Jerry Lundergan
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Gerald G. Lundergan (born 1946 or 1947) is an American businessman, politician and member of the Democratic Party from the Commonwealth 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 ...
. He served in 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 ...
from 1980 to 1985 and 1987 to 1989 and has served as Chairman of the
Kentucky Democratic Party The Kentucky Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is currently the minority party in the state, as the rival Republican Party of Kentucky overwhelmingly dominates in the state legislature, ...
on two occasions. In September 2019, he was convicted in federal court of providing illegal corporate campaign contributions to his daughter, then
Secretary of State of Kentucky The secretary of state of Kentucky is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is now an elected office, but was an appointed office prior to 1891. The current secretary of state is Republican Michael Adams, who was ...
Alison Lundergan Grimes Alison Case Lundergan Grimes (born November 23, 1978) is an American lawyer and Democratic politician who was the secretary of state of Kentucky from 2012 until 2020. Grimes was elected in 2011 after defeating incumbent Elaine Walker in the De ...
’ 2014 failed U.S. Senate campaign; he was pardoned by President
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
in 2025.


Early life

Lundergan is from
Maysville, Kentucky Maysville is a "Home rule in the United States, home rule" class city in Mason County, Kentucky, Mason County, Kentucky, United States, and is the county seat of Mason County. The population was 8,873 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...
. He is the oldest of five children. His father sold chicken and pork chops at
state fair A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in t ...
s. His father died at age 45, when he was 18 years old. His mother took a job as a clerk for the
sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...
, while Jerry and his siblings continued to sell food. Lundergan graduated 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, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...
and then worked as a staffer to
U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
John B. Breckinridge John Bayne Breckinridge (November 29, 1913 – July 29, 1979) was an American politician, a Democrat who served as Attorney General of Kentucky twice and also served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky. Ear ...
. Lundergan and his brother turned their food business into Lundy's, a catering company, in 1977.


Career

Lundergan challenged
Steve Beshear Steven Lynn Beshear ( ; born September 21, 1944) is an American attorney and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 61st governor of Kentucky from 2007 to 2015. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1974 ...
, 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 a ...
, in the Democratic Party
primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...
in 1975. With about 2,700 votes cast in the election, Beshear defeated Lundergan by 202 votes. Lundergan ran against Beshear again in 1977. With over 4,100 total votes, Beshear defeated Lundergan by 412. In 1979, Beshear ran for
Attorney General of Kentucky The attorney general of Kentucky is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of Kentucky, created by the Kentucky Constitution (Ky.Const. § 91). Under Kentucky law, they serve several roles, including the state's chief prosecutor (KRS 15.700), ...
and Lundergan won his seat unopposed. Lundergan became friends with fellow freshman legislator
Greg Stumbo Gregory D. Stumbo (born August 14, 1951) is an American lawyer and former speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Kentucky attorney general from 2004 to 2008. He was the Democratic candidat ...
. He was easily re-elected in 1981 and ran for Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts in 1983 after Democratic incumbent James B. Graham ran for
Kentucky Superintendent of Public Instruction The Kentucky Superintendent of Public Instruction was a public office of the Commonwealth of Kentucky that served as the chief school official of the commonwealth until the position's responsibilities were transferred to the Kentucky Commissione ...
. Lundergan lost the primary election to Mary Ann Tobin by 143,836 votes (38.94%) to 77,419 (20.96%). Tobin went on to win the general election. Lundergan ran for re-election to the State House in 1984, state legislative elections having been moved from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years. During the Democratic primary campaign, which the ''
Lexington Herald-Leader The ''Lexington Herald-Leader'' is a newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and based in Lexington, Kentucky. According to the ''1999 Editor & Publisher International Yearbook'', the paid circulation of the ''Herald-Leader'' is the second larg ...
'' described as "bitter", Lundergan's main opponent, attorney and first-time candidate Shirley Allen Cunningham, accused his campaign of voter intimidation and possibly violating the civil rights of some black voters. Lundergan lost the primary election to Cunningham by 27 votes out of 2,941 cast. Cunningham went on to lose the general election to Republican Margaret J. Stewart. Lundergan made a comeback in 1986, winning the Democratic primary against Eleanor H. Leonard and then unseating Stewart in the general election by 4,617 votes (54.7%) to 3,823 (45.3%). Lundergan supported Wallace Wilkinson's campaign for
Governor of Kentucky The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; sinc ...
in the 1987 election. Lundergan briefly served as Chairman of the
Kentucky Democratic Party The Kentucky Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is currently the minority party in the state, as the rival Republican Party of Kentucky overwhelmingly dominates in the state legislature, ...
during Wilkinson's administration. Ten weeks into his service, Lundergan was found to have accepted a no-bid contract worth $153,998 to cater a state event. At Wilkinson's request, he stepped down as party chair on August 22, 1988. In his 1988 re-election bid, Lundergan was challenged by Cunningham again in the Democratic primary but this time he easily defeated him, by 2,826 votes (62.37%) to 1,630 (35.97%). In the general election, Lundergan initially faced no Republican opposition but after news of his being charged with ethics violations, he was challenged by two write-in opponents, Steve Carson and Jerry Kuykendall. Carson and Kuykendall split the anti-Lundergan and he narrowly triumphed, by 3,636 votes (44.31%) to Carson's 3,008 (36.66%) and Kuykendall's 1,420 (17.30%). On December 12, 1989, Lundergan was convicted of a
felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that r ...
charge of improperly using his political influence, but acquitted of theft. The prosecution asked that he be given jail time, to send a message about ethical violations, but the jury recommended the maximum fine of $1,000. He resigned his seat in the State House the next day. The conviction was later thrown out by an
appeals court An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellate ...
, which determined that Lundergan should have been charged with a
misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than admi ...
rather than a felony. In the resulting special election for his seat, Cunningham ran as an Independent candidate and split the Democratic vote with Democratic nominee Rick L. Thomas, allowing Republican
Tony Curtsinger Tony E. Curtsinger (March 31, 1939 – April 11, 2021) is an American politician from Kentucky who was a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1990 to 1991. Curtsinger was elected to the house in a December 1989 special election fo ...
to win the seat with 1,430 votes (38.95%) to Cunningham's 1,326 (36.12%) and Thomas' 657 (17.90%). Curtsinger went on to lose the regularly-scheduled election to Democrat
Ruth Ann Palumbo Ruth Ann Palumbo (born July 7, 1949) is an American politician who represented district 76 in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1991 to 2025, which covers downtown Lexington, Kentucky and eastern Fayette County. Palumbo is a member of ...
, who held the seat until 2025. Lundergan has made numerous attempts to regain his old seat, challenging Palumbo in the Democratic primary in 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2000, each time losing by at least 10 points. After the Democrats suffered defeats in the 2003 state elections, Stumbo, the highest ranking Kentucky Democrat as
state Attorney General The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states, of the District of Columbia, federal district, or of any of the Territories of the United States, territories is the chief legal advisor to the State governments of the United States, sta ...
, asked Lundergan to again chair the state party. Kentucky Democrats elected Lundergan their party chair in January 2005. Lundergan served as the state chair for
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
's 2008 presidential campaign. In 2019, Lundergan was convicted for making illegal campaign contributions to his daughter in her 2014 U.S. Senate race against incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell. On July 16, 2020, Lundergan was sentenced to 21 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for his role in orchestrating a multi-year scheme to funnel more than $200,000 in secret, unlawful corporate contributions into a campaign for United States Senate and for causing the concealment of those contributions from the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Lundergan was specifically convicted of one count of conspiracy, one count of making corporate campaign contributions, four counts of causing the submission of false statements to the FEC, and four counts of causing the falsification of documents with the intent to obstruct and impede a matter within the FEC's jurisdiction. According to the evidence presented at trial, Lundergan used the funds of S.R. Holding Company Inc. (S.R. Holding), a company he owned, to pay for services provided by consultants and vendors to a campaign for a U.S. Senate seat in the 2014 election cycle. The candidate for this seat was Lundergan's daughter, Alison Lundergan Grimes. The evidence established that Lundergan caused the issuance of a number of payments from S.R. Holding funds for services that included audio-video production, lighting, recorded telephone calls and campaign consulting, between July 2013 and December 2015. The corporate contributions also included monthly payments from S.R. Holding to co-conspirator Dale C. Emmons and his company during this period. Emmons provided services to the campaign and sought and received compensation from Lundergan and S.R. Holding. Emmons also used the funds of his corporation, Emmons & Company Inc., to pay other vendors and a campaign worker for services rendered to the campaign. Those services included recorded telephone calls, technological support services, and other campaign-related expenses.


Pardon by President Biden

On January 19, 2025,
President Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice president from 2009 to 2017 and re ...
granted Lundergan a ''full and unconditional pardon'' which was announced by the White House on January 20, 2025.


Personal life

Lundergan and his wife, Charlotte, met in high school. They have five daughters. One of their daughters,
Alison Lundergan Grimes Alison Case Lundergan Grimes (born November 23, 1978) is an American lawyer and Democratic politician who was the secretary of state of Kentucky from 2012 until 2020. Grimes was elected in 2011 after defeating incumbent Elaine Walker in the De ...
, was the
Secretary of State of Kentucky The secretary of state of Kentucky is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is now an elected office, but was an appointed office prior to 1891. The current secretary of state is Republican Michael Adams, who was ...
from 2012 to 2020, and was the Democratic Party's 2014 nominee for the
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
seat held by
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 ...
in the 2014 election. Lundergan resides in
Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...
. He is a devout
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, attending
Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
every day.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lundergan, Jerry Living people Democratic Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives University of Kentucky alumni People from Maysville, Kentucky Year of birth missing (living people) Businesspeople from Lexington, Kentucky Politicians from Lexington, Kentucky Catholics from Kentucky 20th-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly People pardoned by Joe Biden