Earlier this month, on the Senate floor, Senators across from Kentucky gave testimony to retiring Sen. Paul Hornback (R-Shelbyville). They talked about Hornback’s passion for farm life and his involvement in agriculture legislation as the Senate Agriculture Committee chair.
But Senate District 20 is vastly changed due to redistricting from the one represented by Hornback.
Boone County is split in half due to the considerable population growth there. Currently, Boone County is entirely represented in the Senate by John Schickel (R-Union) in District 11. With the split, the southern half of Boone County and the southwestern portion of Kenton Co. are now moved to District 20 with Gallatin, Carroll, Owen, and Franklin counties.
Republicans are vying for the Senate seat currently held by Hornback. Phyllis Sparks and Gex “Jay” Williams hail from Boone County. Calen Studler and Mike Templeman are from Franklin County. Republican Primary: Phyllis Sparks, Calen Studler, Gex “Jay” Williams, and Mike Templeman
In the general election, whoever wins the Republican primary will face off against Democrat Teresa Azbill Barton.
Phyllis Sparks
Sparks is a lifelong Republican from Boone County. Recently, she served as the vice-chair of the Boone County Republican Party. She is anti abortion, pro-gun, and said she supports putting families first.
“My first vote was for Ronald Reagan in 1980,” she said. “Right out of high school.”
She and her husband of 40 years started a small business 35 years ago. They mine for sand and rock aggregate.
“We have a heavy industrial crane and rigging company, and we build these plants on site at rock quarries,” she said.
While Sparks is passionate about small business, she has also been passionate about education, specifically for students with learning disabilities. This passion started when her son struggled to read and she found out he had dyslexia.
“He’s dyslexic, and so I became an advocate for students with reading disabilities, primarily in the area of dyslexia,” she said. “I started a nonprofit organization in Kentucky, the Kentucky branch of the International Dyslexia Association.”
This work led her to be one of 12 advocates from across the nation to meet with former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos for a roundtable discussion on dyslexia.
As a candidate, she believes her work on previous legislation on infrastructure projects, tax incentives for small businesses, and education will make her perfect for the job.
Calen Studler
Studler is a self-described “platform Republican,” and he believes in how the Republican Party Platform is written.
“Those who act outside of the platform are whom we call “RINOs” – I am 100% pro-life and will support and promote constitutionally sound policy,” Studler said. “I am an NRA life member. I want to be an advocate for growth and development, and I am highly interested in vocational and skill training as I believe this is one of the biggest hindrances to Kentucky’s low workforce participation rate.”
Among the many things that Studler said he will do is to help continue our current path to zero percent income taxes.
As a Frankfort resident, state politics has always been at the top of his mind. Now that his children are “leaving the nest,” he wants to step up to the plate. His first attempt at office was in 2018 in the 57th House District. Then he decided to run for the 7th Senate District in 2020.
“Redistricting has again made it possible for me to run as I had not intended to do so,” he said. “The new 20th district is a lot of ground I had covered in 2020, and my supporters believed I should run again, and the response has been great.”
Gex “Jay” Williams
Williams is perhaps the most experienced candidate. He served three times in the General Assembly between 1990 and 1998.
“I’m an experienced change maker,” Williams said. “That’s what I did in the 90s during my short stint in the General Assembly. I disrupted the status quo and exposed politicians who were saying one thing and doing another. When I led the effort to flip control of the Senate to Republicans, it was a seismic shift in Kentucky politics. Because of the change, I brought to Frankfort, we passed legislation to protect innocent human life, allow concealed carry, save taxpayers money, and streamline government services.”
Williams said he would bring similar Republican values back to Frankfort. He supports ending the income tax, expanding parental rights, beefing up election integrity, and banning critical race theory and COVID mandates, while also protecting the 2nd amendment. Another important thing he wants to address is the rising costs for families, including gas prices and inflation.
“Frankfort must spend taxpayer dollars wisely while helping to build a stronger economy, create jobs, and improve our state’s infrastructure,” Williams said
Williams believes that Kentucky is at a pivotal point, and he’s ready to get to work on day one.
“We have so many great opportunities to unlock our potential, and we need leaders in Frankfort making wise decisions that provide more opportunities for Kentuckians,” Williams said.
Mike Templeman
Templeman said he entered the Senate race because he’s worked around the Senate for about 15 years in a lot of different roles. He said that when in Senate caucus meetings, institutional knowledge is often needed, especially if you have niche information about a particular subject.
“I’ve got multiple careers in my life,” Templeman said, elaborating that he’s been a police officer, managed energy companies, and he still does consulting in the energy business.
“So I have a background in two things that I thought were critical going forward in this state,” Templeman said, noting that during his time as a police officer, he has seen problems with drugs, and he wants to make a difference.
“And then my second career is to understand why energy and utility bills have gone so crazy,” Templeman said. “And, I think the state has been making some bad decisions.”
He believes that his experience working in different industries separates him from his opponents.