkins won election in the 2012 election for Kentucky House of Representatives District 3. He ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on May 22, 2012, and defeated Jason D. Crockett in the general election on November 6, 2012.[9][10]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Gerald Watkins |
59.3% | 9,349 | |
| Republican | Jason D. Crockett | 40.7% | 6,406 | |
| Total Votes | 15,755 | |||
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.
2018
In 2018, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 2 through April 14.
- Legislators from the Louisville area are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
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. |
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
When he served in the state House, Watkins was divorced and had one child.[11]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Gerald + Watkins + Kentucky + House"
See also
- Kentucky General Assembly
- Kentucky House of Representatives
- Kentucky House Committees
- Kentucky Joint Committees
- Kentucky state legislative districts
External links
- Profile from Open States
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Gerald Watkins on Facebook
- Gerald Watkins on Twitter
- Campaign Contributions: 2012
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "geraldwatkins2012," Official Campaign Website
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Candidate Filings with the Office of the Secretary of State," accessed August 17, 2016
- ↑ Kentucky State Board of Elections, "2016 General Election Results," accessed November 25, 2016
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Candidate Filings with the Office of the Secretary of State," accessed January 26, 2016
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Candidate Filings with the Office of the Secretary of State," accessed January 26, 2016
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Candidate Filings with the Office of the Secretary of State," 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 2012 Primary Election Results," accessed March 13, 2014
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Official 2012 General Election Results," accessed March 13, 2014
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed June 2, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Brent Housman (R) |
Kentucky House of Representatives District 3 2013–2018 |
Succeeded by Randy Bridges (D) |
