Candidate for Kentucky House, District 78
Party: Republican
Status: Incumbent
Mark Hart is a Republican candidate for the Kentucky House of Representatives in District 78, which encompasses southern portions of Boone, Kenton and Campbell Counties, as well as a northern portion of Pendelton County (click here to view a map of the district).
His opponent in the May primary will be Brandon Montano. There are no Democratic candidates in District 78, so whoever wins the May primary will run unopposed in November.
Hart has a professional background in fire and EMS. He is a retired fire lieutenant of the Lexington Fire Department and a retired captain of Pendleton County EMS. Additionally, he’s a former member of the Kentucky National Guard. Finally, he is the current director of Owen County EMS and was recently appointed as a member of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council.
“I’m a lifelong resident of the 78th House district,” Hart said.
He served eight years on the Falmouth City Council and four years as the Falmouth mayor. He’s been at the statehouse since 2017. Like many Republicans, he’s pro-life and pro Second Amendment, but most his focus at the state house, he said, was moving through measures to “support local control.”
Click here to find profiles of all candidates participating in a contested race in May
“I think a lot of the decisions that’s being made is better made on the local level as compared to the state and the federal level,” Hart said.
He came out in favor of eliminating the state’s income tax and reforming Kentucky’s tax code generally, although he admitted that that was “an ongoing topic” at the legislature.
Other measures he pointed to, this year at least, was successfully getting about $13 million in state appropriations for utility and right-of-way infrastructure in the Campbell County portion of the KY-536 widening project, which aims to reduce congestion and improve safety along the heavily-traveled regional corridor. He admitted it wasn’t as much as he wanted and that the project is still a long way out from completion.
“If we can get the section in Campbell County completed that connects 536 up to the AA highway, that’s going to be a big benefit for the region,” Hart said. “I mean, not just Campbell County [but] Pendleton, Bracken, Robertson, Mason because all the commuter traffic.”
You can find out more about his committee assignments and sponsored legislation here.