Robert Goforth (born February 27, 1976) is an American politician and pharmacist who served as a member of the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form ...

for the 89th district from 2018 to 2021.

Early life and education

Goforth is from

East Bernstadt, Kentucky East Bernstadt is a census-designated place (CDP) and coal town in Laurel County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 716 at the 2010 census, down from 774 at the 2000 census. Geography East Bernstadt is located in northern Laurel Coun ...

. He earned a bachelor's degree from the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

and a Doctor of Pharmacy from

Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) is a private university focused on medical and health-related science programs and located in Boston, Massachusetts. The university provides traditional and accelerated programs of s ...

Career

Goforth served as a combat engineer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

from 1994 to 1996. He was first elected to the Kentucky House in February 2018. Goforth challenged incumbent Republican governor

Matt Bevin Matthew Griswold Bevin (; born January 9, 1967) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 62nd governor of Kentucky, from 2015 to 2019. He was the third Republican elected Kentucky governor since World War II, after Ernie Fletc ...

in the 2019 gubernatorial election, getting roughly 40 percent of the vote in the primary election. Goforth sought re-election despite his indictment, and was condemned by a number of pro-family groups, including Kentucky for Strong Families. He was re-elected in 2020 with 70% of the vote. He resigned from office in August 2021, while still facing charges.

Personal life

In April 2020, Goforth was arrested on charges relating to domestic violence. The Laurel County Sheriff's Office charged Goforth with first-degree strangulation, fourth-degree domestic assault and third-degree terroristic threatening for physically assaulting his wife, attempting to hog-tie her and strangling her with an Ethernet cord. He was taken to the Laurel County Detention Center. In September 2020, Goforth was indicted on one count of first-degree strangulation and one count of assault in the fourth degree. In May 2022 Goforth was convicted of fraud.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goforth, Robert Living people People from Laurel County, Kentucky University of Kentucky alumni Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences alumni American pharmacists Republican Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives 21st-century American legislators Kentucky politicians convicted of crimes 1976 births