Steve Bratcher is an American politician and educator currently serving as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

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 the 25th House district. His district includes most of Elizabethtown and the north side of Hardin County. His cousin, Kevin Bratcher, also serves as member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from District 29.

Background

Education

Bratcher graduated from Madison Central High School in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a ...

before earning two technical

Associate in Science An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

degrees from the

Community College of the Air Force The Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) is a federal program offered by the United States Air Force and United States Space Force which grants two-year Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees in association with Air University. CCAF ...

. He went on to earn a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in police administration and social justice as well as a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast ...

in loss prevention safety from Eastern Kentucky University. Later, Bratcher earned an Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) from

Bellarmine University Bellarmine University (BU; ) is a private Catholic university in Louisville, Kentucky. It opened on October 3, 1950, as Bellarmine College, established by Archbishop John A. Floersh of the Archdiocese of Louisville and named after Saint R ...

. He also holds his

private pilot license A private pilot licence (PPL) or, in the United States, a private pilot certificate, is a type of pilot licence that allows the holder to act as pilot in command of an aircraft privately (not for remuneration). The licence requirements are det ...

(PPL).

Military Service

Bratcher has served four years of active duty in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

and over 30 years in the

Kentucky Air National Guard The Kentucky Air National Guard (KY ANG) is the aerial militia of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, United States of America. It is, along with the Kentucky Army National Guard, an element of the Kentucky National Guard. As commonwealth militia uni ...

, where he presently serves as a

Senior Non-Commissioned Officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

. He experienced both foreign and domestic operations such as homeland defense during the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Employment

Bratcher is currently employed at Elizabethtown Community and Technical College as Director of External Technical Training and as an instructor of business and technical courses. He is also a real estate broker, a private pilot, and the owner of a personal care home with a focus on Alzheimer and dementia residents. He has previously been employed by

Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...

, the

Lear Corporation Lear Corporation is an American company that manufactures automotive seating and automotive electrical systems. In 2019, it ranked #147 and in 2018, it ranked #148 on the Fortune 500 list. Early stages Lear Corporation was launched as American ...

, and

Maker's Mark Maker's Mark is a small-batch bourbon whisky produced in Loretto, Kentucky, by Beam Suntory. It is bottled at 90 U.S. proof (45% alcohol by volume) and sold in squarish bottles sealed with red wax. The distillery offers tours, and is part of ...

. Additionally, Bratcher has served on the Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors and is a member of the American Legion and

Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as military service members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or ...

Political Career

Elections

2014 Bratcher won the 2014 general election for

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

of Hardin County's 4th magisterial district with 2,211 votes (60%) against

Democratic 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 ...

incumbent Randell Morris. 2018 Bratcher was unopposed in the 2018 general election for constable of Hardin County's 4th magisterial district, winning with 3,132 votes. 2022 Incumbent

Jim DuPlessis James Carme DuPlessis (born November 19, 1969) is an American politician and engineer who served as a Republican member of the Kentucky House of Representatives for House District 25 from 2015 to 2023. As an engineer, he works for ChemTreat Inc. ...

, a republican representing District 25 in the Kentucky House of Representatives, chose not to seek reelection. Bratcher won the 2022 Republican primary with 1,593 votes (67.6%), and won the

2022 Kentucky House of Representatives election Elections to the Kentucky House of Representatives were held on November 8, 2022, as part of the biennial 2022 United States elections. Retirements Democrats #District 38: McKenzie Cantrell retired to run for Kentucky Court of Appeals from the ...

with 7,537 votes (62.4%) against Democratic candidate Katherine Leonard. He assumed office on January 1, 2023. 2024 Bratcher was unopposed in the 2024 Republican primary, and will face Democratic candidate Cherlyn Smith and

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

candidate Eric Parrish in the

2024 Kentucky House of Representatives election The 2024 Kentucky House of Representatives election will be 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, Republican ...

on November 5.

References

Living people Republican Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives 21st-century American legislators Year of birth missing (living people) {{Kentucky-politician-stub