Whitney Westerfield
Member of the Kentucky Senate
from the 3rd district
Assumed office
January 8, 2013
Preceded byJoey Pendleton
Personal details
Born (1980-11-29) November 29, 1980
Political partyRepublican
Alma materUniversity of Kentucky
Southern Illinois University,
Carbondale
WebsiteSenate website
Campaign website

Whitney H. Westerfield (born November 29, 1980) is an American attorney, politician and a Republican member of the Kentucky Senate representing District 3[1] since January 8, 2013. In 2015, Westerfield was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for Attorney General of Kentucky, losing to Democrat Andy Beshear by a margin of 0.2 percent.

Education

Westerfield earned his BS in communication from the University of Kentucky in 2003, and his JD from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2006.

Early career

In 2012, Westerfield challenged District 3 incumbent Democratic Senator Joey Pendleton, Westerfield was unopposed for the May 22, 2012 Republican primary[2] and won the November 6, 2012 general election with 18,457 votes (50.4%) against Pendleton.[3] The American Conservative Union gave him a 90% evaluation in 2017.

In 2015, Westerfield ran for Attorney General of Kentucky. He lost to Democrat Andy Beshear by a very narrow margin.[4] Beshear defeated Westerfield by a margin of 0.2 percent, getting 50.1% of the vote to Westerfield's 49.9%.[5][6] The margin was approximately 2,000 votes.[7]

In 2019, Westerfield ran for Kentucky Supreme Court District 1. He lost the general election to fellow Republican Christopher Shea Nickell.[8]

In 2020, Westerfield ran unopposed in the primary, and drew a Libertarian Party opponent in the General, but was re-elected with nearly 80% of the vote (29,640 to 8,157).

On March 30, 2023, Westerfield announced that he will not seek re-election in 2024.[9]

Current career

Westerfield serves as the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senator Westerfield also serves as a member on the Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection Committee; the Agriculture Committee; the Natural Resources and Energy Committee; the Child Welfare Oversight and Advisory Committee; the Tobacco Settlement Agreement Fund Oversight Committee; the Budget Review Subcommittee on Justice and Judiciary; and serves as co-chair of the Juvenile Justice Oversight Council. Westerfield serves as a Senate member on a new (2021) Commission on Race and Access to Opportunity, attached to the Kentucky legislature's administrative agency, the Legislative Research Commission. He formerly served on both the Legislative Oversight and Investigations Committee (formerly known as the Program Review and Investigations Committee) and the Senate Bill 192 (heroin and controlled substance-related legislation) Oversight Committee.

Westerfield serves as a member in several approved caucuses including the Kentucky Sportsmen's Caucus (Member), Western Kentucky Caucus (Member), the Tennessee Valley Authority Caucus (Member), the Pro-Life Caucus (Member), the Aerospace/Aviation Caucus (Member), and the Kentucky Nonprofit Caucus (Member).

Westerfield is a lifelong resident of Christian County, Kentucky, and presently maintains a private law practice in after serving over five years as an Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney. He also operates a commercial drone photography/videography company, known as Flightdubs, LLC (www.flightdubs.com) serving clients across the Commonwealth and Tennessee.

References

  1. ↑ "Whitney Westerfield's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Commonwealth of Kentucky May 22, 2012 Official 2012 Primary Election Results" (PDF). Frankfort, Kentucky: Secretary of State of Kentucky. p. 22. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Commonwealth of Kentucky November 6, 2012 Official 2012 General Election Results" (PDF). Frankfort, Kentucky: Secretary of State of Kentucky. p. 16. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Andy Beshear prevails for attorney general".
  5. ↑ Loftus, Tom (November 3, 2015). "Andy Beshear prevails for attorney general". The Courier-Journal. Archived from the original on June 11, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  6. ↑ Smith, Lawrence (November 10, 2015). "Democratic Attorney General-elect Andy Beshear pledges cooperation". WDRB. Archived from the original on December 21, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  7. ↑ Kelly, Cozen O'Connor-JB; Rutherford, Blake S. (November 5, 2015). "The State AG report weekly update November 5, 2015". Lexology.
  8. ↑ "Nickell Elected to Kentucky Supreme Court". November 6, 2019.
  9. ↑ Storm, Nick (March 30, 2023). "Senate Judiciary Chair Whitney Westerfield will not seek re-election in 2024". www.kentuckyfried.com. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
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