Democrat Adam Moore, left, and Republican Thomas Jefferson are running to represent House District 45 in the Kentucky General Assembly.
After his support for LGBTQ+ teens cost Republican Rep. Killian Timoney the primary, voters in his suburban Lexington district will choose between the Republican who defeated him and a Democrat who describes himself as more of a Libertarian.
The candidates are Democrat Adam Moore, a military veteran and business owner, and Republican Thomas Jefferson, who has retired from finance and car sales. The election is a test of how culture war issues will play in the district.
Moore and Jefferson are vying for a seat in the General Assembly in a district that encompasses southwestern areas of Fayette County and part of Jessamine County. They recently spoke to the Kentucky Lantern in separate interviews.
In the primary, the Jessamine County Republican Party endorsed Jefferson over Timoney, citing the incumbent’s votes against two GOP anti-transgender bills, 2023’s Senate Bill 150, which among other things banned gender-affirming care for transgender minors, and 2022’s Senate Bill 83, which prevents trans women and girls from competing on their schools’ female sports teams.
Jefferson said that Timoney is a “very nice gentleman” and a good family man, but he disagreed with his voting record, particularly on those measures.
“I would never ever think of running against a fellow Republican unless I felt like they weren’t doing the job that I expected,” Jefferson said. “And unfortunately, Killian voted way differently than I would, and I believe differently than most of the 45th District would vote as well.”
Moore, the Democrat, said Timoney was targeted by “a negative smear campaign” and said he expects to be likewise targeted heading into the general election. Mailers to primary voters from outside groups referred to Timoney as a “groomer” for voting against the anti-transgender bills.
Moore too praised Timoney’s character, adding that while they may disagree on policies, at the end of the day Moore knew that Timoney cared about people.
“I think the Thomas Jefferson defeat of Killian Timoney in the primary signals a shift in the Republican Party,” Moore said.
The two legislative candidates have gone back and forth on participating in a debate or forum. Last week, Moore issued an invitation on social media to Jefferson for a public forum. Jefferson told the Lantern he would have to know more about the proposal before accepting it.
“I’d be more than glad to debate anybody,” Jefferson said. “It doesn’t matter who it is, but it all depends on who is hosting the debate, who the moderators are,” Jefferson said. He then pointed to GOP criticism of the ABC presidential debate for the moderators’ live fact-checking of Republican former President Donald Trump.
Moore said in response that he’s open to having any “credible local journalist” moderate. He added that he believes it’s fair to fact check someone in a debate when something false is said.
Adam Moore
Moore, a former Republican who interned for U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, said that service has always been important to him. As an intern, he got experience responding to constituents’ concerns and in the Army, he learned lessons completing missions while facing hard days. Both experiences have prepared him for representing the 45th House District, he said.
“Service has always been important to me,” Moore said. “It’s why I joined the Army, why I’m involved with local civic organizations, and the road that I’ve kind of traveled on, this is just the next logical step as well, being able to continue serving and to serve in a different way and serve in a way that I think I can really succeed at and do a good job at.”
Moore said he has never fit the model of stereotypical Republicans or Democrats. He added that he’s “always been more of a Libertarian,” in that he believes in avoiding excessive government spending while letting people live their lives as they wish socially.
“As far as being a Democrat now, I’ve already said I’ve been pretty Libertarian in my leanings as far as the government should basically stay out of people’s lane if they can,” Moore said. “And what we see now is the Republican Party has been molded in this image of Donald Trump, which is not policies. It’s become more of a cult of personality.”
If elected, Moore has some policies in mind that he would like to support, such as eliminating sales taxes on services and expanding on Gov. Andy Beshear’s executive order that restored the right to vote to nonviolent felons. Moore said the order did not cover felons convicted in other states or charged with federal crimes.
“I would like to extend that same thing and put that in law to anyone in Kentucky who is now a lawful citizen who has served their time,” Moore said. “We’ve all made mistakes, and of course, not all mistakes are the same, but once you’ve served your time, the bare minimum to be a part of our democracy is having your right to vote.”
Additionally, Moore would like to establish a veterans’ caucus. As for a couple recent policies passed by the Republican-controlled legislature, Moore said he is against a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the General Assembly to fund nonpublic schools, Amendment 2, and an omnibus crime bill, House Bill 5. Both passed earlier this year.
Moore took issue with a controversial part of the crime bill that created illegal street camping.
“What you do is you, you identify the causes of homelessness, and all the causes of homelessness are also the causes of other crime that that bill is seeking to address, and homelessness is a part of that but that might also be battling with addiction, that might be systemic poverty. There are things to address that are not bandaid solutions, that is adding to our already overcrowded prison system.”
Thomas Jefferson
Jefferson worked in the car business for nearly four decades and retired three and a half years ago. While he’s “brand new to politics,” he’s finding that resonates with voters he meets. Jefferson said he decided to run for office after getting “tired of throwing rolled up socks at the TV.”
Jefferson said he believes his career experience will translate to working with others in the General Assembly.
“One thing you find out in sales is you have to compromise and you have to negotiate. Politics is the same way,” Jefferson said. “To accomplish anything, you’re going to have to understand what the other people want to try to accomplish, put forth what you want to try to accomplish and come up with a compromise that everybody gets some of what they want.”
Among lawmakers, Jefferson said he would be most aligned with Liberty Caucus members including Reps. Savannah Maddox, Candy Massaroni and Matt Lockett. The Kentucky Liberty Caucus’ website defines Liberty politicians as ones who are “more critical of government debt spending, corporate handouts, the influence of money and lobbyists in politics, and intrusion upon the rights of individuals than the establishment.”
Jefferson has also signed a term limit commitment. The commitment did not specify how many terms he would seek, Jefferson said, but added he would be open to three terms, or six years.
“I want to serve for a few terms and do what I can to help our Commonwealth, and then pass the baton on to somebody else that can go ahead and have some fresh ideas. Besides that, I think that’s what our founding fathers really expected. It was supposed to be an honor to serve, but also a burden at the same time, and so they never expected to have career politicians out there.”
Jefferson said he supports Amendment 2 and would “forward the opportunity for school choice” if elected this November. However, he added that he, his wife and daughters attended public schools.
“We appreciate the jobs that they (public school teachers) do, and they’re unsung heroes in a lot of ways, but the public school system is not always a good fit for every child, and I would love to to empower average middle-class citizens like myself that don’t have the opportunity because of finances, to give their child a different avenue towards learning and help them succeed in life,” Jefferson said.
Additionally, Jefferson said he supports greater transparency in government and schools. He would like to publish synopses of bills online and get input from constituents on legislation. He also supports parents having greater access to know what curriculum and books are taught in schools.
Jefferson is a co-lead usher of Southland Christian Church and regularly volunteers with a mentor program through the church for elementary school kids.