The longest-serving House member in the history of the Kentucky General Assembly will again face a challenge from his own party in the next election cycle.
Democratic State Rep. Tom Burch has held his Louisville-based seat without a break since being elected in 1978. Burch, who will be 91-years old next July, was first elected to a single term in 1972 serving until 1975 and then returning to Frankfort in 1979 where he has comfortably stayed since that time.
Burch has filed for another term in the state House where Republican supermajorities have swollen to their largest margins to date. Neal Turpin, a fresh-faced Kentucky Democrat in Burch’s district is seeking to ouster the longtime incumbent.
Turpin lives in Louisville, but for the last three years, he has served as an associate city planner in Clarksville, Indiana. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Louisville where he teaches Public Administration and Policy in the Department of Political Science.
Turpin and Burch know one another. Turpin made a video in support of Burch’s re-election in 2020 as he faced a Democratic primary against Daniel Grossberg. LINK
Some speculate that Burch could withdraw his candidacy and endorse Turpin as the filing deadline expires next year. Turpin did not return a call from Kentucky Fried Politics.
