Veteran state Sen. Alice Forgy Kerr of Lexington decides not to seek re-election

Jack Brammer
·2 min read

Republican Alice Forgy Kerr, who has represented the 12th Senate District in central Fayette County for 23 years, has decided not to seek re-election next year.

“After much prayerful consideration, I have decided that I will not be a candidate for re-election in 2022,” Kerr said in a statement released late Wednesday. “I make this decision knowing that there are other capable individuals in the district that will give voters a choice as to who will represent the 12th Senate District beginning in 2023.”

She did not mention any names.

Andrew Cooperrider, the owner of Brewed coffee shop in Lexington and one of the four men who filed an unsuccessful petition to impeach Gov. Andy Beshear earlier this year because of the Democratic governor’s COVID-19 restrictions, recently said he will seek the seat next year in the Republican primary election.

In 2018, Kerr narrowly defeated Democrat Paula Setser-Kissick to win re-election.

Kerr, a community volunteer, said “it has been both an honor and a privilege to represent Fayette County in the Kentucky Senate for the last 23 years. My heart is full of gratitude and appreciation to the voters who have elected me six times as their state senator in Frankfort.”

Kerr did not say what she plans to do next. “I will pause for now, but I look forward to seeing what God has in store for the next chapter of my life,” she said.

Kerr has served on several legislative committees during her tenure and was the longtime chairwoman of the Senate Economic Development Committee. In recent years, she has been a more moderate voice in the Kentucky Senate. She has repeatedly sponsored an unsuccessful bill to ban conversion therapy, a discredited practice that attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Kerr ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2004. Her brother, Larry Forgy, was the Republican nominee for governor in 1995.

Besides her legislative abilities, Kerr is known to have the best singing voice in the Senate. She often sings “Happy Birthday” on the Senate floor to her colleagues.

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