Rocky J. Adkins (born November 4, 1959) is an American politician from

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 ...

. He is a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

and is serving as a senior advisor to the

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-el ...

Andy Beshear Andrew Graham Beshear (born November 29, 1977) is an American attorney and politician who has served as the 63rd governor of Kentucky since December 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the son of the 61st governor of Kentucky, Steve B ...

. He is a former 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 ...

, representing the 99th District of the Kentucky House from 1987 to 2019. His House district was in eastern Kentucky and included Elliott,

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

, and

Rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus ''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, r ...

Counties. From 2003 through 2016 he was the House majority leader. From 2016 to 2019, he was the chamber's Minority Floor Leader. Adkins ran for governor of Kentucky in the

2019 Kentucky gubernatorial election The 2019 Kentucky gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2019, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Kentucky. The Democratic nominee, Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear, defeated Republican incumbent Matt Bevin by jus ...

, with running mate Stephanie Horne. During his campaign, he raised $1.5 million. Adkins finished in second place in the Democratic primary, losing to Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear. Adkins joined the Beshear administration on December 10, 2019, as the governor's senior advisor.

Education

Adkins attended Elliott County High School and

Morehead State University Morehead State University (MSU) is a public university in Morehead, Kentucky. The university began as Morehead Normal School, which opened its doors in 1887. The Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics, a two-year residential ea ...

(MSU). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Morehead State Eagles The Morehead State Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Morehead State University (MSU), located in Morehead, Kentucky, United States, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks (for football, the Football Champio ...

in 1981 and 1982 as the starting

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

; in college he avereaged 2.2 points and 2.7 assists per game. Adkins earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at Morehead State University. In 2017, Morehead's new dining commons was dedicated to and named after Adkins. He was inducted into the MSU Alumni Hall of Fame in 2004, and named the recipient of the 2012 Founders Award for University Service.

Career

Kentucky legislature

Adkins was a member of the Commonwealth of Kentucky House of Representatives between 1987 and 2019. He has long been a strong supporter of education in Eastern Kentucky. He was a member of the House Democratic Leadership office. Adkins ran unopposed in 11 out of his 12 re-elections to his seat in the Kentucky Legislature, the only contested election being in 2016 when he won by a margin of 32%.

Gubernatorial campaign

In November 2018, Adkins announced his candidacy for the 2019 Kentucky gubernatorial election. During his announcement, Adkins stated that Stephanie Horne, a seat on the Jefferson County Board of Education, would be his running mate.

Paul E. Patton Paul Edward Patton (born May 26, 1937) is an American politician who served as the 59th governor of Kentucky from 1995 to 2003. Because of a 1992 amendment to the Kentucky Constitution, he was the first governor eligible to run for a second ter ...

, who served as Kentucky governor from 1995 to 2003, endorsed Adkins. Adkins lost the Democratic primary on May 21, 2019, placing second to Attorney General

. Following his loss, Adkins endorsed Beshear in the general election.

Political positions

Adkins supports "a fully-funded pension system" and the use of medicinal marijuana, which he believes could provide income to help fund public pensions. He also believes the state legislature needs to work with the federal government to try to expand Medicaid. Adkins opposes increased regulation on gun ownership.

Philanthropy

A cancer survivor himself, Adkins sponsors the annual "Rocky Adkins Charity Golf Outing – Cure for Cancer" which has raised over $2.3 million for cancer research since its beginning in 1995.

References

External links

Rocky for Kentucky -campaign website
official government site
Project Vote Smart - Representative Rocky Adkins (KY)
profile *''Follow the Money'' - Rocky Adkins
20082006200420022000199819961994
campaign contributions
KentuckyVotes.org - Rep. Rocky Adkins
bills introduced and voting record {{DEFAULTSORT:Adkins, Rocky 1959 births 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians American men's basketball players Living people Democratic Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Morehead State Eagles men's basketball players People from Elliott County, Kentucky People from Morehead, Kentucky