Robert Goforth
Robert Goforth (Republican Party) was a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, representing District 89. He assumed office on March 6, 2018. He left office on August 24, 2021.
Goforth (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Kentucky House of Representatives to represent District 89. He won in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Biography
Robert Goforth was born in East Bernstadt, Kentucky. He served in the United States Army from 1994 to 1996 as a combat engineer. Goforth earned a doctor of pharmacy from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. His career experience includes working as a substance abuse prevention educator, a pharmacist, and as a farmer.[1]
Committee assignments
2021-2022
Goforth was assigned to the following committees:
- House Appropriations and Revenue Committee
- Tourism and Outdoor Recreation Committee
- House Transportation Committee
- House Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection Committee
2019-2020
Goforth was assigned to the following committees:
- Health and Family Services Committee
- Tourism and Outdoor Recreation Committee
- House Transportation Committee
Elections
2020
See also: Kentucky House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Kentucky House of Representatives District 89
Incumbent Robert Goforth defeated Mike VanWinkle, Stacy Abner, and Philip Eric Robinson in the general election for Kentucky House of Representatives District 89 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Robert Goforth (R) | 70.9 | 14,995 |
 | Mike VanWinkle (D)  | 28.5 | 6,030 | |
 | Stacy Abner (Unaffiliated) (Write-in) | 0.6 | 134 | |
| Philip Eric Robinson (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 1 | |
| Total votes: 21,160 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Mike VanWinkle advanced from the Democratic primary for Kentucky House of Representatives District 89.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Robert Goforth advanced from the Republican primary for Kentucky House of Representatives District 89.
2019
See also: Kentucky gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2019
General election
General election for Governor of Kentucky
Andy Beshear defeated incumbent Matt Bevin and John Hicks in the general election for Governor of Kentucky on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Andy Beshear (D) | 49.2 | 709,890 |
 | Matt Bevin (R) | 48.8 | 704,754 | |
 | John Hicks (L) | 2.0 | 28,433 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 46 | ||
| Total votes: 1,443,123 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of Kentucky
Andy Beshear defeated Rocky Adkins, Adam Edelen, and Geoff M. Young in the Democratic primary for Governor of Kentucky on May 21, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Andy Beshear | 37.9 | 149,448 |
 | Rocky Adkins | 31.9 | 125,981 | |
 | Adam Edelen | 27.9 | 110,161 | |
 | Geoff M. Young | 2.3 | 8,923 | |
| Total votes: 394,513 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of Kentucky
Incumbent Matt Bevin defeated Robert Goforth, William Woods, and Ike Lawrence in the Republican primary for Governor of Kentucky on May 21, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Matt Bevin | 52.3 | 136,069 |
| Robert Goforth | 38.9 | 101,345 | |
 | William Woods | 5.5 | 14,440 | |
 | Ike Lawrence | 3.2 | 8,412 | |
| Total votes: 260,266 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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2018
Regular election
See also:
General election
General election for Kentucky House of Representatives District 89
Incumbent Robert Goforth defeated Kelly Smith in the general election for Kentucky House of Representatives District 89 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Robert Goforth (R) | 75.7 | 11,615 |
 | Kelly Smith (D) | 24.3 | 3,722 | |
| Total votes: 15,337 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Kentucky House of Representatives District 89
Kelly Smith advanced from the Democratic primary for Kentucky House of Representatives District 89 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Kelly Smith |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Kentucky House of Representatives District 89
Incumbent Robert Goforth defeated Keith Hays in the Republican primary for Kentucky House of Representatives District 89 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Robert Goforth | 59.0 | 4,762 |
| Keith Hays | 41.0 | 3,311 | |
| Total votes: 8,073 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Special election
A special election for the position of Kentucky House of Representatives District 89 was held on February 27, 2018. The filing deadline for Democratic, Republican, and independent candidates to run in this election was January 9, 2018. Write-in candidates had to file their declarations of intent to run by February 16, 2018.[2]
The seat became vacant on December 31, 2017, after Marie Rader (R) resigned her seat.[3]
Robert Goforth (R) defeated Kelly Smith (D) in the special election.[4]
| Kentucky House of Representatives, District 89, Special Election, 2018 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Robert Goforth |
66.8% | 2,809 | |
| Democratic | Kelly Smith | 33.2% | 1,399 | |
| Total Votes | 4,208 | |||
| Source: Kentucky Secretary of State | ||||
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Robert Goforth did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2019
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Robert Goforth did not complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign website
| “ | Christian. Husband. Father. Veteran. Pharmacist. Business Owner. Farmer. State Representative. Conservative. These are some of the words that describe Dr. Robert Goforth.
Robert is running for Kentucky’s Governor because he wants to give back to the state and the people that helped him to succeed in life. Robert grew up in poverty, enlisted in the U.S. Army when he became of age, and served as a combat engineer. Robert put himself through college at the University of Kentucky, and graduated from pharmacy school, becoming a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.). As a pharmacist and business owner, Robert knows all about self-reliance, hard work, and what it takes to accomplish goals. He’s a proven job creator. Robert built his businesses from the ground up, building his pharmacies in Southeast Kentucky up from zero to multimillion dollars in annual revenues. Robert created over 30 jobs in his businesses for people in our region. Robert is committed to a people-first agenda that values working families, small business owners, and seniors. [5] |
” |
| —Robert Goforth[6] | ||
Scorecards
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Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Kentucky scorecards, email suggestions to [email protected].
2021
In 2021, the Kentucky State Legislature was in session from January 5 to March 30.
- Legislators from the Louisville area are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported by the organization.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Kentucky State Legislature was in session from January 7 to April 15.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 8 through March 29.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 2 through April 14.
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Noteworthy events
Resignation from House following arrest on domestic violence charges (2021)
On April 21, 2020, Goforth was arrested on several domestic violence-related charges at a private home in London, Kentucky. He posted a $25,000 bond to be released from jail later that day.[7] Goforth did not make a public statement regarding his arrest. In response to the news, Kentucky House Speaker David Osborne (R) said that the Republican caucus had "just been made aware of these charges and do not know the facts related to this case," and continued to say, "While we reserve comment on this specific situation, the House Majority Caucus unequivocally denounces any form of domestic violence and has zero tolerance for it or its perpetrators."[8]
On June 1, Goforth pleaded not guilty to three charges of strangulation, assault, and terroristic threatening, according to court documents reported on by the Lexington Herald-Leader.[9] He appeared in court for a hearing on June 9, during which prosecutors stated that they were continuing to process evidence in the case.[10]
On September 18, 2020, a Laurel County grand jury charged Goforth with one count of first-degree strangulation and one count of fourth-degree assault.[11] As of September 22, 2020, Ballotpedia staff could not identify a statement from Goforth in response to these charges.
On January 13, 2021, a petition to impeach Goforth was filed in the Kentucky House of Representatives. The petition lists domestic violence charges, allegations of abuse of office for personal and financial gain, and allegations of financial misconduct as reasons for his impeachment. According to the Courier Journal, Goforth issued a statement saying, voters "overwhelmingly re-elected me last November despite a nearly constant assault upon my character. I am focused on the work of this session that the people who sent me here expect me to fulfill."[12] The House impeachment committee dismissed the petition on February 11, 2021.[13]
On August 24, 2021 Goforth resigned his seat. He wrote in his resignation letter, "It is with a heavy heart, yet a profound sense of gratitude to the people of my district for electing me three times to be their state representative, that I must inform you of my decision to resign as State Representative for the 89th District, effective immediately."[14]
Goforth's pretrial conference was set for December 16, 2021, and later moved to January 19, 2022.[15]
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Kentucky General Assembly, "Representative Robert Goforth (R)," accessed March 6, 2020
- ↑ Kentucky.gov, "Special Elections to be Held in February to Fill Vacancies in House Districts 49 & 89," accessed December 22, 2017
- ↑ WKYT, "Kentucky state representative resigning effective Dec. 31," December 22, 2017
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "2018 Special Election 89th Representative District," accessed January 10, 2018
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Goforth for Kentucky, "Home," accessed January 31, 2019
- ↑ The Hill, "Kentucky state lawmaker faces domestic violence charges," April 21, 2020
- ↑ Courier-Journal, "Former Kentucky gubernatorial candidate arrested on domestic violence charges," April 21, 2020
- ↑ Lexington Herald-Leader, "Kentucky state representative pleads not guilty to strangulation, other charges," June 1, 2020
- ↑ WYMT, "Rep. Robert Goforth appears in court for Laurel County hearing," June 9, 2020
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Kentucky GOP lawmaker indicted on assault, accused of strangling woman with ethernet cable," September 21, 2020
- ↑ Courier Journal, "Impeachment petition filed against Rep. Robert Goforth over strangulation indictment," January 13, 2021
- ↑ Courier Journal, "Kentucky House dismisses impeachment petition for lawmaker accused of strangling wife," February 12, 2021
- ↑ Courier Journal, "Facing criminal charges, Robert Goforth resigns post as a Kentucky lawmaker," August 24, 2021
- ↑ Sentinel Echo, "Hearing over missing evidence in Goforth strangulation case ends with briefs scheduled to go to judge," August 25, 2021
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Marie Rader |
Kentucky House of Representatives District 89 2018-2021 |
Succeeded by Timmy Truett (R) |
