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Jonathan Shell
2024 - Present
2028
1
Jonathan Shell (Republican Party) is the Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture. He assumed office on January 1, 2024. His current term ends on January 3, 2028.
Shell (Republican Party) ran for election for Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture. He won in the general election on November 7, 2023.
Biography
Jonathan Shell graduated from Garrard County High School in 2006. Shell earned a bachelor's degree in agriculture business from Eastern Kentucky University in 2010.[1] His career experience includes owning State Solutions LLC and Shell Farms.[1][2]
Elections
2023
See also: Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner election, 2023
General election
General election for Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture
Jonathan Shell defeated Sierra Enlow in the general election for Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jonathan Shell (R) | 59.4 | 763,468 |
 | Sierra Enlow (D) | 40.6 | 522,521 | |
| Total votes: 1,285,989 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture
Sierra Enlow defeated Mikael Malone in the Democratic primary for Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture on May 16, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sierra Enlow | 58.8 | 103,232 |
| Mikael Malone | 41.2 | 72,478 | ||
| Total votes: 175,710 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture
Jonathan Shell defeated Richard Heath in the Republican primary for Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture on May 16, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jonathan Shell | 56.4 | 148,170 |
 | Richard Heath | 43.6 | 114,368 | |
| Total votes: 262,538 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Shell in this election.
2018
General election
General election for Kentucky House of Representatives District 71
R. Travis Brenda defeated Mary Renfro in the general election for Kentucky House of Representatives District 71 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | R. Travis Brenda (R) | 78.5 | 13,172 |
 | Mary Renfro (D) | 21.5 | 3,613 | |
| Total votes: 16,785 (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. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Kentucky House of Representatives District 71
Mary Renfro advanced from the Democratic primary for Kentucky House of Representatives District 71 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Mary Renfro |
| ||||
| = 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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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Kentucky House of Representatives District 71
R. Travis Brenda defeated incumbent Jonathan Shell in the Republican primary for Kentucky House of Representatives District 71 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | R. Travis Brenda | 50.7 | 4,239 |
| Jonathan Shell | 49.3 | 4,118 | |
| Total votes: 8,357 | |||
| = 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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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 Jonathan Shell ran unopposed in the Kentucky House of Representatives District 71 general election.[3][4]
| Kentucky House of Representatives District 71, General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Jonathan Shell Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 16,951 | |
| Total Votes | 16,951 | |||
| Source: Kentucky State Board of Elections | ||||
Incumbent Jonathan Shell defeated Buzz Carloftis in the Kentucky House of Representatives District 71 Republican primary.[5]
| Kentucky House of Representatives District 71, Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Jonathan Shell Incumbent |
80.24% | 4,151 | |
| Republican | Buzz Carloftis | 19.76% | 1,022 | |
| Total Votes | 5,173 | |||
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 Jonathan Shell ran unopposed in the Republican primary and was unchallenged in the general election.[6][7][8]
2012
Shell won election in the 2012 election for Kentucky House of Representatives District 36. He defeated Nathan Mick in the Republican primary on May 22, 2012, and defeated Bradley Bud Montgomery in the general election on November 6, 2012.[9][10]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Rick Hiles |
63.3% | 11,933 | |
| Democratic | Bradley Montgomery | 36.7% | 6,929 | |
| Total Votes | 18,862 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Jonathan Shell |
58.2% | 2,102 |
| Nathan Mick | 41.8% | 1,512 |
| Total Votes | 3,614 | |
Campaign themes
2023
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jonathan Shell did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 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.
State legislative tenure
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Kentucky committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Committee On Committees, Vice chair |
| • Rules, Vice chair |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Shell served on the following committees:
| Kentucky committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Local Government, Vice Chair |
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Local Government |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Shell served on the following committees:
| Kentucky committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Agriculture and Small Business |
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Local Government, Vice chair |
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.
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.
2020
In 2020, the Kentucky State Legislature was in session from January 7 to April 15.
- 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 conservative issues.
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 8 through March 29.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 2 through April 14.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 3 through March 30.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 5 through April 15.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 6 through March 23.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 7 to April 15.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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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. |
Stances on the issues
Agriculture commissioners are responsible for overseeing and regulating practices and policies that affect farmers, consumers of agricultural products, and the broader agricultural industry in their states. Their powers can vary, but they typically have the authority to enforce state laws and regulations pertaining to agriculture and investigate practices related to the agricultural sector that may violate state laws or regulations.[11][12]
This section outlines Shell's stances on policy issues as they relate to agriculture.
Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
| Environmental, social, and corporate governance |
|---|
|
| • What is ESG? • Enacted ESG legislation • Arguments for and against ESG • Opposition to ESG • Federal ESG rules • ESG legislation tracker • Economy and Society: Ballotpedia's weekly ESG newsletter |
Shell has argued against ESG, which refers to an investment or corporate governance approach that involves considering the extent to which corporations conform to certain standards related to environmental, social, and corporate governance issues (such as net carbon emission or corporate board diversity goals) and making business and investment decisions that promote those standards. Agricultural commissioners have the authority to use their investigative and enforcement powers to scrutinize the effects of financial practices on the agricultural sector, write letters to financial institutions requesting information on their policies and practices, and issue regulations related to fertilizer usage, agricultural fuel usage, and rural electrification.[11][12]
Letter opposing ESG practices at financial institutions
Shell joined eleven agricultural commissioners from other states on January 29, 2024, in writing a public letter to the CEOs of six large banks, including J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs, opposing their ESG commitments.[11][12]
The letter argued that the financial institutions’ commitments to implementing Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) policies could restrict credit access for farmers and coerce agricultural producers into changing their farming practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The officials said such changes would increase costs in the agricultural sector, reduce the availability of food, drive up consumer prices, and eliminate jobs in the industry.[11][12]
The letter requested additional information related to the banks’ ESG commitments, including details on how the banks intended to promote NZBA’s carbon emissions targets for the agricultural sector.[11][12]
See also
2023 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture |
Officeholder Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 LinkedIn, "Jonathan Shell," accessed February 25, 2023
- ↑ Jonathan Shell for Agriculture Commissioner, "About," accessed February 25, 2023
- ↑ 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 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
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Fox Business, “Dozen state GOP agriculture commissioners launch probe of US banks over ESG investing: 'It must be stopped,'” accessed February 13, 2024
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Georgia Department of Agriculture, “Impact of Net-Zero Banking Alliance on Agriculture & Food Security,” January 29, 2024
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ryan Quarles (R) |
Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture 2024-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Kentucky House of Representatives District 71 2013-2018 |
Succeeded by - |
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