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Matt Castlen

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Matt Castlen
Image of Matt Castlen
Prior offices
Kentucky House of Representatives District 14
Successor: Scott Lewis

Kentucky State Senate District 8
Successor: Gary Boswell
Predecessor: Joe Bowen

Education

High school

Daviess County High School

Associate

Owensboro Community and Technical College

Contact

Matt Castlen (Republican Party) was a member of the Kentucky State Senate, representing District 8. He assumed office on January 1, 2019. He left office on January 1, 2023.

Castlen (Republican Party) ran for election to the Kentucky State Senate to represent District 8. He won in the general election on November 6, 2018.

Castlen was a Republican member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, representing District 14 from 2017 to 2019.

Biography

Matt Castlen graduated from Daviess County High School. He earned a welding degree from Owensboro Community and Technical College. Castlen's career experience includes serving as president and owner of Castlen Steel, Green River Industrial, and Castlen Enterprises.[1]

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.

2021-2022

Castlen was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Castlen was assigned to the following committees:

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Kentucky committee assignments, 2017
Agriculture
Natural Resources and Environment
Small Business & Information Technology

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

Matt Castlen did not file to run for re-election.

2018

See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2018

General election

General election for Kentucky State Senate District 8

Matt Castlen defeated Bob Glenn in the general election for Kentucky State Senate District 8 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Matt Castlen
Matt Castlen (R)
 
58.2
 
25,107
Image of Bob Glenn
Bob Glenn (D)
 
41.8
 
18,019

Total votes: 43,126
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Kentucky State Senate District 8

Bob Glenn advanced from the Democratic primary for Kentucky State Senate District 8 on May 22, 2018.

Candidate
Image of Bob Glenn
Bob Glenn

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Kentucky State Senate District 8

Matt Castlen defeated Dianne Burns Mackey in the Republican primary for Kentucky State Senate District 8 on May 22, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Matt Castlen
Matt Castlen
 
65.0
 
4,530
Image of Dianne Burns Mackey
Dianne Burns Mackey
 
35.0
 
2,441

Total votes: 6,971
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2016

See also: Kentucky House of Representatives elections, 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.

Matt Castlen defeated incumbent Tommy Thompson in the Kentucky House of Representatives District 14 general election.[2][3]

Kentucky House of Representatives District 14, General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Matt Castlen 63.55% 13,554
     Democratic Tommy Thompson Incumbent 36.45% 7,775
Total Votes 21,329
Source: Kentucky State Board of Elections


Incumbent Tommy Thompson ran unopposed in the Kentucky House of Representatives District 14 Democratic primary.[4]

Kentucky House of Representatives District 14, Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Tommy Thompson Incumbent (unopposed)


Matt Castlen ran unopposed in the Kentucky House of Representatives District 14 Republican primary.[5]

Kentucky House of Representatives District 14, Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Republican Green check mark transparent.png Matt Castlen  (unopposed)

Campaign themes

2016

Castlen's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

  • Focus on job growth in Kentucky
  • Protect our Second Amendment rights
  • Help stop the war on coal
  • Protect all human life – 100% Pro-Life
  • Stop EPA & Waterways of the U.S. overreach on farmers
  • Reduce government regulations on small business
  • Help preserve the American dream for future generations[6]
—Matt Castlen[7]

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.


Matt Castlen campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2018Kentucky State Senate District 8Won general$110,977 N/A**
2016Kentucky House of Representatives, District 14Won $312,659 N/A**
Grand total$423,636 N/A**
Sources: OpenSecretsFederal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Kentucky

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.




2022

In 2022, the Kentucky State Legislature was in session from January 4 to April 14.

Legislators are scored on their stances on conservative fiscal policy.
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 bills related to family issues.


2021


2020


2019


2018


2017




See also

External links

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by
Joe Bowen (R)
Kentucky State Senate District 8
2019-2023
Succeeded by
Gary Boswell (R)
Preceded by
-
Kentucky House of Representatives District 14
2017-2019
Succeeded by
Scott Lewis (R)


Current members of the Kentucky State Senate
Leadership
Senate President:Robert Stivers
Majority Leader:Max Wise
Minority Leader:Gerald Neal
Senators
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
Max Wise (R)
District 17
Matt Nunn (R)
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38
Republican Party (32)
Democratic Party (6)