Who is Rocky Adkins’ running mate? 

Democratic minority leader of Kentucky’s House of Representatives, Rocky Adkins, announced Wednesday he’ll run for Kentucky governor.

The Morehead State University graduate made his announcement at the Morehead Conference Center a little over a week after being re-elected into the Kentucky House of Representatives, when he ran unopposed.

“We can not only do better but as you know my, friends, we must do better,” said Adkins as he spoke on the importance for better education, jobs and healthcare for Kentuckians.

If elected governor, Adkins wants to work on keeping college graduates in the state. “What I want to see is a 21-century economy that produces a 21-century work force, he said.”

Adkins said space science is the “number one” industry in the commonwealth, over tobacco, car and bourbon, and he wants to build it up to create manufacturing jobs so those who have lost jobs can be retrained and go back into the work force.

Joining Adkins as running mate is real-estate attorney and former Jefferson County school board member Stephanie Horne. Both are listed on the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance.

Adkins, who was joined by former governor Paul Patton, will run against Attorney General Andy Beshear, and possibly others, in the primary.

The majority leader is a native of Sandy Hook and grew up in Elliot County, a rural area of Eastern Kentucky that has voted heavily Democratic since 1869.

Adkins is an alumnus of MSU and played basketball for the university when the Eagles won the Ohio Valley Conference championship in 1983.

Retired MSU basketball coach Wayne Martin, and a university regent, made an appearance at the campaign launch to endorse his former student.

“Rocky Adkins was, is and will be a leader,” said Martin. “Your leader, our leader, for what is best for the Commonwealth of Kentucky.”

In November of 2017, MSU named its newest dining facility (The Rock) after the minority leader.

There are only three states that will be holding elections for governor in 2019, Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Incumbent Gov. Matt Bevin made his announcement to run for re-election in August but has yet to file the paperwork to make it official.

Nacogdoches Miller | Staff Reporter | MSU Trail Blazer

MEET STEPHANIE HORN

FRANKFORT – When Stephanie Horne entered her first political contest in 2014 for a seat on Jefferson County’s Board of Education, a local publication used this headline to announce her candidacy: “Andrew Horne’s Wife Running for School Board.”

Truth be told, more people in the area probably knew Andrew Horne than his wife, who had kept a behind-the-scenes profile as an attorney, businesswoman and volunteer in her two sons’ schools, church and various civic groups.

Andrew Horne, an attorney and retired U.S. Marine Corps Reserves Lieutenant Colonel, had run unsuccessfully in the 2006 Democratic primary for Kentucky’s 3rd Congressional District and again in the 2007 Democratic primary for U.S. Senate to unseat Republican incumbent Mitch McConnell. Horne dropped out of the race in February 2008.

Now, Stephanie Horne is entering her own statewide political race. State House Democratic Leader Rocky Adkins made it official Wednesday in an announcement in Morehead that she will be his lieutenant governor running mate in his 2019 race to become Kentucky’s next governor.

“I’m honored that Rocky Adkins has invited me to join him as he stands up to fight for our commonwealth and build a better Kentucky” Stephanie Horne said.

Attorney General Andy Beshear already has announced his candidacy for governor with running mate Jacqueline Coleman, a Nelson County coach and teacher. Republican Gov. Matt Bevin has said he will seek re-election but has not said if he will keep Jenean M. Hampton of Bowling Green as his running mate.

Louisville political consultant Danny Briscoe, who is not associated with any campaign for governor and lieutenant governor, said Horne brings several pluses to Adkins’ efforts.

“First, she’s female. She is a successful businesswoman with a title company, she’s a lawyer, she’s very smart with a well-rounded, energetic and fearless personality,” Briscoe said. “She also is quite aware of the issues surrounding education, serving on the board for the state’s largest school system.”

The disadvantage Horne brings is “one that will affect several others — never having run before for a statewide office,” he said.

“It’s more complicated than one might think to run a race in all of Kentucky’s 120 counties,” said Briscoe, who has worked on several gubernatorial campaigns. “Every county wants you to be there in person. It can get problematic.”

Democratic state Sen. Gerald Neal of Louisville, who met Horne a few months ago when speculation arose that she would be Adkins’ running mate, said she “makes a good first impression” and described her as “bright and energetic.” Neal has not yet made an endorsement in next year’s race for governor and lieutenant governor.

Stephanie and Andrew Horne have been married 25 years and have two sons — Ty and Nick — who are graduates of the Jefferson County Public Schools System. She was a frequent volunteer in their schools, and was president two terms for the Ballard Parent Teacher Students Association.

Stephanie Horne also has served on numerous boards, current and past, including Christ Church United Methodist Board of Trustees, Louisville Bar Association, Susan G. Komen board member; Greater Louisville board member; and Metro United Way committee member.

On Nov. 4, 2014, she won a general election to be a member of the Jefferson County Board of Education. She decided this year not to seek re-election.

In August, the school board voted 4-3, with Horne in the majority, to reach a deal with the state Department of Education to avoid a state takeover of the Jefferson County schools system.

“If our governor can come after Jefferson County schools he can come after any school anywhere,” Horne said Wednesday in Morehead.

Horne graduated from Joliet West High School in Joliet, Ill., when she was 16. She earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Texas at Austin in 1988 and her law degree at University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law in 1992.

On her Facebook page, she reveals she is a fan of the Chicago Cubs baseball team.

By Jack Brammer
Lexington Herald-Leader