James Carme DuPlessis (born November 19, 1969) is an American politician and

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

who served as a Republican 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 ...

for House District 25 from 2015 to 2023. As an engineer, he works for ChemTreat Inc. DuPlessis unseated longtime representative,

Jimmie Lee Jimmie C. Lee (born March 27, 1937) is an American politician and former Democratic member of the Kentucky House of Representatives representing District 25 from January 1993 to January 2015. Elections *2012 Lee was challenged in the three-wa ...

, in the 2014 election and was re-elected in 2016. He did not seek reelection in 2022.

Early life

Jim DuPlessis was born to John and Kitty DuPlessis in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, on November 19, 1969. He was the youngest of five siblings. DuPlessis graduated from Elizabethtown High School, then spent two years at Elizabethtown Community College in a pre-engineering pathway. He then attended 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. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

and graduated with a bachelor's degree in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

Personal life

DuPlessis met his wife to be, Marcy Duvall, at Elizabethtown Community College. They went on to get married the summer of 1993. Upon graduation, DuPlessis was hired by Nalco Chemical Company, where spent time in both Chicago and Houston. Two of their three children, James Jr. and Kate, were born in Houston before Nalco transferred DuPlessis back to his home town of Elizabethtown in 1998. DuPlessis' third daughter, Victoria, was born in Elizabethtown in 2001. In 2007 he was made a deacon of his church, Severns Valley Baptist. He had been actively teaching Sunday School and other ministries prior to being named a deacon. He continues to serve at that church, where he enjoys doing overseas mission trips. He started

Boy Scout A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...

Troop 604 at this church in 2008, where he served as scoutmaster.

Elections

2014: DuPlessis beat 22-year incumbent

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 (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, in the general election 50.9% to 49.1 2016: DuPlessis beat Democratic challenger, Michael Dile, in the general election 72.4% to 26.6%

Bills

In the 2016 DuPlessis filed a bill to eliminate the look back period for first offense

DUI Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

convictions. This essentially means that, if passed, anyone convicted of multiple DUI's in their lifetime could not go back to a first offense penalty.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:DuPlessis, Jim 1969 births Living people Republican Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives 21st-century American legislators