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Kelly Smith (Kentucky)

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Kelly Smith
Image of Kelly Smith

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments
Last election

November 6, 2018

Contact

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Kelly Smith (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Kentucky House of Representatives to represent District 89. Smith lost in the general election on November 6, 2018.

Smith also ran in a special election to the Kentucky House of Representatives to represent District 89. Smith lost in the special general election on February 27, 2018.

Smith completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2018. Click here to read the survey answers.

Elections

2018

Regular election

See also: Kentucky House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Kentucky House of Representatives District 89

Incumbent Robert Goforth defeated Kelly Smith in the general election for Kentucky House of Representatives District 89 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Robert Goforth
Robert Goforth (R)
 
75.7
 
11,615
Image of Kelly Smith
Kelly Smith (D) Candidate Connection
 
24.3
 
3,722

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

Total votes: 15,337
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Kentucky House of Representatives District 89

Kelly Smith advanced from the Democratic primary for Kentucky House of Representatives District 89 on May 22, 2018.

Candidate
✔
Image of Kelly Smith
Kelly Smith Candidate Connection

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

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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Kentucky House of Representatives District 89

Incumbent Robert Goforth defeated Keith Hays in the Republican primary for Kentucky House of Representatives District 89 on May 22, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Robert Goforth
Robert Goforth
 
59.0
 
4,762
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
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Keith Hays
 
41.0
 
3,311

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

Total votes: 8,073
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.

Special election

See also: Kentucky state legislative special elections, 2018

A special election for the position of Kentucky House of Representatives District 89 was held on February 27, 2018. The filing deadline for Democratic, Republican, and independent candidates to run in this election was January 9, 2018. Write-in candidates had to file their declarations of intent to run by February 16, 2018.[1]

The seat became vacant on December 31, 2017, after Marie Rader (R) resigned her seat.[2]

Robert Goforth (R) defeated Kelly Smith (D) in the special election.[3]

Kentucky House of Representatives, District 89, Special Election, 2018
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngRobert Goforth 66.8% 2,809
     Democratic Kelly Smith 33.2% 1,399
Total Votes 4,208
Source: Kentucky Secretary of State

Campaign themes

2018

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
Candidate Connection

Kelly Smith participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on September 9, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and Kelly Smith's responses follow below.[4]

What would be your top three priorities, if elected?

“ Education
Healthcare
Infrastructure (transportation and broadband)[5][6] 		”

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?

“ I am personally passionate about education. As a librarian at Eastern Kentucky University I have been dismayed by the attacks on higher education in Kentucky coming down from our state government, and the shifting of higher ed funding from a shared public responsibility onto the backs of students through higher tuition. As a parent, I can't believe that our state has cut per-pupil funding in these days when education for a 21st century economy is urgent.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many[6] ”

Ballotpedia also asked the candidate a series of optional questions. Kelly Smith answered the following:

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

“ The desire to serve the public good - not to personally advance or prosper. The willingness to listen to all citizens and prioritize their well-being over corporate profits.[6] ”
What qualities do you possess that would make you a successful officeholder?
“ Transparency and openness, willingness to listen, desire to solve problems that affect ALL Kentuckians.[6] ”
What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?
“ Responsibly manage the state budget and create a tax code that benefits ALL Kentuckians, not just the wealthiest. Ensure sufficient revenue to fund education, environmental initiatives, infrastructure projects, healthcare, libraries, and all other public services.[6] ”
What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and the state legislature?
“ In a democracy, the governor and state legislator serve as a check and balance against each other. But they should not be adversarial - they should try to work with each other to move legislation forward.[6] ”
Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.
“ I think it's VITAL to build relationships with other legislators. Again, the only way to move legislation forward is to work together. Also, finding bipartisan co-sponsorship of bills is a great way to move it forward.[6] ”
What process do you favor for redistricting?
“ Gerrymandering is a huge problem, one that exists in my district as well. Since we have technology that use algorithms to calculate districts, let's use that technology to create even districts based on actual neighborhoods, not confusingly drawn districts that perpetually favor one party over another. This is a great article that explains the solution: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/06/03/this-computer-programmer-solved-gerrymandering-in-his-spare-time/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.fa0360bc0317[6] ”
If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?
“ I would like to serve on the Appropriations and Revenue Committee, the Education Committee, Health & Family Services, and Transportation.[6] ”
Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?
“ Representative Rita Smart, who served in the 81st District (which is right next to the 89th) LISTENED to her constituents and focused on practical legislation that would improve their lives. For example, her work on legislation to counter bullying. She served in order to move her community forward, not to have power or advance herself. That is the type of representative I would want to be.[6] ”
Are you interested in running for a different political office in the future?
“ No, I'm not interested in being a career politician and moving up the ladder. If anything, I would consider running for a more local office such as City Council in the future.[6] ”
Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?
“ I spoke with a constituent who has health problems which require ongoing pain management. The only type of medication her doctors will offer her for this are Opioids. They are not fully effective for her pain and she also has to be extremely careful because she is now at a higher risk for heart attack and other complications such as addiction. She wants to be able to use medical marijuana to ease her pain. I will work to pass legislation that permits this type of use in Kentucky. Further, if elected, I will try to use my influence on national legislators to remove marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug. This status means that they cannot be covered by medical insurance.[6] ”

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Kentucky.gov, "Special Elections to be Held in February to Fill Vacancies in House Districts 49 & 89," accessed December 22, 2017
  2. ↑ WKYT, "Kentucky state representative resigning effective Dec. 31," December 22, 2017
  3. ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "2018 Special Election 89th Representative District," accessed January 10, 2018
  4. ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
  5. ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Kelly Smith's responses," September 9, 2018
  6. ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.


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