Here’s who will advance to November election for Kentucky agricultural commissioner job
%20(7).png "Jonathan Shell and Sierra Enlow won the Republican and Democratic nominees, respectively, in the race for Kentucky’s Commissioner of Agriculture.")
The November race to become Kentucky’s next commissioner of agriculture is set with former state House majority leader Jonathan Shell winning a contested Republican race and Sierra Enlow claiming the Democratic nomination Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.
In a GOP race featuring two statehouse veterans, Shell defeated state Rep. Richard Heath, the chair of the House Agriculture Committee and voters picked the Democrat Enlow over Mikael Malone.
Both winning candidates will be vying for a chance to be successor to Ryan Quarles, who was elected agriculture commissioner in 2015. Quarles will reach his term limit this year and ran for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. He lost to Attorney General Daniel Cameron Tuesday night.
The state’s agricultural commissioner is responsible for expanding and promoting the state’s agricultural markets.
“Tonight, Kentucky showed that we’re fed up with big city liberals infecting every aspect of our culture and attacking our way of life,” Shell said in a statement. “I’m proud to be the Republican nominee for Agriculture Commissioner, and I will fight every single day to uphold our values, protect our farm families and serve the people of Kentucky.”
Shell, 35, was previously elected to the Kentucky House in 2012. After helping spearhead the GOP’s candidate recruitment efforts, he became the first Republican House majority leader in 2017.
He lost his primary the following year and went on to run U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell’s 2020 re-election campaign before announcing his agricultural commissioner candidacy in 2021. He is a fifth-generation farmer from Garrard County.
This was not Heath’s first try for agricultural commissioner. Heath, of Mayfield, narrowly lost to Quarles in the 2015 GOP primary. The 67-year-old has been in the statehouse for a decade. According to his website, Heath grew up on a farm and managed the Graves County Coop for almost 20 years.
Enlow grew up on a family farm in LaRue County, her website said. She attended the University of Kentucky and received undergraduate and masters degrees in agricultural economics.
Based in Louisville, she works as an economic development consultant. According to her LinkedIn page, she was the director of political and public relations for Jack Conway’s Democratic campaign for governor in 2015.
In a Facebook post Tuesday night after the race had been called in her favor, Enlow thanked voters for their support.
Malone, of Winchester, did not appear to have a website for his campaign. The campaign logo on his Facebook page incorporated a marijuana leaf. He also told the Courier-Journal this month that he would like to make livestock healthcare and medication more available around the state.
This story was originally published May 16, 2023 at 9:05 PM.