Lonnie Nelson Napier (May 24, 1940 – April 14, 2023) was an American politician from the Republican Party (GOP). Napier served from 1985 to 2013 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 ...

. Known as "The Fox" to friends and foes alike, Napier began his political career in his native Garrard County,

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 ...

, at age 26 with a term on the county's governing body, where he served from 1967 to 1969. Napier won the seat in 1984 following the state's redistricting. In 1971, Napier challenged veteran state Representative Joe Clarke for the 54th district state House seat, a race which he lost.

Career

Napier won election to the Kentucky House of Representatives on November 6, 1984, having defeated his Democratic opponent by nearly a 2:1 margin, and was subsequently re-elected every two years. Napier served on the Appropriations and Revenue Committee, which enabled him to steer millions in state funds to his district over the years. In 2007, Napier was the target of an effort to draft him into the primary election for

Kentucky Governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have bee ...

against embattled

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 ...

Ernie Fletcher Ernest Lee Fletcher (born November 12, 1952) is an American physician and politician who was the List of governors of Kentucky, 60th governor of Kentucky from 2003 to 2007. He previously served three consecutive terms in the United States House ...

. Napier announced in January 2007 that he would not be a candidate for governor but would instead run for

Kentucky State Treasurer The Kentucky State Treasurer is elected every four years along with the governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, g ...

. Despite raising the most money out of the four candidates in the GOP primary for state Treasurer, Napier lost the nomination on May 22, 2007, to Melinda Wheeler. After running unopposed for several cycles, Napier was challenged in both the primary and general elections in 2010, but defeated both opponents by wide margins to win a fourteenth term. He did not seek reelection in 2012. In addition to having a successful career in politics, Napier was also a small businessman, operating a clothing store in

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

(his hometown) as well as an auctioneering and real estate business.

Personal life

Napier died in Lexington on April 14, 2023, at the age of 82.

Some cities and towns represented

* Bryantsville * Cartersvile *

* Paint Lick *

Berea Berea may refer to: Places Greece * Beroea, a place mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, now known as Veria or Veroia * Veria, historically spelled and sometimes transliterated as Berea and site of the ancient city of Beroea Lesotho * Berea D ...

Waco Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 population of 146,608, making i ...

* Red Lick

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Napier, Lonnie 1940 births 2023 deaths People from Lancaster, Kentucky Republican Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly 20th-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly