The Oldham Era conducted a questionnaire for candidates who are running with opposition in the 2026 general election, and the responses received will be published in the Era in the weeks leading up to Election Day on Nov. 3.
Aside from personal information such as occupation or experience, candidates were asked two main questions — the second of which candidates were given six different questions to choose from. The question that each candidate chose to answer is listed with their response.
This week’s edition features candidates running for state legislature positions. Candidates’ questionnaires are listed by office seeking, and for each office by the order their questionnaires were received.
Candidates for District 6 State Senator
Dr. Christian Furman
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Dr. Christian Furman
Email: christian@christianforky.com
City of residence: Prospect
Party: Democratic Party
Website/Facebook: chistianforky.com and https://www.facebook.com/christianforky
Occupation: Geriatrics & Palliative Care Physician; Professor of Medicine, UofL
Education/work experience: Oldham County High School; B.A., University of Miami; M.D. and M.S.P.H., University of Louisville. Leadership roles at UofL and the VA Hospital. Yearlong Congressional Fellowship in Washington, D.C., advising members of both parties on older adult issues.
Political experience/community involvement: Elected to the Prospect City Council in 2024; member of the Prospect-Goshen Rotary Club and the Oldham County Democratic Party; former Girl Scout and troop leader for my daughter’s troop; Congressional Fellow advising members of both parties on older adult issues.
What would be your top priority if elected? My top priority is an affordable Kentucky. Kentuckians are feeling the pain of the high cost of living and are working too hard not to be getting ahead. I will work to cut taxes on family essentials, protect families from excessive utility hikes and dangerous shutoffs during extreme weather, make homeownership more attainable, expand access to trusted childcare, and fight for good local jobs that provide a fair wage and financial security. As a physician, I’ll also work to make health care affordable, because no family should face an impossible choice between keeping food on the table and getting the care they need.
Recent data center discussions generated strong opinions throughout our community. What lessons should elected officials take away from that debate? The first lesson is that people deserve to be heard before decisions are made, not after. Too many families learned about proposed data centers only once plans were already in motion, leaving them worried about their water, their land, their property values, and their power bills.
The second lesson is that our families deserve leaders who do their homework. Laws that shape our communities for generations deserve careful study, and I will read every bill and understand its impact on District 6 before I cast a vote. As a physician, I would never recommend a treatment without understanding it fully, and I’ll hold myself to that same standard in Frankfort.
The third lesson is that keeping Kentucky safe means protecting the essentials families depend on. Data centers can strain water access, drive up utility prices, and create public nuisances near homes and farms. Every family deserves safe, clean water and power bills they can afford.
Finally, we must preserve the places that make our district home. The Ohio River, Floyds Fork, and the Little Kentucky River are crucial natural arteries that flow through our communities, alongside family farms and open land that have been passed down for generations. Disruptive industries should be kept away from where families live and play, and Kentuckians’ property rights deserve protection.
Caring for Kentucky starts with listening. Please call me. My door will always be open.
Lindsey Tichenor
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Lindsey Tichenor
Email: tichenorforsenate@gmail.com
City of residence: Smithfield
Party: Republican Party
Website/Facebook: tichenorforkentucky.com
Occupation: Senator, Realtor
Education/work experience: Realtor, Sales Executive, Teacher, Missionary
Political experience/community involvement: Served 4 years in the KY State Senate 2023-present, Precinct Officer Oldham County GOP, member of Kentucky Federation of Republican Women, Founder of Liberty Ladies Republican Club, Member of Oldham County Republican Women’s Club.
What would be your top priority if elected? Building a strong KY for our families by continuing to lower the income tax to zero, address rising costs of property taxes making home ownership more attainable, and protect our rate payers from increasing energy costs due to demand. Strengthening our families by improving educational outcomes in the basics and opening more educational opportunities for all of KY students. Our families are the bedrock of our communities, they are our first economy. If our families are strong, our communities are strong and KY is strong.
Recent data center discussions generated strong opinions throughout our community. What lessons should elected officials take away from that debate? The data center debate brought to light many issues for our community, who responded by coming together to protect what makes Oldham County special. As I researched the project’s potential economic, environmental, energy, and water impacts, it became clear that the proposal, as presented, was not only not wanted by the community, but it would bring with it potential consequences that could negatively affect OC, but also more broadly, all of KY communities.
I organized meetings with We Are Oldham Co members and the Secretary Noel of Economic Dev., Fish and Wildlife Comm. Storm, the Public Service Commission, and energy policy staff. I also met with US Senator Paul to discuss potential data center impacts on energy availability, rising utility rates, and environmental concerns. I spoke with Congressman Massie who later helped to stop a federal provision that would have prevented local govts from regulating AI/data centers.
Last session, I filed two bills addressing these concerns; one to create safeguards for energy consumption and reliability, environmental protections, and appropriate siting requirements, and the other to close loopholes in the Open Meetings Act to ensure citizens have full transparency.
I currently serve on the Senate’s Energy Reliability Working Group to address energy and dc concerns and intend to support any legislation that will come forward to address proper locations, open and transparent govt, protecting the rate payer and our beautiful state.
Candidates for District 33 State Representative
Jennifer Hardin
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Jennifer Hardin
Email: hardin4ky@gmail.com
City of residence: Louisville
Party: Democratic Party
Website/Facebook: www.hardin4ky.com
Occupation: Small Business Owner
Education/work experience: South Oldham High School graduate with a BA in Government, concentrating in Regional Analysis and Public Policy, from Morehead State University. Pursued graduate studies in Public Administration. Small business owner and entrepreneur with experience in management, marketing, and finance.
Political experience/community involvement: I’m a small business owner, a mother, and a longtime community advocate. Raising a son with developmental disabilities has given me firsthand experience navigating schools, healthcare, employment services, and programs that families depend on. I’ve also spent years working with local businesses and wildlife organizations and listening to neighbors throughout our community. My approach to public service is simple: show up, listen, help where you can, and make sure people have a voice in the decisions that affect them.
What would be your top priority if elected? My top priority is making sure state government works for the people it serves. Listening, corresponding and connecting to the citizens to protect access to affordable healthcare, properly funding our public schools, and making responsible decisions about growth and development (data centers).
Our current representative, Jason Nemes, sponsored House Bill 775, which expanded eligibility for data center tax incentives. Those incentives could last up to 50 years. Residents deserve better.
Recent data center discussions generated strong opinions throughout our community. What lessons should elected officials take away from that debate? The biggest lesson is that representatives should not sponsor bills that are not in the best interest of their voters.
Public recorders will show that our current representative, Jason Nemes, sponsored House Bill 775 (DATA CENTERS) and took $6400 in contributions from data center Developer Stephen Poe for this campaign. In addition, the legislation could provide tax exemptions for data centers for up to 50 years and the project would increase the cost of electricity for families and small businesses who are nearby and negatively affect property values.
Growth itself isn’t the enemy. Poor leadership and poor planning are. The citizens deserve a representative who will listen to them and their concerns moving forward.
Jason Nemes
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Jason Nemes
Email: jason.nemes1017@gmail.com
City of residence: Louisville
Party: Republican Party
Website/Facebook: jasonnemesky.com
Occupation: Attorney and Small Business Owner
Education/work experience: I obtained my undergraduate degree at WKU and my law degree at UofL. I have worked as the Chief of Staff to the Chief Justice of Kentucky, the Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, and currently practice law in Kentucky and Indiana.
Political experience/community involvement: I am the current state representative for the 33rd House District, where I focus on economic issues (I.e., reducing taxes and increasing government efficiency); ensuring our area receives its fair share in taxes that we send to Frankfort; public safety; and improving government services for groups that government exists to serve, like our neighbors with mental and intellectual disabilities. My family goes to church at St. Margaret Mary where I am a member of the Knights of Columbus. I am Leslie’s husband and a father of three sons, ages 20, 17, and 16.
What would be your top priority if elected? My top legislative priority is to continue the work to make Kentucky citizens’ lives more affordable and to further reduce their heavy tax burden. We have reduced the state income tax from 6 percent to 3.5 percent, which is about a $1,500 reduction in state income taxes for someone making $50,000. That is real money. I want to reduce income taxes again next session, as we have just experienced another surplus in revenues over expenditures. I also support giving hardworking Kentuckians relief on their property taxes, which have exploded out of control nearly everywhere, but especially in eastern Jefferson County, Oldham and Shelby.
Recent data center discussions generated strong opinions throughout our community. What lessons should elected officials take away from that debate? I’m against hyper-scale data centers in Oldham, Jefferson, or Shelby. Where they might make sense the local community must want them. This is what we have learned over the past two years in Oldham County in our discussion on data centers. We have also learned that even in the places that do want them, data centers must pay their own way and ensure costs don’t increase on the resident population. (The House passed a bill this past session to do just that, which I voted for.) We must outlaw non-disclosure agreements, maximizing transparency. There must be a closed-loop water system and sound barriers around the property. And if there is an emergency, then power to the center must be cut off prior to it being cut from residents and power to centers should be restored only after it is restored to residents. Where data centers may be appropriate, like replacing former coal mines, they must come with the above protections and with local support.
Candidates for District 48 State Representative
Suhas Kulkarni
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Suhas Kulkarni
Email: suhas@suhas48.com
City of residence: Prospect
Party: Democratic Party
Website/Facebook: www.suhas48.com
Occupation: Small business owner
Education/work experience: I have built several successful small businesses. I know how to balance a budget and stop wasteful spending. Frankfort is broken. We should be investing in our small businesses and communities instead of handing out corporate giveaways like my opponent has done for years.
Political experience/community involvement: I have never run for office before. I’m not a career politician like Ken Fleming. But we can’t afford any more misuse of our taxpayer dollars to benefit Frankfort insiders and big corporations. I have been a community leader for years, focusing on helping small businesses and young people succeed. I have served on multiple nonprofit boards and service organizations, including serving as the Founding Chair of the Vogt Innovation Awards, Director of the Asia Institute-Crane House, and on the boards of the World Affairs Council and World Trade Center of Kentucky, to name a few. I am also a Professor of Global Business at UofL and Program Director at Kauffman Foundation FastTrac.
What would be your top priority if elected? My top priority is to stop the corruption in Frankfort and end the corporate giveaways that career politician Ken Fleming has been supporting for years. Millions of our hard earned dollars being given away to data center developers instead of helping small businesses, seniors, and our kids. We have to bring balance and common sense back to Frankfort. Wasteful and corrupt spending means we don’t have enough to invest in our people and our neighborhoods. We need to make sure that our seniors are taken care of. Whether it’s healthcare, access to medication, property tax rates, or runaway development, we need to make sure that we do nothing to disturb the safety, security, and health of our seniors and their caretakers. We also need to support our small business owners, who are critical to our economy and contribute billions in taxes. And we must give our kids the tools and education they need to succeed in a world transformed by technology. Enough is enough. We simply can’t afford any more of Ken Fleming in office.
How will you be a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars while in office? I will be a good steward of taxpayer dollars. I don’t believe in socialism. I don’t believe in communism. And I don’t believe in Trumpism. We need to get extremism out of politics.
Ken Fleming has voted to raise his own pay every chance he gets. He has given away tens of millions of our hard earned money to data center developers and large corporations. Ken has also raised political contribution limits multiple times.
In return, the very companies that have benefited from Ken’s giveaways are funding the SuperPACs that are supporting him and spending thousands to attack me now.
It’s disgusting, Developers like Steve Poe, who contributed directly to Ken’s reelection, have been eyeing land in Oldham County with the incentives Frankfort gave him. Data centers will destroy the beauty of Oldham County, but these corporations do not care about our peace and quiet. Responsible stewardship does not mean giving away millions in taxpayer dollars to these special interests at the cost of our land, our neighborhoods, and our quality of life.
Ken Fleming has spent years in office ignoring the needs of his constituents and his district, bending over backwards for corporations at the expense of the people in our district. The corruption and malfeasance has to stop. That’s why I’m running to replace him: to bring balance and common sense to Frankfort, and to stop corrupt and wasteful legislators like Ken Fleming from misspending any more of our taxpayer dollars.
Ken Fleming
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Ken Fleming
Email: flemingforkentucky@gmail.com
City of residence: Louisville
Party: Republican Party
Website/Facebook: flemingforkentucky.com
Occupation: Executive Director of Kentucky Race Track Chaplaincy
Education/work experience: Bachelor of Business Administration
Political experience/community involvement: Louisville Metro Councilman (12 yrs), State Representative (8 yrs), served on many not-for-profit boards and as a volunteer, active member of Second Presbyterian Church
What would be your top priority if elected? Economic development and education are the two pillars for a healthy community and state. In driving the state personal income tax to 0% and partnering with businesses, we need to continue to work with secondary and post-secondary education to provide initiatives to strengthen our workforce. This includes reducing regulations, providing incentives for businesses to expand and attract employees, increasing mental health services to students, their families and teachers, and investment in classrooms including higher teacher pay.
My approach is working in a collaborative and cooperative way regardless of one’s background. I have been able to pass legislation regarding improving healthcare policies, protecting of children and families, increasing workforce, addressing road infrastructure and reforming our tax structure.
Oldham County’s population is growing, but we need to preserve it as a vibrant, attractive place to live, work and play. I will continue to work with the Oldham County schools, fiscal court and first responders to develop policies to find a balance for your quality of life.
How will you be a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars while in office? With many years of experience in managing and overseeing budgets for businesses, not-for-profits, state and local governments, I will treat every state taxpayer dollar as a sacred trust. State government must live within its means—just as families and businesses do.
I have, and will, continue to apply a fiscal conservative approach by controlling spending, maximizing efficiencies of delivering services, and measuring and assessing financial decisions effecting outcomes. This approach has served the taxpayers well by allowing the state to lower state personal income tax, provide record funding for education, make pensions more financially sound for teachers, law endorsement personnel, and state employees, and took our rainy day budget reserve fund from around $200 million to over $3 billion, just to name a few.
Two pillars of a successful community and state are education and economic development. In working together, we can prioritize our investments and ensure the money is allocated to meet the needs of Oldham County. By investing into these policies, we will help our children in providing for a better future, become more competitive in attracting jobs, and build and maintain a stronger infrastructure.
Candidates for District 59 State Representative
Stephanie White
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Dr. Stephanie White
Email: stephanie@stephanieforky.com
City of residence: Prospect
Party: Democratic Party
Website/Facebook: https://stephanieforky.com/
Occupation: Math Teacher
Education/work experience: Education: PhD Curriculum and Instruction, STEM Education (University of Louisville); Master’s Degree in Public Affairs and Policy Analysis (University of Texas at Dallas); B.S. in Mathematics (Wake Forest University)
Political experience/community involvement: This is my first time running for office. I am on the Executive Committee of the Oldham County Democratic Party. I am a small business owner and my business serves the community (LouisvilleFamilyFun.net, OldhamFamilyFun.net). I have been active in the community in a variety of ways through our schools as a parent volunteer. I served on the Local Planning Committee for Oldham County Schools representing the North Oldham campus. I served as a volunteer or board member for various non-profits helping children such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kentuckiana and STEAM Exchange.
What would be your top priority if elected? My top priority is properly funding our public schools. The state legislature has not upheld their legal obligation to fully fund public school transportation in more than two decades. According to the Oldham County Board of Education, in the past seven years, that has amounted to $22M in funding that they expected to receive from the state, but did not receive. We expect teachers to do more with less and we cannot accept that for our schools. In order for the school board to recruit and retain teachers, they need state legislators who will listen. Class sizes are too large, classroom supply budgets have been cut at schools, and buses are not provided for all of our students in Oldham County. We can do better if we prioritize our public schools and as a local teacher, I will make our public schools my top priority.
How would you be transparent and accessible to constituents while in office? I have owned and operated a small business in media for 17 years. During this time, I have developed knowledge and skills in public relations. I meet people where they are. We have residents in Oldham County that read traditional newspapers and others that get their information from their favorite social media platforms, email, podcasts, or TV. I have experience on all of these platforms and am committed to frequently updating people so that they know what is going on in Frankfort and our community. Being active in these ways also makes me reachable where people are so they can readily ask questions.
As a teacher, communication is so important. I update students and parents using a real-time calendar that they can view at any time. This calendar also has links to important information, helpful resources, answer keys, and assignments. As a state representative, I believe a similar live calendar could be available on my website. For so many people, going to read full bills or use the legislative website is just overwhelming. But, as a teacher does, I would use a real-time calendar to provide timely information in ways that people can easily consume.
Finally, I will be present. I have never met my state representative and I have only seen him at an event this summer for the first time. I am very active in the community so that people can find me approachable and available where they are – local event, school games, civic engagements.
David Osborne
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David Osborne
Email: osborne.davidw@gmail.com
City of residence: Prospect
Party: Republican Party
Website/Facebook: David Osborne for State Representative
Occupation: Farmer/Real Estate
Education/work experience: BS Economics/Agriculture Economics
Political experience/community involvement: Current State Representative and Speaker of the Kentucky House. Volunteer with numerous local charities
What would be your top priority if elected? As a native of Oldham County, this community is more than the place that I represent, it is home. I understand what makes our county special, from the people who look out for their neighbors, to the families and small businesses that help our community thrive. Serving the people of Oldham County is a responsibility that I take seriously and keeping our community a great place to live, work, raise a family, and build a future remains a top priority.
That means listening to the concerns of our residents and working to address the challenges they face every day. Affordability matters, and I will continue working to reduce the tax burden on Kentuckians, make government operate more efficiently, and deliver services more effectively – including the billions the legislature has invested in education, roads, infrastructure and public safety. I want the next generation to have the same opportunities to build a life here that so many of us have enjoyed. That means protecting what makes our community special while laying the foundation for progress.
How will you be a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars while in office? As your state representative, I believe every taxpayer dollar should be treated with the same care and respect Kentucky families give their own hard-earned money. My record reflects a commitment to responsible budgeting, protecting taxpayers, and making investments that strengthen our communities and improve the lives of the people we serve.
Affordability remains a top priority. That means working to lower taxes and reduce the burden on families, seniors, and employers, while ensuring we have the resources to meet Kentucky’s most important needs. It means investing in quality education, maintaining and improving our roads and infrastructure, and supporting programs that provide a safety net for our most vulnerable.
Good stewardship is about more than how much government spends. It is about making sure we get results for every dollar we budget. That requires targeting waste and focusing limited resources on priorities that improve the quality of life. It also means planning for the future rather than making short-term decisions that leave the next generation saddled with debt.
We have made real progress, but there is more to do. I will continue to approach the budget with discipline, ensure that taxpayer dollars are used wisely and ease the financial pressures facing Kentucky families. Kentuckians deserve a government that lives within its means, invests in essential services and puts their hard-earned money to work where it matters the most.