FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - After a long tenure as minority leader, Jeff Hoover was promoted by his Republicans colleagues on Thursday to become Kentucky’s first GOP House speaker in almost a century.
Hoover officially takes the speaker’s gavel on Jan. 3 when the 2017 General Assembly convenes and the full chamber votes on the top post. The GOP’s dominance guarantees he’ll assume the speakership.
It will complete GOP control of the legislative and executive branches. Republican Matt Bevin occupies the governor’s office and the GOP has an overwhelming Senate majority.
Hoover called his unanimous selection by his colleagues the “highest honor” of his life. The new GOP House majority met behind closed doors at the state Capitol to choose Hoover.
“We have tremendous challenges facing us, but I like to say we have even greater opportunities,” Hoover said afterward. “And we’re up for the task.”
He has been House minority floor leader since 2001.
Hoover, 56, a Jamestown attorney, was elected to his 11th term Tuesday, when Republicans rode Donald Trump’s popularity in Kentucky to reclaim the House for the first time since the early 1920s. The victory means Republicans now control of all Southern state legislatures.
Republicans will hold a commanding 64-36 Kentucky House majority when the legislature next meets.
Hoover said he looked forward to working with Bevin and the GOP-led Senate to “move Kentucky in a new and better direction.” He said the incoming House majority didn’t discuss policy during the closed-door session. Instead, it was more of a get-acquainted session for a Republican caucus that includes 23 new members, he said.
“It’s going to take some time, it’s going to take all of us talking and getting to know each other and see what the priorities of the caucus are,” Hoover said.
Bevin’s ambitious to-do list includes overhauling the state’s tax code, making it illegal for companies to force employees to join a labor union, letting parents send their children to private schools with the help of public dollars and getting rid of the Common Core educational standards.
Hoover’s selection as the next speaker was widely assumed since the GOP tidal wave in Kentucky on Tuesday. In a sign of his new status, Hoover noted he received 317 text messages from late Tuesday through mid-morning Thursday. He faced no challenger for the speakership.
After years of toiling in the minority, sitting near a side door, Hoover will be perched in the speaker’s chair at the front of the chamber when he assumes his new role.
The election outcome was pivotal for Hoover, who had vowed to step down as GOP House leader if Democrats managed to keep control of the 100-member chamber.
House Republicans will vote to fill other top leadership positions on Nov. 30. A retreat is set for early December when GOP members will discuss their agenda for next year.
Hoover said he told his Republican colleagues that it’s “not a time to gloat,” and said he wanted an inclusive process giving Democrats a chance to contribute to crafting legislation.
“I can tell you that just because you’re in the minority doesn’t mean you don’t have good ideas and you can’t contribute,” he said. “Because many, many, many times we had ideas and wanted to contribute. Sometimes we could, sometimes we were shut out. And I hope to include all 100 members. If it’s a good idea, it’s a good idea whether it’s a Republican or Democrat.”
Hoover has a full agenda leading up to January, including hiring dozens of people such as clerks and doorkeepers who help the House function.
Hoover said he received a congratulatory text message from outgoing Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo, who was defeated Tuesday.
Hoover became emotional when recounting Stumbo’s comment that he wished Hoover’s mother “was here to see it” when he becomes speaker. For a time in the 1980s, Stumbo served in the House with Hoover’s mother, Mae, who passed away several years ago.
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