Clinton Wesley Morgan (born July 23, 1950) is an American businessman and politician from the state of

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. A member of the Republican Party, Morgan 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 a ...

for the 81st district.

Early life and career

Morgan grew up in

Leslie County, Kentucky Leslie County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Its county seat and largest city is Hyden, Kentucky, Hyden. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 10,513. It was formed in 1 ...

. He graduated from Leslie County High School, Cumberland College, and

Eastern Kentucky University Eastern Kentucky University (Eastern or EKU) is a public university in Richmond, Kentucky. It also maintains branch campuses in Corbin, Hazard, and Manchester and offers over 40 online undergraduate and graduate options. History Founding ...

. After working as a criminal investigator for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms as a young man, Morgan returned to

Richmond, Kentucky Richmond is a home rule-class city in Madison County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 34,585 as of the 2020 census, making it the state's seventh-largest city. It is the principal city of the Richmond–Berea micropolitan area, wh ...

, and opened a liquor store in 1982. Eventually, he opened a large business called Liquor World and became wealthy. He expanded Liquor World into a chain of four stores.

Political career

Morgan ran for the

in the 81st district in the 2014 elections. He lost to

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Rita Smart Rita H. Smart (born November 13, 1948, in Jessamine County, Kentucky) is an American politician and a former Democratic member of the Kentucky House of Representatives who represented district 81 from 2011 to 2016. She was unseated by C. Wesle ...

, the

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

. In November 2016, buoyed by strong local support for

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

, Morgan defeated Smart, receiving 9,056 votes to 8,980 for Smart, a margin of just 76 votes. Early in his single term, Morgan was criticized for introducing legislation that would have benefitted the liquor industry. Democratic legislators criticized Morgan for introducing bills that would have immunized drivers who hit protesters in roads and would have allowed teachers to carry guns at school. Morgan clashed with Republican leaders as well. In November 2017, he called for the resignation of Republican

Jeff Hoover Jeff Hoover (born January 18, 1960) is an American politician in the Republican Party of Kentucky. Early life and career Hoover is a 1982 graduate of Centre College and a 1987 graduate of Cumberland School of Law. Hoover was first elected to ...

, Speaker of the

, after the news emerged that Hoover had secretly settled a sexual harassment case brought by a female staffer. Hoover resigned as speaker, but kept his house seat. Morgan lost renomination to the Kentucky House to

Deanna Frazier Deanna Frazier Gordon (born August 23, 1969) is an American politician and audiologist serving as a Republican member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from Kentucky's 81st House district. Her district includes part of Madison County. ...

in the 2018 elections. Morgan endorsed the Democratic nominee in the race. Morgan unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination in the 2020 U.S. Senate election in Kentucky against

Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (; born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky, a seat he has held since 1985. McConnell is in his seventh Senate term and is the long ...

, placing second with 6.2% of the vote. During the campaign, he denounced McConnell as a "deep-state traitor" and praised what he called the "patriots" of

QAnon QAnon ( ) is a far-right conspiracy theories in United States politics, American political conspiracy theory and political movement that originated in 2017. QAnon centers on fabricated claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals kno ...

Personal life

Morgan and his first wife had a daughter, Jordan. He and his second wife, Lindsey, have a daughter named Sydney.

Mansion

In 2009, convinced that the

presidency of Barack Obama Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...

would lead the country to social breakdown, civil war, and "roving bands of gangs", Morgan purchased of land near Richmond and built a house with nine bedrooms and three kitchens. He built a survival bunker below ground level, with a thick ceiling and two tunnels. After his defeat in the 2020 U.S. Senate primary, Morgan decided to sell his house and leave Kentucky. He listed his house for $6.5 million on

Zillow Zillow Group, Inc., or simply Zillow, is an American tech real-estate marketplace company that was founded in 2006 by co-executive chairmen Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink, former Microsoft executives and founders of Microsoft spin-off Expedia; Spen ...

. The listing went viral and attracted unwanted attention and criticism because of the underground survival bunker. On the night of February 22, 2022, an intruder climbed to a second-floor balcony, broke into the house, and killed Morgan's 32-year-old daughter Jordan in her bed. The man then shot Morgan in the arm; Morgan returned fire with a pistol, but the intruder escaped. He was arrested several days later and charged with murder and attempted murder. The suspect was described as a former soldier with psychiatric problems who had intended to take control of the underground bunker. The listing for the home and bunker was removed from the market in August 2023.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Wesley Living people People from Hyden, Kentucky People from Richmond, Kentucky Eastern Kentucky University alumni University of the Cumberlands alumni Republican Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives 1950 births Candidates in the 2020 United States Senate elections 21st-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly