Kevin Dale Bratcher (born April 17, 1961) is an American politician 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 a ...

from 1997 to 2025. In 2016, Bratcher became the first Republican House Majority

Whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

in Kentucky history. Bratcher did not seek reelection to the Kentucky House in 2024, and instead ran for the 22nd district seat on the

Louisville Metro Council The Louisville Metro Council is the city council of Louisville, Kentucky (Louisville Metro). It was formally established in January 2003 upon the merger of the former City of Louisville with Jefferson County and replaced the city's Board o ...

. Kevin's cousin,

Steve Bratcher Robert Stephen Bratcher (born April 8, 1970) is an American politician and educator currently serving as a Republican member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from Kentucky's 25th House district. His district includes most of Elizabet ...

, is currently a member of the

from Kentucky's 25th House district.

Background

Bratcher graduated from Shawnee High School before earning his BS from

Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) is a private university focused on aviation and aerospace programs based in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Prescott, Arizona, United States. It is the largest accredited university system specializing in ...

, his MA in

media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

s from

Webster University Webster University is a private university with its main campus in Webster Groves, Missouri, United States. It has multiple branch locations across the United States and countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa. The university has an alumni net ...

and his AAS in Mechanical Engineering Technology from the

Louisville Technical Institute Sullivan College of Technology and Design was a private, technology-based for-profit career college in Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous ...

Elections

*1996 Bratcher won the November 5, 1996 General election against Democratic nominee John Flood after incumbent representative Dave Stengel retired to run for

Commonwealth's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

. *1998 Bratcher won the November 3, 1998 General election against Democratic nominee Joyce McClain. *2000 Bratcher and returning 1998 Democratic challenger Joyce McClain, setting up a rematch; Bratcher won the November 7, 2000 General election with 8,915 votes (57.3%) against McClain. *2002 Bratcher won both the 2002 Republican Primary and the November 5, 2002 General election, winning with 12,008 votes. *2004 Bratcher was challenged by Eastern High School Principal, James Sexton in the 2004 Republican Primary, winning with (74.1%) and won the November 2, 2004 General election with 15,407 votes (62.8%) against Democratic nominee Bruce Roberts. *2006 Bratcher won the 2006 Republican Primary and the November 7, 2006 General election, winning with 13,411 votes. *2008 Bratcher ran for the 2008 Republican Primary and won the November 4, 2008 General election with 16,630 votes (58.8%) against Democratic nominee James Sexton, who had been his Republican Primary challenger in 2004. Bratcher also won the November 2, 2010 General election with 15,019 votes (68.3%) against Democratic nominee Dustin Wilcher. *2010 Bratcher won the 2010 election against Democratic candidate Dustin Wilcher, winning with 15,019 votes (68.3%) *2012 Bratcher was unopposed in the 2012 Republican Primary and the 2012 Kentucky House of Representatives election, winning with 21,143 votes. *2014 Bratcher won the 2014 Kentucky House of Representatives election against previous seat holder and Democratic candidate Dave Stengel, winning with 8,892 votes (52.5%). *2016 Bratcher was unopposed in both the 2016 Republican primary, and the 2016 Kentucky House of Representatives election, winning with 17,535 votes. *2018 Bratcher won the 2018 Kentucky House of Representatives election against Democratic candidate Ronel Brown, winning with 10,570 votes (53.3%). *2020 Bratcher won the 2020 Kentucky House of Representatives election against Democratic candidate Suzanne Kugler, winning with 15,298 votes (55.6%). *2022 Bratcher was unopposed in the 2022 Republican primary. Initially, previous Democratic candidate Suzanne Kugler filed to run against Bratcher, however her residence was included in the 2022 Kentucky redistricting. Matthew Pfaadt filed to replace Kugler as the Democratic nominee, however he was disqualified for failing to meet the party registration requirements. Finally, Ann Federspiel Sermersheim attempted to file to be the Democratic nominee, but was denied by Secretary of State Michael Adams due to the filing deadline having already passed; she chose to run as a write-in candidate instead. Bratcher won the 2022 Kentucky House of Representatives election against Democratic write-in candidate Ann Federspiel Sermersheim, winning with 11,389 votes (99.4%). *2024 Bratcher chose not to seek reelection to the Kentucky House of Representatives, and is instead ran to represent District 22 on the

. Bratcher won the 2024 Republican primary against Robert Zoeller, winning with 1,792 votes (87.7%), and in the general election, Bratcher defeated Democratic candidate Rasean Crawley (Bratcher 61% Crawley 39%).

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 ...

Campaign site
*
Kevin Bratcher
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 ...

Kevin D. Bratcher
at the National Institute on Money in State Politics {{DEFAULTSORT:Bratcher, Kevin 1961 births Living people Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University alumni Republican Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly Politicians from Louisville, Kentucky United States Navy sailors Webster University alumni