Steven Jack Rudy (born August 9, 1978) is a

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

politician and

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit w ...

owner, serving as 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 ...

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 ...

since defeating longtime Representative Charles Geveden in 2004. He has served as the House Majority Leader since 2021.

Early life

Steven Jack Rudy was born to Methodists, parents Jack and Jeanette Rudy of Ballard County on August 9, 1978. Rudy was educated in the Ballard County School system, and graduated from Ballard Memorial High School in 1996. Rudy attended college at the former Paducah Community College (now West Kentucky Community and Technical College) and graduated from

Murray State University Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, H ...

in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in Agriculture Education. While at Murray he was a member of the

Future Farmers of America National FFA Organization is an American 501(c)(3) youth organization, specifically a career and technical student organization, based on middle and high school classes that promote and support agricultural education. It was founded in 1925 at Vi ...

Political career

In late 2003, Rudy declared his candidacy for the 2004 election for State Representative in Kentucky's 1st Legislative House District. Running against Representative Charles Geveden of Wickliffe a former prosecutor and Chair of the House State Government Committee with 17 years of service. Rudy launched a campaign against Rep. Geveden, including sending out mailers before the election stating that Geveden was in favor of many liberal social positions. On November 4, 2004 Rudy, buoyed by strong returns from McCracken County, defeated Geveden by around 1500 votes, to be the first ever Republican elected to the seat. Rudy won re-election in 2006 handily, defeating retired Coast Guard veteran Thomas French by over 2000 votes. In the 2008 session of the Kentucky General Assembly, Rudy introduced legislation that would allow for nuclear plants to be built in Kentucky without having a permanent waste disposal facility, in an attempt to end the state's moratorium on nuclear power plants. The legislation did not pass. Rudy was challenged in 2008 by McCracken County Circuit Clerk Mike Lawrence, a

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

veteran who has won two

Bronze Stars The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

and served as a reservist for 24 years. Rudy won the re-election bid by over 1200 votes. In the 2009 session of the Kentucky General Assembly Rudy filed the legislation lifting the moratorium on nuclear power plants. The General Assembly adjourned ''sine die'' without the matter passing the house.

Animal protection

In 2015, Rudy came under fire for tacking an amendment prohibiting videotaping cruel treatment of agricultural animals, commonly known as an "ag gag bill", on to KY HB 177, a bill designed to assure that animals in Kentucky have adequate shelter. The Animal Legal Defense Fund has rated Kentucky the worst state for animal protection for ten years in a row.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rudy, Steven 1978 births 21st-century American politicians Living people Republican Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Murray State University alumni People from Paducah, Kentucky