Sheri Donahue
Sheri Donahue (Democratic Party) ran for election for Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts. Donahue lost in the general election on November 5, 2019.
Donahue was a Democratic candidate who sought election to the Kentucky State Senate to represent District 36. Donahue lost the general election on November 6, 2018, after advancing from the primary on May 22, 2018.
Elections
2019
See also: Kentucky Auditor election, 2019
General election
General election for Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts
Incumbent Mike Harmon defeated Sheri Donahue and Kyle Hugenberg in the general election for Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Mike Harmon (R) | 55.7 | 779,730 |
 | Sheri Donahue (D) | 41.0 | 574,820 | |
 | Kyle Hugenberg (L) | 3.3 | 46,563 | |
| Total votes: 1,401,113 | |||
 = 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 Auditor of Public Accounts
Sheri Donahue defeated Kelsey Hayes Coots and Chris Tobe in the Democratic primary for Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts on May 21, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sheri Donahue | 46.7 | 134,988 |
 | Kelsey Hayes Coots | 33.1 | 95,691 | |
 | Chris Tobe | 20.2 | 58,551 | |
| Total votes: 289,230 | |||
| = 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Drew Curtis (D)
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Mike Harmon advanced from the Republican primary for Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts.
2018
See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2018
General election
General election for Kentucky State Senate District 36
Incumbent Julie Raque Adams defeated Sheri Donahue in the general election for Kentucky State Senate District 36 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Julie Raque Adams (R) | 53.4 | 29,729 |
| Sheri Donahue (D) | 46.6 | 25,977 | |
| Total votes: 55,706 (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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Kentucky State Senate District 36
Sheri Donahue defeated G. Perry Adelmann in the Democratic primary for Kentucky State Senate District 36 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sheri Donahue | 56.2 | 5,694 |
 | G. Perry Adelmann | 43.8 | 4,442 | |
| Total votes: 10,136 | |||
| = 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 36
Incumbent Julie Raque Adams defeated Sheeba Jolly in the Republican primary for Kentucky State Senate District 36 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Julie Raque Adams | 90.3 | 5,800 |
 | Sheeba Jolly | 9.7 | 622 | |
| Total votes: 6,422 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Campaign themes
2019
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Sheri Donahue did not complete Ballotpedia's 2019 Candidate Connection survey.
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Sheri Donahue completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Donahue's responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
1 – Repealing the 6% sales tax on services that my opponent supported which has burdened small businesses and working families 2 – Closing the gun show and person to person loopholes so that we have universal background checks on the purchase of all firearms 3 – Legalizing medicinal marijuana to treat those with chronic illnesses and cancer as well as to provide an additional crop and revenue stream for the Commonwealth
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
I am personally passionate about the pension crisis. Our public employees agreed to serve the citizens of our Commonwealth for a modest salary with the promise of a good pension upon retirement. These are the teachers, firefighters, police officers, social workers and more. These are the people who ensure our children receive a good education; who keep us safe; who risk their lives for strangers. Many of my friends and family are retired or current firefighters so this is very personal to me as it should be for anyone who wants a fireman to come when there is a fire or they are in an accident, a police officer to arrive when you have been robbed, EMS to come when you are having chest pains, and educators to teach our children so they may become productive, happy, independent adults. Breaking our promise to them of the pension they have earned is an attack on every citizen of our Commonwealth.
Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?
I look up to my parents. They have stuck together through 53 years of ups and downs, working hard for our family, always standing by each other and their children no matter what. They sacrificed many times for our family and most times without our knowing what they sacrificed. My mom has been very strong through a lot of health issues for which she suffers chronic pain. And my dad has the patience of a saint, never losing his temper, always seeing the best in people and caring for my mom with love and compassion. Most of all, they showed us the importance of charity, compassion and public service.
What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?
I am compassionate and empathetic. I very easily put myself in others' shoes and feel what they are feeling or experiencing. I am able to communicate effectively with people from their perspective to best convey my message while understanding theirs. I have often been told that my sincerity and my ability to speak from the heart makes me well-suited to be a leader.
What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?
A senator must be able to speak for those whom she represents and not cave to the wishes of party leaders. As an engineer working for the Navy, I always kept my focus on the sailors and soldiers who were to use the technologies for which I was responsible. Therefore, I was willing to fight for their safety because I would think about the fact that there is a mother, father, wife, husband, brother, sister, son or daughter somewhere who was missing their family member and depending on me to stand up for them. I believe this dedication to our military is critical in a public servant and I will take that same philosophy to Frankfort to serve the citizens of our Commonwealth.
What legacy would you like to leave?
I would like to be remembered for having made a difference. For touching people's lives and making their world better. I believe that making the world better on an individual basis by extension will make the whole world better for all of us.
What is something that has been a struggle in your life?
My Crohn's disease has been a struggle most of my adult life. It has flared up at inopportune times and caused me to miss events. However, it has also helped me to realize those things that are most important, given me strength and courage to overcome things that would have otherwise been intimidating to me and made me determined that I can still do the things I want to do in spite of it. Sometimes I think I am motivated by it because I want to prove to myself that I am not a victim of my Crohn's but a survivor.
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?
First, there was an older lady who was retired from city government and told me about all the programs she either started or was part of developing. Her pride in what she did for our community was heartwarming and connected with me because I hope to have the same legacy at the end of my career. We talked for a very long time and before I left she told me she had something for me. She had been cleaning out her basement and found a t-shirt that she wanted me to have. It said "Keep Calm and Ask an Engineer" since I am an engineer. It touched me that she gave it to me and we had just met. I called it my lucky shirt and wore it many times when canvassing. The second story was when I was canvassing with the candidate for the House 33rd district, Rob Walker, and our US Congressman for the 3rd district, John Yarmuth. We happened to stop at the home of a gentleman who had recently received his US citizenship and was looking forward to voting in his first election. It really was touching to see how much it meant to him and reminded us why we are doing this.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2019 Elections
External links
Footnotes
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