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Rick Girdler
2017 - Present
2029
8
Rick Girdler (Republican Party) is a member of the Kentucky State Senate, representing District 15. He assumed office in 2017. His current term ends on January 1, 2029.
Girdler (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Kentucky State Senate to represent District 15. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Rick Girdler was born in Somerset, Kentucky. Girdler graduated from Pulaski County High School. He attended Cumberland College. Girdler’s career experience includes working with Cumberland Life Underwriters, as a teacher with Life Underwriter Training Council, a member of the Northern School Site Based Council, a board member and coach with Somerset Little League, and as a self-employed insurance agent.[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.
2023-2024
Girdler was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Banking and Insurance Committee, Vice Chair
- Economic Development, Tourism and Labor Committee
- Committee on Families and Children
- Senate Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection Committee, Chair
- Banking and Insurance Committee
- Economic Development & Workforce Investment Committee
- Health and Family Services Committee
- Small Business & Information Technology Committee
- Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection Committee, Co-Chair
2021-2022
Girdler was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Banking and Insurance Committee, Vice chair
- Economic Development, Tourism and Labor Committee
2019-2020
Girdler was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Banking and Insurance Committee, Vice Chair
- Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee
- Economic Development, Tourism and Labor Committee, Vice Chair
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Kentucky committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Appropriations and Revenue |
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Economic Development, Tourism and Labor |
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
2024
See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for Kentucky State Senate District 15
Incumbent Rick Girdler won election in the general election for Kentucky State Senate District 15 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Rick Girdler (R) | 100.0 | 47,378 |
| Total votes: 47,378 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Rick Girdler advanced from the Republican primary for Kentucky State Senate District 15.
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Girdler in this election.
2020
See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Kentucky State Senate District 15
Incumbent Rick Girdler won election in the general election for Kentucky State Senate District 15 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rick Girdler (R) | 100.0 | 47,098 |
| Total votes: 47,098 | |||
| = 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 State Senate District 15
Incumbent Rick Girdler defeated Larry Nichols in the Republican primary for Kentucky State Senate District 15 on June 23, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rick Girdler | 78.3 | 14,140 |
| Larry Nichols | 21.7 | 3,923 | ||
| Total votes: 18,063 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2016
- See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the Kentucky State Senate 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 Chris Girdler (R) did not seek re-election.
Rick Girdler defeated Don Moss, Michael Keck and Joshua Nichols in the Kentucky State Senate District 15 Republican primary.[2]
| Kentucky State Senate District 15, Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Rick Girdler |
31.74% | 3,395 | |
| Republican | Don Moss | 24.66% | 2,638 | |
| Republican | Michael Keck | 22.90% | 2,449 | |
| Republican | Joshua Nichols | 20.70% | 2,214 | |
| Total Votes | 10,696 | |||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Rick Girdler did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Rick Girdler did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2016
Girdler's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[3]
Jobs
- Excerpt: "Kentucky has endured a lot of hardships during the last eight years. We have seen many jobs lost in the Commonwealth due to the restrictive policies of President Obama’s War on Coal and the unfriendly environment for businesses in Kentucky. In our area alone we have seen many good jobs leave south central Kentucky and leave good people without a secure future."
Pro-life and Defunding Planned Parenthood
- Excerpt: " Traditional values form the core of life in Kentucky. However, we have seen these values trampled upon and mocked. We have seen an out of control government abuse the basic rights of life of the most defenseless among our citizens. Protecting the unborn and defunding abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood is a top priority. The barbaric practices of Planned Parenthood are nothing less than criminal. I support the actions of Governor Bevin and his attempts to halt these horrible practices. I will carry the banner to protect the unborn and sponsor bills to finally end this."
Unfunded Pension Liability and Transparency
- Excerpt: " The pension problems in Kentucky have created a deficit so large that any one solution may not solve the issue. The Democrats propose budgets that spend every dollar, but never propose anything that will have effective change to secure these funds and make them sustainable. We made a promise to these workers and it should be our duty to fulfill that promise. Without a sound budget we will continue on the same disastrous path that the Democrats have led us on for so long. "
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.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the Kentucky State Legislature was in session from January 2 to April 15.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Kentucky State Legislature was in session from January 3 to March 30.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the Kentucky State Legislature was in session from January 4 to April 14.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Kentucky State Legislature was in session from January 5 to March 30.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Kentucky State Legislature was in session from January 7 to April 15.
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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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See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Kentucky State Senate District 15 |
Officeholder Kentucky State Senate District 15 |
Personal |
Footnotes
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Kentucky State Senate District 15 2017-Present |
Succeeded by - |
