Thomas Jefferson & Adam Moore give KY’s 45th House District two very different options
The southwestern suburbs of Lexington are about to get a new state representative.
Their two choices, Republican Thomas Jefferson and Democrat Adam Moore, are quite different from each other.
They’re also different from the incumbent, Rep. Killian Timoney, a moderate Republican whom Jefferson handily defeated in this year’s GOP primary.
Jefferson is a Republican focused on social issues and support for Amendment 2, which would allow taxpayer funds to go towards K-12 education outside of public schools.
Adam Moore is a Democrat emphasizing opposition to the amendment, his experience in the military and growing the relatively minuscule Democratic caucus.
Timoney is perhaps the most prominent moderate Republican in the 80-member House caucus. His positioning as one of the few GOP members against Senate Bill 150 was blasted by Jefferson and allies. The hotly debated 2023 bill outlawed gender-affirming care for transgender youth, banned lessons on gender identity and sexual orientation in the classroom and prohibited trans students from using restrooms that correspond with their gender identity.
One mailer from the outside group Make Liberty Win framed Timoney’s votes as the “telltale signs of a predator” and called him “groomer Killian.”
The incumbent representative, who is an administrator in Fayette County Public Schools, also stood against most of his party on matters of “school choice.” He joined Democrats in opposition to the bill putting Amendment 2 on the ballot this year and a bill that would have funded charter schools in the state.
Republican voters in the primary election rejected the more moderate, and much better funded, candidate by a wide margin of 2,773 to 1,072 — 72% to 28%.
But the question facing Jefferson and Moore this general election is whether voters on both sides of the aisle are as convinced that Jefferson is the person for the job as the Republican electorate was. During the last contested election, more than 27,000 people voted, and the general populace of the district is politically “purple,” as former Republican President Donald Trump won it by three percentage points in 2020 but Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear won it by 21 points last year.
According to elections analysis website Dave’s Redistricting, House District 45 skewed about five points toward Republicans from 2016 to 2020. It’s about 81% white, and the biggest minority group is Asian, as 9.1% of residents there identify themselves as Asian, making it the most Asian House district in the state.
In Fayette County, the district covers the area beyond New Circle Road from Keeneland and Versailles Road swinging all the way south to bound Nicholasville Road. The district’s voters primarily live in Fayette County, but some are also in Jessamine County, where the district stretches through rural West Jessamine County down to include a section of Wilmore.
Neither of the candidates will have the explicit backing of Timoney, who emphasized to the Herald-Leader in a statement that he has never endorsed in a race before.
“The constituents of the 45th demand results, not political coattail riding or political posturing. I know that both candidates are working hard now, but the hardest work begins a day after the election,” Timoney wrote in a statement to the Herald-Leader.
“Representing a bipartisan district is very hard to do without a heart for compromise.”
The candidate pitches
Moore is pitching himself as the candidate with that “heart for compromise,” with generally less emphasis on the party affiliation that will show up beside his name at the ballot box. An Afghanistan veteran who once interned for Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-KY, and now works as a fitness trainer, Moore said that he has the profile of a Democrat who might get elected to such a politically “purple” district.
“I felt like I was the right person to be doing it, someone who was a former Republican, someone who was in the Army, who I think could resonate with a lot of voters in that district who maybe have traditionally voted for more conservative values,” Moore said. “I think I’m the right person to be that kind of middle of the road Democrat, to really represent the district well.”
Jefferson, a retired car salesman, is campaigning in a way that more thoroughly embraces his party, and in particular the “Liberty” wing of Republican politics. Liberty Republicans are a loosely organized network of politicians and activists intent on pushing the already conservative state legislature further to the right.
The primary political issues for Jefferson — support for Amendment 2 and laws limiting transgender youth — all boil down to one point.
“The whole reason why I’m running, overall, is to protect our children and make things better for our children,” Jefferson said.
While the amendment merely would allow the legislature to enact a program moving money around to support nonpublic K-12 education, Jefferson has a clear idea of what he’d like. He wants the state’s per-pupil funding, which equates to about $4,500, to “follow the student.” That means the money could be applied to help support private school tuition if a parent chooses.
“This will empower everyday, hardworking Kentuckians like myself to have that option,” Jefferson said.
Moore stands against Amendment 2. He freely offers that his family sends their son to private school as an example that “school choice,” to some extent, already exists in the state. However, like nearly all of his Democratic colleagues, he doesn’t believe that public funds should be used to supplement that.
“If we need help financially, we can apply for financial aid, we can apply for scholarships,” Moore said. “Those options are out there for us to get the best education possible for our son, and it should not cost the taxpayers to do that.”
On the issue of abortion, both candidates take their party’s mainline approach.
Jefferson is anti-abortion rights, but says he’d be open to considering adding exceptions to the near-total statewide ban on abortion for rape and incest.
Moore says he wants to restore access to abortion up to the point of fetal viability.
Diversity, equity and inclusion programs, colloquially known as DEI, are a hot topic in the state and in the region. The University of Kentucky recently eliminated its office leading those efforts just months after the legislature mulled a bill banning them.
Jefferson and Moore diverge on the need for such a bill.
Moore says he can see both sides of the argument, but wants to avoid a prescriptive policy from Frankfort telling schools what they can or can’t do on the subject.
“I think that’s heavy-handed government telling universities how to run themselves,” Moore said of a potential ban. “As of right now, I’m leaning towards allowing these universities to, in a way, legislate themselves the way UK and NKU are choosing to do.”
While abortion and DEI are major national issues that intersect with the legislature, much of the legislative work, particularly during a budget session, gets much more granular and district-specific. Money for roads, parks, bridges and other initiatives is finite, and each of the House’s 100 members angles for a slice of the pie.
Jefferson said he’d prioritize infrastructure but otherwise adopt a “laissez faire” small government approach. He didn’t mention any specific projects.
Moore mentioned getting funds to add another lane to Brannon Road, a highly-trafficked two-lane road that leads to the Brannon Crossing shopping center in North Jessamine County, as a top spending priority for him.
Jefferson was trailing Moore in the fundraising game as of earlier this month.
Moore, with the help of one Beshear-headlined fundraiser, had raised about $119,00 into his campaign as of early October. Jefferson brought in about $32,000.
The difference has allowed Moore, as of mid-October, to get advertisements up on local television in a way that Jefferson has not, though outside groups often make last-minute purchases on behalf of candidates.
How will voters respond?
Moore thinks his position on abortion is closer to the voters than Jefferson’s. He said that last cycle’s Amendment 2, which would have made it harder to sue against abortion bans like the current one, lost in the district by 28 percentage points.
Another issue Moore’s camp thinks will resonate with voters is this year’s Amendment 2.
Sen. Reggie Thomas, D-Lexington, said that Fayette Countians in the district love their public schools and will support a candidate that also opposes the amendment.
“The key public issue that Kentucky is going to address in this election is public education, and Adam has the endorsement of KEA (Kentucky Education Association) and the Fayette County teachers’ groups. Voters stand by the teachers on this issue,” Thomas said.
Thomas also thinks that the presidential race, with Democrats more energized around Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign than they were President Joe Biden’s reelection, will help Democrats in Lexington.
Andrew Cooperrider, a well-known media figure in Republican “Liberty” political circles who has been assisting the Jefferson campaign, disagrees sharply.
“This is obviously an uphill battle for Adam Moore. I think you can tell that in how the campaigns are messaging,” Cooperrider said. “Adam Moore is staying completely away from mentioning that he’s a Democrat.”
Cooperrider, who ran for state senator and treasurer in 2022 and 2023 respectively, added that Republican registration outpaces Democratic registration in the district. He also added that he believes Trump is in a better position in the district than he was in 2020 when Biden beat him.
“People are not as animated, necessarily, to vote against him. You don’t have the COVID issues going on, and I think even the more moderate Republicans are back on Team Trump.”
However, Moore doesn’t think the district is as red as Cooperrider does. He cited Beshear’s win as well as 49% finishes for Democrats like Rep. Pamela Stevenson’s run for attorney general last year and Charles Booker’s bid for Senate in 2022.
“This is not a strong conservative district. This is the definition of a swing district — it’s 49-51 most races, and I think I’m the candidate to put that ‘51’ into my favor,” Moore said.
One of Moore’s more novel ideas is starting a legislative caucus for veterans in the state legislature to hone in on how the branch can work for Kentucky’s veterans.
There’s the veterans, military and public protection committee that’s a standing committee, but there’s no caucus that exists outside of that rigid committee structure for people at both parties, both houses, to get together and talk about veterans issues.
His background as a veteran — voters on both sides of the aisle have positive opinions about military service — is part of his pitch to voters as an electable person regardless of the letter by his name.
Jefferson, in campaign appearances, has leaned on his experience at Southland Christian Church, where he has been a lead usher for two decades and also tutors schoolchildren at an after-school program. The church is one of the biggest in Central Kentucky and is located in the heart of the district.
“I’ve been their lead usher for about 20, 21, years, and I’ve been at the same door that whole time. I’ve seen families come in with babies, and those babies are now are married and having babies of their own coming in — it’s been really rewarding,” Jefferson said. “I believe, as a person as well as a political candidate, you have to model how Jesus lived his life. You need to offer grace and mercy, and I need it every single day myself.”
“It gives me faith in humanity, talking to those people out there and listening to their stories.”
While Jefferson expects strong support among Republicans in the district, not all Republicans in Frankfort appear excited and ready to help with his campaign.
Cooperrider said that some Republicans still feel the sting of Jefferson’s win over Timoney and the more aggressive messaging used by outside groups; Jefferson disagreed with the “groomer” mail piece and called Timoney a “truly nice man that has different views on certain issues”
“I think the only thing Adam has going for him is that the Republican establishment is very petty,” Cooperrider said. “They’re the first to say that ‘we should support all Republicans in the general election,’ but then, every time it comes to the general and you have a Republican that defeated one of their favorite incumbents, they take their ball and go home.
“While Adam will be getting a lot of party support from the Democrats and the Democratic establishment, Thomas will not.”
