“A Marine, Maysville police officer, attorney, construction worker, Georgetown College football player, and former Republican, Josh Hicks has worn many hats but has always been motivated by his Kentucky-bred commitment to service. Now he’s running to represent Kentucky in Congress because he sees how his community and others across the commonwealth have been cast out and forgotten. Hicks is running to bring real, honest representation to this district and is building the coalition to get the job done.” – DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos
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To: Interested Parties
From: Sarah Guggenheimer, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: June 30, 2020
Subject: The Case for Josh Hicks
When Josh Hicks walked up to the Marine’s recruitment desk at age 20, he asked the recruiting officer one simple question: how hard will this be, really? When the Marine recruiter replied succinctly, “it will be the hardest thing you’ve ever done in your entire life,” Hicks was sold and enlisted right then and there.
It’s that same passion for service to country and refusal to quit even when things get hard that has motivated Hicks throughout his life. It’s why he joined the Marines, served as a police officer at the Maysville Police Department, and spent three years working nights and weekends to go to law school so he could become an attorney and build a better life for his family. And it’s why in 2016 he changed his party registration from Republican to Democrat.
Kentucky’s sixth district is trending blue, and most recently voted to elect Governor Andy Beshear by 14 points. Hicks is ready to follow that path and his lifelong commitment to service and deep ties to the district make him exactly the right person to win this seat.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Roll Call Headline: Democrat seeking Kentucky House seat touts police service amid unrest [Roll Call, 6/12/20]
It’s an unusual time for a former small-town police officer to be running for Congress, especially as a Democrat in a Kentucky district carried by President Donald Trump.
But Josh Hicks is trying to meet the moment.
The State Journal: Op-Ed: Hicks knows what public service is all about [The State Journal, 6/12/20]
Lexington Kentucky Herald: “In 2016, it became apparent that the Republican Party wasn’t for me,” Hicks said. “It wasn’t going in a direction I approved of, it wasn’t representing interests that I thought were important for the government to represent. Once somebody becomes the party exclusively of corporate special interests, that’s not what I believe government is intended to do.” [Lexington Kentucky Herald, 8/1/19]
Josh Hicks: Driven By Service
HICK IS RUNNING FOR OFFICE TO REPRESENT THE PEOPLE, NOT CORPORATE SPECIAL INTERESTS
Kentuckians are struggling with rising unemployment as our economy grinds to a halt, and hardworking families are looking for a Representative who will make sure that they won’t be left behind or forgotten in any recovery efforts.
But for too long, Washington Republicans have pursued an agenda that puts corporations first. Let’s not forget, the tax bill they wrote and passed in Washington gave corporations a trillion dollar tax cut while leaving middle class families behind. To this day, the wealthy and corporate executives continue to profit off of stock buybacks that blocked wealth from trickling down.
Even now, Republican efforts to help those at the top at the expense of everyone else are startlingly clear. As outrage emerged over the news that large corporations received tens of millions in Paycheck Protection Program loans in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Republicans still voted against increasing transparency and accountability in the loan process to ensure that these loans go to the small businesses who need help the most. Twice.
This corporations-first agenda reeks of the Washington swamp that doesn’t know and doesn’t care about what it’s like to struggle and not know where your next paycheck will come from. Josh Hicks knows.
After dropping out of Kentucky’s Georgetown College, Josh struggled to make ends meet working in construction. And he also knows about sacrifice – while serving as a police officer he spent three years working nights and weekends so he could go to law school at the same time to provide for his family.
Josh has seen and experienced firsthand what life is like when the powerful pull the levers to make sure those on top always get more than they need while leaving everyone else behind. He’s fighting to fix that.
ENOUGH OF MITCH MCCONNELL’S BRAND OF POLITICS
It’s impossible to look at this race without also examining the clear impact that Washington’s very own Grim Reaper will have on this race.
Senator Mitch McConnell has inspired an entire Republican agenda that is beholden to insider interests and prizes party loyalty ahead of real district representation.
But past elections have shown Kentuckians are tired of the same old partisan politics. As Hicks often says, he’s not running for Congress to focus on Democratic issues or Republican issues. He’s running to focus on Kentucky issues and to get to work solving real problems that face his community every single day.
HICK IS FIGHTING TO IMPROVE HEALTH CARE, NOT TAKE IT AWAY
Republicans in Washington have now spent over a decade working against lowering health care costs and improving coverage, which is exactly why Josh Hicks is fighting back.
Hicks has spoken out against Republican efforts to undermine our health care system, including legislation in Washington that would gut protections for pre-existing conditions and hike costs. But even after losing the House, Republicans have continued their dogged efforts to rip away health care from everyday Kentuckians. To this day, Republicans have voted multiple times in support of the lawsuit to repeal the Affordable Care Act and have refused to back down even as we face a global pandemic.
Cutting these health care protections is especially damaging in Kentucky, which has been hit hard by the opioid epidemic. Undermining our health care system, as Washington Republicans are doggedly attempting threatens access to treatment for 493,600 Kentuckians through the Medicaid Expansion.
This issue is personal to Josh Hicks, and is part of why he doesn’t accept any corporate PAC money. He lost two aunts to the opioid epidemic. So, when Republicans continue to spout false promises and inadequate solutions, Hicks sees through the bluster and his neighbors do as well.
PATH TO VICTORY
While this was a 20-point race in 2016, the growth and diversification of Lexington (roughly 40% of the electorate) has favored Democrats. Amy McGrath came within nearly 3 points of winning this seat in 2018, and in 2019, Governor Andy Beshear won this district outright by 14 points. Recent polling shows Biden beating Trump by 12 points in the district.
Beshear won this district and the Commonwealth by touting his deep roots in Kentucky and focusing on local issues. This allowed him to mitigate losses in rural areas while boosting his margins in urban and suburban areas. In 2020, Josh Hicks’ profile enables him to replicate that path, increasing Democratic turnout in Fayette and Northwest counties particularly with women and voters under 40.
Hicks has spent his entire life serving his community – first as a construction worker, then as a US Marine, and later as a Maysville police officer and attorney. He has seen up close how too many in Kentucky’s communities have been left behind.
Between rising health care costs, an economy that doesn’t work to too many hardworking families, and an opioid epidemic that continues to ravage Kentucky communities, voters are looking for the honest leadership that Hicks brings with him. As a former Republican and a retired US Marine, Hicks will never put party before country. And it’s that independence, and real understanding of his Kentucky community that makes Hicks the perfect person to represent the district.