First District Congressman Ed Whitfield has submitted his resignation to Gov. Matt Bevin and will leave office officially on Sept. 6, the day the House is to return from its August recess.
Whitfield, who was not seeking reelection, has been a member of Congress since 1994.
In his letter to Bevin, Whitfield said, “It has been my honor and privilege to have represented the constituents of the First District of Kentucky in the United States Congress for the last almost 22 years. I did not seek re-election to Congress this year and have now decided to submit my resignation.”
Republican James Comer and Democrat Sam Gaskins are seeking Whitfield’s seat. Bevin has called a special election to fill the vacancy on the same day as the fall election, Nov. 8. That means to two will be on the ballot twice, once to fill the unexpired term that ends in January and the other for the new full two-year term.
Bevin issued the following statement along with the announcement about the timing of the special election.
“Both personally and on behalf of the Commonwealth, I want to thank Congressman Ed Whitfield for his many years of service to our state and our nation. He has served the people of Kentucky’s first district admirably, and we wish him all the very best in the years ahead,” Bevin said.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also issued a statement about Whitfield, saying, “It has been an honor working alongside him on a variety of issues, including our support for the workers at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant and for the men and women serving our country stationed at Fort Campbell.”
Whitfield announced he would not run for reelection last year during a House Ethics Committee investigation into his wife’s lobbying efforts for the Human Society.
According to the committee’s findings Whitfield violated House rules by permitting his whife to contact his staff about a soring bill, a practice which involves training walking horses to produce an unnatural high-stepping gait. Whitfield had proposed legislation banning the practice.
The committee also said Whitfield’s action was unintentional.
Whitfield was elected to Congress in 1994 as the first Republican to represent Kentucky’s First Congressional District.
Whitfield is a native of Hopkinsville, Kentucky and attended Madisonville High School. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree and Juris Doctorate from the University of Kentucky. He also studied at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., where he now serves on the Board of Governors. He also served as a 1st Lieutenant in the 100th Division of the U.S. Army Reserves.
Staff report