Felicia Rabourn (born December 22, 1990) is an American politician and Republican member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from Kentucky's 47th House district since January 2021. Her district includes Carroll, Henry, Owen, and Trimble counties.[1]
Felicia Rabourn | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from the 47th district | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Rick Rand |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 22, 1990 Henry County, Kentucky |
| Political party | Republican |
| Residence | Pendleton, Kentucky |
| Committees | Agriculture Education Families & Children Health Services |
Background
editFelicia Rabourn was born on December 22, 1990, in Henry County, Kentucky, and graduated from Henry County High School.[2] She is currently employed as a branch officer administrator for Edward Jones Investments, and serves as the youth chair for the Henry County Republican Party.[3]
Political career
edit2023 General Assembly
editOn March 30, 2023, the last day of the 2023 Kentucky General Assembly, Rabourn as well as Josh Calloway, Steven Doan, Mark Hart, and Nancy Tate were removed from multiple committee assignments by the House Committee on Committees. Rabourn accused house majority leadership of "retaliating" against her and other members due to her appeal of a ruling made by House Speaker David Osborne regarding a floor amendment made by Calloway.[4]
Among those that spoke out against this decision were U.S. Representative Thomas Massie and fellow Kentucky House member Savannah Maddox.[4]
During the 2023 Kentucky Legislative Interim, Rabourn along with eight other Kentucky House members sent a letter to House majority leadership requesting a number of changes be made to the House rules when they returned in January including the slowing down of last-minute bills and removing the ability of house leadership to strip members of committee assignments.[5]
2024 General Assembly
editOn January 2, the first day of the 2024 Kentucky General Assembly, Rabourn filed fifteen resolutions to make various amendments to the House rules. Most of these resolutions were aimed at decentralizing the authority of house leadership such as allowing committee members to internally elect their own chairs. None of these resolutions made it to the floor for a vote, and the motion to table the resolutions for further amending was supported by all House democrats as well as five republican members, including Rabourn.[5]
On January 8, Rabourn and other members who were stripped of their committee assignments during the 2023 Kentucky General Assembly had their assignments either restored or were granted new assignments. Rabourn stated that, "I think that it shows leadership’s commitment of moving Kentucky in the right direction."[6] Rabourn also noted that talks about future rule amendments would likely continue into the 2024 Legislative Interim, and be brought up again when the 2025 Kentucky General Assembly meets in January.[6]
Elections
edit- 2020 Incumbent Democratic representative Rick Rand chose not to seek reelection for Kentucky's 47th House district. Rabourn won the 2020 Republican primary with 1,748 votes (51.1%)[3] and won the 2020 Kentucky House of Representatives election with 13,953 votes (69.4%) against Democratic candidate Jack Couch.[7] She assumed office on January 1, 2021.
- 2022 Rabourn was unopposed in the 2022 Republican primary[3] and won the 2022 Kentucky House of Representatives election with 11,387 (71.8%) against Democratic candidate Kimberly Hinkle Browning.[8]
- 2024 Rabourn won the 2024 Republican primary with 2,029 votes (57.2%) against challenger Mark Gilkison[9] and will face Democratic candidate Robb Adams in the 2024 Kentucky House of Representatives election on November 5.[3]
References
edit- ^ "Legislator-Profile - Legislative Research Commission". legislature.ky.gov. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
- ^ "FELICIA RABOURN FOR 47TH DISTRICT STATE REPRESENTATIVE / Meet the candidate". Rabourn for Kentucky. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Felicia Rabourn". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ a b Horn, Austin. "Members of KY House GOP Kicked off Committees at Final Hour. Some Suggest it's 'Retaliation.'". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
- ^ a b "Kentucky legislature spurns rules changes sought for transparency, limiting leadership power". Louisville Public Media. 2024-01-03. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
- ^ a b Horsley, McKenna (2024-01-09). "House Republicans removed from committees last year have assignments restored • Kentucky Lantern". Kentucky Lantern. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
- ^ "Commonwealth of Kentucky November 3, 2020 Official General Election Results" (PDF). Kentucky State Board of Elections. p. 47. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
- ^ "Commonwealth of Kentucky November 8, 2022 Official General Election Results" (PDF). Kentucky State Board of Elections. p. 49. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
- ^ "Commonwealth of Kentucky May 21, 2024 Official Primary Election Results" (PDF). Kentucky State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 15, 2024.