Ken Upchurch

Kenneth "Ken" Upchurch
Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from the 52nd district
In office January 1999 – December 2010
Preceded by	Vernon Miniard, Jr.
Succeeded by	Sara Beth Gregory
Incumbent
Assumed office February 2013
Preceded by	Sara Beth Gregory
Personal details
Born	June 4, 1969 Richmond, Madison County Kentucky, USA
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Melissa Upchurch
Children	Chelsea Nelson Jackson Upchurch
Residence	Monticello, Wayne County Kentucky
Alma mater	Wayne County High School Eastern Kentucky University
Profession	Publisher of the Monticello Stage newspaper
Religion	Baptist

Kenneth "Ken" Upchurch (born June 4, 1969) is the publisher of the Monticello Stage, a community newspaper^[1] in Monticello in Wayne County, Kentucky, who is a Republican member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from District 52, which encompasses Wayne, McCreary, and a portion of Pulaski counties in the south-central portion of the state. Upchurch held this seat from January 1999 to December 2010 and then returned after a two-year hiatus to the position early in 2013.^[2]

Upchurch is a son of Martin L. Upchurch of Monticello and the former Barbara Jackson (1948-2013). He and his wife Melissa, have a daughter, Chelsea Upchurch.^[1] He has two brothers, Keith Upchurch of Monticello and Timothy Upchurch of Lexington, Kentucky. His maternal grandfather is the Reverend James Howard Jackson of Mt. Orab, Ohio.^[3] Upchurch received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Eastern Kentucky University in his native Richmond, Kentucky. At EKU, he was the student body president and an automatic member of the university board of regents.^[1] He is a member of the Elk Spring Valley Baptist Church in Monticello.^[2][4]

In his first race for the House, buoyed by a large vote in Wayne County, Upchurch won the Republican nomination over three opponents by a margin of some seven hundred votes.^[5] In the general election, he defeated the Democrat Arthur J. Bolze of Somerset by a wide margin, 8,505 (75.7 percent) to 2,736 (24.3 percent)^[6] As a legislator, Upchurch developed a reputation for his support of small business and agriculture. In 2002, his colleagues elected him as the House Republican whip, a position which he filled for two terms and helped to craft the state budget.^[1] He did not seek a seventh two-year term in 2010 and was succeeded by fellow Republican, Sara Beth Gregory, a lawyer from Monticello. Instead Upchurch was defeated in a bid for Wayne County Judge-Executive.^[7] After just two years in the state House, Gregory won a special election to the Kentucky State Senate in December 2012 to succeed long-term State Senate President David L. Williams of Burkesville in Cumberland County.^[8] Upchurch won back the seat that he had vacated barely two years earlier, when he defeated the Democrat Harvey Shearer, also of Monticello in a low-turnout special election held on February 12, 2013. The leadership of both parties selected Upchurch and Shearer as their nominees.^[9]

References

1. "Upchurch, Ken". ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
2. "Rep. Ken Upchurch, R-KY 52nd District". ar--nea.capwiz.com. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
3. "Barbara Upchurch, June 12, 2013". wcoutlook.com. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
4. "Representative Ken Upchurch". lrc.ky.gov. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
5. "State Representative returns, Republican primary, District 52" (PDF). elect.ky.gov. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
6. "General Election returns, November 3, 1998". elect.ky.gov. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
7. "Janie Slaven, Upchurch runs to regain House seat Special election set for February 12, January 16, 2013". McCreary Record. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
8. "Jack Brammer, Sara Beth Gregory wins election to fill David Williams' state Senate seat, December 18, 2012". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
9. "Jack Brammer, Monticello Republican wins special election for Kentucky House 52nd District seat, February 12, 2013". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved August 29, 2013.