KY House Democrats vote to expel Grossberg from caucus after sexual misconduct reports

Embattled State Rep. Daniel Grossberg is no longer allowed to caucus with his fellow Democrats in the Kentucky House of Representatives.

“In addition to calling for state Representative Daniel Grossberg’s resignation today, the Kentucky House Democratic Caucus also voted to expel him permanently as a caucus member,” party leaders said in a statement Friday afternoon.

“He has since been notified of that change, which previously had been a suspension.”

House Democrats voted in late July to temporarily suspend the Louisville freshman lawmaker following Herald-Leader reporting of “creepy” and “weird” messages he’d sent to women in Kentucky politics. They also asked for a formal investigation of his conduct by the Legislative Ethics Commission, which has since unanimously voted to further the probe into his conduct.

Removal from caucus means the 45-year-old lawmaker who represents the 30th House District is not allowed to vote for who should serve in House Democratic leadership and cannot attend caucus meetings, during which policy and votes are discussed among party members.

Additionally, Grossberg will not have access to caucus resources, like assistance from its staff on bill drafting and research.

House Democratic leadership in August also informed Grossberg he’d been removed from all his interim committee assignments.

Also in August, the Herald-Leader has reported the experiences of three more young women in Kentucky politics who shared allegations of inappropriate, harassing or sexually-tinged text or direct social media messages.

And just Friday morning, a Herald-Leader investigation revealed Grossberg had been banned for life for inappropriately touching a dancer at Foxys Gentlemens Club in Louisville. He’d also solicited a different dancer for sex just two weeks before, offering her as much as $5,000 to act out a specific sexual fantasy, she told the newspaper.

Grossberg has denied all allegations of impropriety and rebuffed the mounting calls for his resignation, which now include top Kentucky Democrats Gov. Andy Beshear and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman.

This story was originally published September 20, 2024 at 3:53 PM.

Alex Acquisto

Lexington Herald-Leader

270-314-6378

Alex Acquisto covers state politics and health for the Lexington Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com. She joined the newspaper in June 2019 as a corps member with Report for America, a national service program made possible in Kentucky with support from the Blue Grass Community Foundation. She’s from Owensboro, Ky., and previously worked at the Bangor Daily News and other newspapers in Maine. Support my work with a digital subscription

Austin Horn

Lexington Herald-Leader

706-571-8597

Austin Horn is a politics reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader. He previously worked for the Frankfort State Journal and National Public Radio. Horn has roots in both Woodford and Martin Counties.