James Alfred Gooch Jr. (born April 13, 1951) is an American politician and 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 ...

since January 1995. He represents Kentucky's 12th House district, which includes Crittenden,

McLean MacLean, also spelt McLean, is a Scottish Gaelic surname (Mac Gille Eathain, or, Mac Giolla Eóin in Irish Gaelic), Eóin being a Gaelic form of Johannes ( John). The clan surname is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic "Mac Gille Eathain ...

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Unio ...

, and Webster counties. Gooch switched parties from Democratic to Republican in December 2015. He has served as chair of the House Standing Committee on Natural Resources and Energy for over 20 years. He has been the longest-serving member of the house since the retirement of

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 ...

in 2024.

Background

Gooch was the founder and president of Gooch Insurance Associates from 1982 until it was sold in 1998. He been a licensed real estate sales associate since 1987. He has previously served in various community roles such as president of the Providence

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

, Providence

Jaycees The United States Junior Chamber, also known as the Jaycees, JCs or JCI USA, is a leadership training service organization and civic organization for people between the ages of 18 and 40. It is a branch of Junior Chamber International (JCI). A ...

, and Providence

Ruritan Ruritan National is a service club located in small towns and rural areas in the United States. It aims to achieve "Fellowship, Goodwill and Community Service". The local clubs are autonomous from the national organization. Many Ruritan clubs spon ...

Club as well as a board member of the Webster County Airport Board and Webster County Economic Development Board. He also previously served as Vice President of Membership, Vice President of Community Development, and State Treasurer of the Kentucky Jaycees. Gooch was named Providence “Citizen of the Year” in 1990.

Political career

Local government

Gooch was elected

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Providence, Kentucky Providence is a home rule-class city in Webster County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 3,193 at the time of the 2010 United States Census, making the most populous community in the county. History In 1820, Richard B. Savag ...

and served in this position from 1982 to 1986. He went on to serve on the Providence city council from 1990 to 1993 before filing to replace retiring House District 12 incumbent

Dorsey Ridley J. Dorsey Ridley (born November 26, 1953) is an American people, American politician. He was a member of the Kentucky Senate from the 4th District, serving from 2004 to 2019. He is a member of the Democratic Party. First elected in a July 2004 s ...

Elections

*1994 Gooch won the four-way 1994 Democratic Primary and was unopposed for the November 8, 1994 General election. *1996 Gooch was challenged in the 1996 Democratic Primary, but won, and was unopposed for the November 5, 1996 General election. *1998 Gooch was challenged in the three-way 1998 Democratic Primary, but won, and was unopposed for the November 3, 1998 General election. *2000 Gooch was challenged in the three-way 2000 Democratic Primary, winning with 1,641 votes (53.7%) and was unopposed for the November 7, 2000 General election, winning with 8,967 votes. *2002 Gooch was challenged in the 2002 Democratic Primary, winning with 5,906 votes (73.8%) and was unopposed for the November 5, 2002 General election, winning with 7,159 votes. *2004 Gooch was unopposed for both the 2004 Democratic Primary and the November 2, 2004 General election, winning with 9,973 votes. *2006 Gooch was unopposed for both the 2006 Democratic Primary and the November 7, 2006 General election, winning with 8,630 votes. *2008 Gooch was unopposed for both the 2008 Democratic Primary and the November 4, 2008 General election, winning with 12,739 votes. *2010 Gooch was challenged in the May 18, 2010 Democratic Primary, winning with 5,731 votes (77.8%) and was unopposed for the November 2, 2010 General election, winning with 9,842 votes. *2012 Gooch was challenged in the May 22, 2012 Democratic Primary, winning with 1,569 votes (66.0%) and was unopposed for the November 6, 2012 General election, winning with 12,394 votes. *2014 Gooch was unopposed in the May 20, 2014 Democratic Primary, and won the 2014 Kentucky House of Representatives election against Republican candidate Dianne Burns Mackey, winning with 9,465 votes. *2016 Gooch was unopposed in the May 17, 2016 Republican Primary, and won the

2016 Kentucky House of Representatives election The 2016 Kentucky House of Representatives elections were held on November 8, 2016, as part of the biennial United States elections. All 100 of Kentucky's state representatives were up for reelection. In Kentucky, members of the House of Repres ...

against Democratic candidate Jim Townsend, winning with 12,711 votes. *2018 Gooch was unopposed in the May 22, 2018 Republican Primary, and won the

2018 Kentucky House of Representatives election The 2018 Kentucky House of Representatives elections were held on November 6, 2018, as part of the biennial United States elections. All 100 of Kentucky's state representatives were up for reelection. In Kentucky, members of the House of Repres ...

against Democratic candidate Bruce Kunze, winning with 10,854 votes. *2020 Gooch was unopposed in the 2020 Republican primary, and won the

2020 Kentucky House of Representatives election Elections to the Kentucky House of Representatives were held on November 3, 2020. Predictions Closest races Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%: # # gain # # gain # # # gain # # gain # # gain # # Results ...

against Democratic candidate Art McLaughlin, winning with 16,891 votes. *2022 Gooch was challenged in the May 17, 2022 Republican Primary by Lynn Belcher, but won with 2,442 votes. Gooch won the

2022 Kentucky House of Representatives election The 2022 Kentucky House of Representatives election was held on November 8, 2022. The Republican and Democratic primary elections were held on May 17. All 100 seats of the house were up for election. Republicans increased their majority in the ...

against Democratic candidate Alan Lossner, winning with 12,131 votes. *2024 Gooch was unopposed in the 2024 Republican Primary, and won the

2024 Kentucky House of Representatives election The 2024 Kentucky House of Representatives election was held on November 5, 2024. The Republican and Democratic primary elections were held on May 21. Following the 2022 Kentucky House of Representatives election, 2022 election, Republicans an ...

with 15,804 votes (79.8%) against Democratic candidate Alton Ayer.

References

External links

Official page
at the

Kentucky General Assembly The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It comprises the Kentucky Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives. The General Assembly meets annually in th ...

Jim Gooch, Jr.
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

Jim Gooch Jr.
at

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks and publishes data on campaign finance and lobbying, including a revolving door database which documents the individuals who have worked in both the public sector an ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gooch, Jim Place of birth missing (living people) 1951 births Living people Mayors of places in Kentucky Democratic Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly People from Providence, Kentucky 20th-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly