Richard Henderson (Kentucky state representative)

Richard Henderson

Democratic Party

Prior offices

Kentucky House of Representatives District 74

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Elections and appointments

Last election

May 16, 2023

Personal

Religion

Christian

Profession

Business owner

Richard Henderson (Democratic Party) was a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, representing District 74.

Henderson (independent) ran in a special election to the Kentucky State Senate to represent District 28. Henderson lost in the special general election on May 16, 2023.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Henderson's professional experience includes ownership of C&N Block and Concrete.

Committee assignments

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Henderson served on the following committees:

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Henderson served on the following committees:

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Henderson served on the following committees:

Kentucky committee assignments, 2009
• Agriculture and Small Business, Vice chair
• Labor and Industry
• Local Government
• Transportation

Elections

2023

See also: Kentucky state legislative special elections, 2023

General election

Special general election for Kentucky State Senate District 28

Greg Elkins defeated Robert Sainte and Richard Henderson in the special general election for Kentucky State Senate District 28 on May 16, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Greg Elkins (R)	49.8	7,899
	Submit photo	Robert Sainte (D)	31.3	4,968
		Richard Henderson (Independent)	18.9	3,001

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 15,868
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2015

See also: Kentucky Treasurer election, 2015

Republican Allison Ball defeated Democrat Rick Nelson in the 2015 Kentucky Treasurer election.

Treasurer, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Allison Ball	60.5%	571,455
	Democrat	Rick Nelson	39.5%	372,416
Total Votes				943,871
Election results via Kentucky Secretary of State

Results

Primary

Henderson was defeated by Rick Nelson in the Democratic primary held on May 19, 2015.

Kentucky Treasurer Democratic Primary, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Rick Nelson	27.2%	44,397
Neville Blakemore	22.4%	36,663
Richard Henderson	20.1%	32,914
Jim Glenn	19.1%	31,146
Daniel Grossberg	11.2%	18,284
Total Votes		163,404
Election results via Kentucky State Board of Elections.

General election

Republican Allison Ball defeated Democrat Rick Nelson in the 2015 Kentucky Treasurer election.

Treasurer, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Allison Ball	60.5%	571,455
	Democrat	Rick Nelson	39.5%	372,416
Total Votes				943,871
Election results via Kentucky Secretary of State

Race background

Debate over necessity of treasurer's office

Term-limited incumbent Todd Hollenbach (D) and former Republican candidate Jon Larson sparred in public about the role of the treasurer's office in Kentucky. Hollenbach has argued that his office saved taxpayers $103.2 million over the past eight years through the state's investment commission and generated $86 million per year through involvement on the state's lottery board. He also pointed to the office's role in reconnecting unclaimed property with rightful owners in all 120 counties in Kentucky through public events.

Larson suggested that the treasurer's duties could be transferred to the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet, which already handles accounting of some state dollars. He countered Hollenbach's arguments about savings and revenue generation by noting that the cabinet could appoint other officials to these boards at lower costs. The treasurer's office had an annual budget of $3 million in 2015, representing the smallest financial impact of Kentucky's constitutional offices.

Efforts to abolish the treasurer's office gained momentum in recent history with Republicans in the state Senate running into opposition for constitutional changes from the Democratic-led state House. Melinda Wheeler, the 2007 Republican candidate for treasurer, lost to Hollenbach by 15 percent while campaigning on abolition of the office. Larson previously sought to abolish the Fayette County judge executive's office, where he served from 2010 to 2014.

Candidate survey

Ballotpedia sent a four-question survey to all filed candidates for the treasurer's election in 2015. This section gathers responses by candidates as they are submitted to the website.

Neville Blakemore
1. Why are you qualified to be the next Treasurer of Kentucky?

“	As a small business owner with over two decades of management experience, I know how to balance a checkbook and lead a team—this experience is critical when it comes to balancing Kentucky’s checkbook, managing unclaimed property and maximizing the efficiency of the office. The biggest opportunity for the next Treasurer to have an impact is through serving on seven key boards--including the Lottery, Teachers Retirement, Student Loan Corporation and State Investment Commission. These boards make real decisions about how we spend taxpayer dollars, and Kentuckians need a Treasurer to engage in these issues. My strong track record as a business leader and an active community board member gives me the tools to be a strong advocate and a fierce watchdog for Kentucky students, seniors, teachers and all taxpayers.	”
—Email with Melanie McCormick (2015)

2. What is the most important issue facing the next Treasurer of Kentucky?

“	Helping stabilize the Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System is the critical challenge facing our next Treasurer. Protecting the commitments we’ve made to retired teachers while finding a sustainable path forward requires a Treasurer with extensive experience balancing a checkbook and meeting the fiscal responsibilities of a large organization. I will fight to protect both the teachers and taxpayers as we reform the system.	”
—Email with Melanie McCormick (2015)

3. If elected, what do you hope to accomplish during your first term in office?

“	The first priority for the Treasurer has to be managing the day to day responsibilities: balancing the checkbook and returning unclaimed property. I’ll do this in an effective, transparent way, giving Kentuckians honest answers about where their tax dollars go. The independently-elected Treasurer can and should be a watchdog and advocate on behalf of the people of Kentucky. Next, we must find a solution to our pension problems, and this starts with finding a path forward on teachers’ retirement. The Treasurer can’t do it alone, but I will work to find a real and lasting solution—and as an independently elected official, I’ll use the independent office and independent platform to bring people together and take action.	”
—Email with Melanie McCormick (2015)

4. Where do you stand on proposals to eliminate the treasurer's office?

“	As your next Treasurer, I will certainly use technology to streamline the day-to-day duties of the office. More importantly, technology today can be used to enhance public awareness and ensure transparency. We should invest in fraud protection software and real time, public, online access to Kentucky’s checkbook so we can hold our leaders accountable for their spending decisions.	”
—Email with Melanie McCormick (2015)

Richard Henderson
1. Why are you qualified to be the next Treasurer of Kentucky?

“	I was mayor of Jeffersonville from 2003-2007. As mayor, I managed a $2 million dollar budget that included the water company, parks system, road system, senior citizens and economic development. I served as state representative from the 74th district including Montgomery, Powell and Wolfe counties from 2007-2014. I served on: Member, House Appropriations and Revenue Committee (4 years) Member, House Budget Sub-Committee on Transportation (6 years) Vice chair, House Agriculture and Small Business Committee (8 years) Co-chairman, House Energy Committee (2 years)	”
—Email with Richard Henderson (2015)

2. What is the most important issue facing the next Treasurer of Kentucky?

“	There are three very important issues facing the next state treasurer: Accountability of monies spent, serving on all boards looking out for the stakeholders and citizens first.	”
—Email with Richard Henderson (2015)

3. If elected, what do you hope to accomplish during your first term in office?

“	My plan is to set up permanent regional volunteer offices for unclaimed property and also add updated quarterly printouts of unclaimed property to send out to county office holders, city officials, state representatives, senators, civic groups and community activists in hopes of returning most if not all property to our citizens of this great commonwealth.	”
—Email with Richard Henderson (2015)

4. Where do you stand on proposals to eliminate the treasurer's office?

“	The office of state treasurer should never be eliminated. This office gives a separation of powers within the executive branch of state government. If it is abolished then it would become a governor appointed position. Therefore not saving any money. It could also allow the unclaimed property be swept up by the executive or legislative budgets and used to fill in shortfalls in revenue instead of being returned to its rightful owners. Your future treasurer should fight for this position to remain a constitutional office.	”
—Email with Richard Henderson (2015)

Kenny Imes
1. Why are you qualified to be the next Treasurer of Kentucky?

“	I feel that I am the most qualified candidate for state Treasurer by virtue of both my integrity, experience and common sense in private business, public administration and legislative experience. I have owned and operated seven private companies and supervised and employed over 150 people. As a state cabinet deputy secretary and Commissioner I have supervised over 2,000 state employees and 11 divisions while at the same time basically serving as a CEO, a CFO and CAO of the cabinet all uniquely qualifying me to serve as the Commonwealth's Treasurer. In every instance the budget was balanced and the businesses were profitable.	”
—Email with Kenny Imes (2015)

2. What is the most important issue facing the next Treasurer of Kentucky?

“	There are really two important issues facing the next state Treasurer. One is the constitutional obligation to be the public's 'watchdog' over the state's treasury. The Treasurer should be constantly vigilant on behalf of the taxpayer and do everything in the power of the office to be as transparent and see that the public has eyes on where every tax dollar is spent. Second, the state Treasurer sits on the investment boards for all the state sponsored and backed pension systems. It is imperative that the Treasurer take an active role of leadership in that capacity and in concert with the General Assembly and the Finance Cabinet make much wiser investment decisions based on sound judgement, experience and common financial sense.	”
—Email with Kenny Imes (2015)

3. If elected, what do you hope to accomplish during your first term in office?

“	First of all I would show up for work and not be trying to use the office for political ladder climbing. I would bring 40+ years of private, public and legislative experience to the office for the benefit of all the citizens and taxpayers of Kentucky and provide a level of openness and transparency that has been so lacking heretofore. I will especially view with a critical eye the warrants issued for state checks especially those of a 'no-bid' or personal service contract nature.	”
—Email with Kenny Imes (2015)

4. Where do you stand on proposals to eliminate the treasurer's office?

“	I am completely opposed to any and all efforts to abolish the office is state Treasurer. The Treasurer was put into the state's Constitution as the public's safeguard and watchdog over the public's monies and treasurey. The functions of the office would still have to be done and I can't foresee any savings in dollars or staffing requirements. I truly believe it is the public's best interest to have an elected Treasurer that keeps a check and balance within the Executive officers of the Commonwealth. The potential for abuse or corruption would be astronomically higher if the Treasurer's duties were placed under an appointee who would serve at the pleasure of a Governor rather than elected by the public. I really believe it is in the public interest that the Treasurer write the Governor's paycheck rather than the Governor's writing the Treasurer's paycheck.	”
—Email with Kenny Imes (2015)

Rick Nelson
1. Why are you qualified to be the next Treasurer of Kentucky?

“	I believe I am the most qualified because of my 15 year general assembly experience. Every two years we vote on multi-billion dollar budgets, and my 29 year career as a public school teacher gives me the experience to be able to manage employees and planning.	”
—Email with Rick Nelson (2015)

2. What is the most important issue facing the next Treasurer of Kentucky?

“	The treasurer sits on the Kentucky Teachers Retirement Board that represents over 165,000 active and retired teachers. The system is now at 53% funded. Work needs to be done to address that situation.	”
—Email with Rick Nelson (2015)

3. If elected, what do you hope to accomplish during your first term in office?

“	Make sure that the office spends its budget wisely. I also plan on visiting each Kentucky high school to teach classes on financial literacy, which the treasurer office is responsible for.	”
—Email with Rick Nelson (2015)

4. Where do you stand on proposals to eliminate the treasurer's office?

“	It would be a bad idea. If the governor appointed the treasurer they could order them to do as that governor wanted concerning money matters. The treasurer needs to be independent to be a watchdog for the taxpayers.	”
—Email with Rick Nelson (2015)

Campaign finance

First quarter report (2015)
Comprehensive donor information for this election was collected from the state's campaign finance authority. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $310,779.34 and spent a total of $140,706.65 during this reporting period. This information was last updated on May 5, 2015.

Campaign Contributions and Expenditures
Candidate	Office	Beginning balance	Contributions	Expenditures	Ending balance
Neville Blakemore	Kentucky Treasurer	$195,315.84	$136,056.50	$92,991.29	$238,381.05
James Glenn, Jr.	Kentucky Treasurer	$0	$70,751.42	$11,687.58	$59,063.84
Kenny Imes	Kentucky Treasurer	$0	$47,345.42	$8,757.48	$38,587.94
Allison Ball	Kentucky Treasurer	$17,071.16	$23,330.00	$8,896.64	$31,504.52
Daniel Grossberg	Kentucky Treasurer	$1,872.61	$20,311.00	$12,733.00	$9,450.61
Jon Larson	Kentucky Treasurer	$0	$6,450.00	$431.00	$6,019.00
Richard Henderson	Kentucky Treasurer	$0	$4,035.00	$2,813.95	$1,221.05
Rick Nelson	Kentucky Treasurer	$0	$2,500.00	$2,395.71	$104.29
Grand Total Raised					$310,779.34
Grand Total Spent					$140,706.65

Fourth quarter report (2014)
Comprehensive donor information for this election was collected from the state's campaign finance authority. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $207,835.03 and spent a total of $11,482.7 during this reporting period. This information was last updated on January 25, 2015.

Campaign Contributions and Expenditures
Candidate	Office	Beginning balance	Contributions	Expenditures	Ending balance
Neville Blakemore	Kentucky Treasurer	$0	$204,235.03	$8,919.19	$195,315.84
Allison Ball	Kentucky Treasurer	$17,682.31	$1,600	$2,210.55	$17,071.76
Daniel Grossberg	Kentucky Treasurer	$0	$2,000	$352.96	$1,647.04
Richard Henderson	Kentucky Treasurer	$0	$0	$0	$0
James Glenn, Jr.	Kentucky Treasurer	$0	$0	$0	$0
Kenny Imes	Kentucky Treasurer	$0	$0	$0	$0
Jon Larson	Kentucky Treasurer	$0	$0	$0	$0
Rick Nelson	Kentucky Treasurer	$0	$0	$0	$0
Grand Total Raised					$207,835.03
Grand Total Spent					$11,482.7

2014

See also: Kentucky House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for the Kentucky House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was January 28, 2014. Incumbent Richard Henderson ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, while David Hale defeated Woody Wells in the Republican primary. Hale defeated Henderson in the general election.

Kentucky House of Representatives, District 74 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	David Hale	52.8%	8,346
	Democratic	Richard Henderson Incumbent	47.2%	7,453
Total Votes				15,799

Kentucky House of Representatives, District 74 Republican Primary, 2014

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
David Hale	71.5%	1,387
Woody Wells	28.5%	552
Total Votes		1,939

2012

See also: Kentucky House of Representatives elections, 2012

Henderson won re-election in the 2012 election for Kentucky House of Representatives District 74. He ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on May 22, 2012, and was unopposed in the general election on November 6, 2012.

2010

See also: Kentucky House of Representatives elections, 2010

Henderson ran for re-election to the 74th District seat against Jeff Moore (R). In the May 18th primary election, Henderson defeated Democratic primary opponent James Davis by a margin of 6,007 to 5,127. The general election took place on November 2, 2010.

Kentucky House of Representatives, District 74 General Election (2010)
Candidates		Votes
Richard Henderson (D)		8,223
Jeff Moore (R)		4,719

2008

On November 4, 2008, Henderson was re-elected to the 74th District Seat in the Kentucky House of Representatives, defeating Woody Wells, Jr.(R). Henderson raised $83,130 for his campaign, while Wells raised $0.

Kentucky House of Representatives, District 74 (2008)
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Richard Henderson (D)		11,994	73.0%
Woody Wells, Jr. (R)		4,444	27.0%

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Richard Henderson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.

2015

Henderson ran on the following themes, according to his campaign website:

“	If elected Treasurer, Richard Henderson plans to stay true to his simple upbringing and blue collar background by teaching Kentuckians the importance of a fair and honest dollar. He plans to support financial literacy education by working to create a treasury to high school financial literacy program. Richard is dedicated to the citizens of Kentucky and the stability of the state as a whole. That's why he plans to look out for the best interests of retirees, working men and women & all Kentuckians while serving on various boards. He will work tirelessly to search for and return as much unclaimed property to the people as possible. Richard considers all Kentuckians to be members of his big family, so he will continue to protect our citizens first and search for federal money that can enhance our communities here in Kentucky. Richard believes in supporting our veterans and will use the position of state treasurer to focus on helping our homeless veterans. He will lobby to establish a program to create a state homeless veteran database and a statewide homeless veteran outreach program.	”
—Richard Henderson's campaign website, (2015)

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Richard Henderson campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2023	Kentucky State Senate District 28	Lost general	$45,909	$0
2012	Kentucky State House, District 74	Won	$26,206	N/A**
2010	Kentucky State House, District 74	Won	$65,538	N/A**
2008	Kentucky State House, District 74	Won	$83,130	N/A**
2006	Kentucky State House, District 74	Won	$51,190	N/A**
Grand total			$271,973	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Recent news

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Richard Henderson News Feed

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Adrian K. Arnold	Kentucky House of Representatives District 74 2007–2015	Succeeded by David Hale (R)

[show]

Current members of the Kentucky State Senate

Leadership

Senate President:Robert Stivers

Majority Leader:Max Wise

Minority Leader:Gerald Neal

Senators

District 1

Jason Howell (R)

District 2

Danny Carroll (R)

District 3

Craig Richardson (R)

District 4

Robby Mills (R)

District 5

Stephen Meredith (R)

District 6

Lindsey Tichenor (R)

District 7

Aaron Reed (R)

District 8

Gary Boswell (R)

District 9

David Givens (R)

District 10

Matthew Deneen (R)

District 11

Steve Rawlings (R)

District 12

Amanda Bledsoe (R)

District 13

Reggie Thomas (D)

District 14

Jimmy Higdon (R)

District 15

Rick Girdler (R)

District 16

Max Wise (R)

District 17

Matt Nunn (R)

District 18

Robin Webb (D)

District 19

Cassie Chambers Armstrong (D)

District 20

Gex Williams (R)

District 21

Brandon Storm (R)

District 22

Donald Douglas (R)

District 23

Chris McDaniel (R)

District 24

Shelley Frommeyer (R)

District 25

Robert Stivers (R)

District 26

Karen Berg (D)

District 27

Steve West (R)

District 28

Greg Elkins (R)

District 29

Scott Madon (R)

District 30

Brandon Smith (R)

District 31

Phillip Wheeler (R)

District 32

Mike Wilson (R)

District 33

Gerald Neal (D)

District 34

Jared Carpenter (R)

District 35

Keturah Herron (D)

District 36

Julie Adams (R)

District 37

David Yates (D)

District 38

Mike Nemes (R)

Republican Party (31)

Democratic Party (7)