Jenean Michelle Hampton (born May 12, 1958) is an American politician who served as the 57th

lieutenant governor of Kentucky The lieutenant governor of Kentucky was created under the state's second constitution, which was ratified in 1799. The inaugural officeholder was Alexander Scott Bullitt, who took office in 1800 following his election to serve under James Garra ...

from 2015 to 2019. Hampton was the running mate of gubernatorial candidate

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 Party (United States), Republican elected Kentucky governor sin ...

in the 2015 election. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, Hampton was the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

to hold statewide office in Kentucky history and the third African-American woman to have served as lieutenant governor of a U.S. state.

Early life and education

Jenean Michelle Hampton was born on May 12, 1958 and raised in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, one of four daughters born to Donald and Marie Hampton. Her parents divorced when she was seven years old, leaving her mother to raise Hampton and her sisters on her own. Hampton's mother struggled because she lacked a

high school diploma A high school diploma or high school degree is a North American academic school leaving qualification awarded upon high school graduation. The high school diploma is typically obtained after a course of study lasting four years, from grade 9 to gra ...

. After Hampton graduated from high school, she worked for five years in the automotive industry in order to help pay for her college education. She earned an Industrial Engineering degree from

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

in 1985. She later earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of ...

Military and business career

Jenean Hampton speaking to Kentucky National Guard

Hampton served in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

for seven years as a computer systems officer, eventually attaining the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. During

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

, she was deployed to Saudi Arabia. While stationed in Saudi Arabia, Hampton was responsible for

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, Marine radar, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor v ...

software used in tracking enemy planes and in search and rescue missions. Hampton spent 19 years working in the corrugated packaging industry, eventually reaching the position of plant manager.

Political career

A Republican, Hampton first sought political office in 2014. That year, she unsuccessfully challenged

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United S ...

Jody Richards Walter Demaree "Jody" Richards Jr. (born February 20, 1938) is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1976 until 2019. He is the longest serving Speaker of the House in the history ...

. Hampton has been active in her local party and in the

Tea Party Movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2009. Members of the movement called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget def ...

. Hampton was selected by

as his running mate for

Governor of Kentucky The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-e ...

in 2015. On November 3, 2015, Bevin and Hampton defeated the Democratic ticket of

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Jack Conway and

Sannie Overly in the

2015 Kentucky gubernatorial election The 2015 Kentucky gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 2015. Incumbent Democratic Governor Steve Beshear was ineligible to run for a third term due to term limits. Primary elections were held on May 19, 2015. Despite trailing in mo ...

. Bevin and Hampton were sworn in to their respective posts on December 8, 2015. Hampton was the first

to hold statewide office in Kentucky history and the third black woman to serve as lieutenant governor of a U.S. state. She was the 57th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky. Bevin did not select Hampton as his running mate in his 2019 re-election bid. Her term expired in December 2019. After Bevin lost the general election, Hampton stated that she had voted for

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...

nominee John Hicks instead of Bevin.

Personal life

Hampton lives in

Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. As of the ...

. She is married to Colonel Dr. Doyle Isaak, a retired U.S. Air Force officer. She is a licensed

amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency commu ...

operator. Hampton is also a member of the

Civil Air Patrol Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a congressionally chartered, federally supported non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CAP is a volunteer organization with an aviation-minded mem ...

, holding the grade of lieutenant colonel.

References

External links