Ryan Quarles

Main article: 2015 Kentucky elections § Agriculture Commissioner

Quarles ran for Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture in 2015. He won the Republican nomination against fellow State Representative Richard Heath, in a very close election, with 92,700 votes (50.39%), versus 91,273 votes (49.61%) for Heath. He had been endorsed by the incumbent Commissioner of Agriculture, James Comer, ^[12] and he defeated Jean-Marie Lawson Spann, in the general election.

2019 election and term

Main article: 2019 Kentucky elections § Agriculture Commissioner

Quarles ran for a second term, in 2019. He won the Republican primary, with 82% of the vote (and was the only Kentucky candidate with a primary challenger to win all of Kentucky's 120 counties), and he won the general election, with 58% of the vote. ^[13]

In February 2022, he lost the case of Kentucky Hemp Association vs. Quarles, with Kentucky's Boone Circuit Court declaring Delta-8 to be a legal derivative of hemp and issuing an injunction against Quarles and Kentucky law enforcement, preventing them from taking any action against people for selling Delta-8. ^{[14] [15] [16]} The lawsuit against Quarles was prompted by the Agriculture Commission having issued an advisory opinion that Delta-8 hemp products were not exempted from the federal controlled substances list, which was followed by Kentucky State Police raiding several lawful hemp retail stores in Kentucky and taking a wide variety of hemp products, money, and cameras, and charging store employees with marijuana trafficking. ^[16]

In June 2022, the Kentucky Attorney General's Office, led by Daniel Cameron, concluded that the Kentucky Department of Agriculture violated Kentucky's open records law, by failing to respond to a request for records related to any litigation involving Quarles or involving the agriculture department, during his tenure, that had been made by the Kentucky Democratic party. ^[17]

2023 gubernatorial campaign

Main article: 2023 Kentucky gubernatorial election

In April 2022, Quarles began a run for the Republican 2023 nomination for Governor of Kentucky. ^[18] In the primary, he ran against a number of Kentucky Republicans, including former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft, state Attorney General Daniel Cameron, and state auditor Mike Harmon. ^[19] Quarles officially filed his candidacy on January 4, 2023. ^[20]

Quarles campaigned, aggressively, in rural areas of the state and earned 235 endorsements from local officials. ^[21] He lost the Republican primary to Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, coming in second place, with 21 percent of the vote. Despite the loss, he managed to place ahead of Kelly Craft, a former Ambassador to the United Nations, who had raised $8.5 million and was endorsed by prominent elected officials such as Ron DeSantis and Mike Pompeo. ^[22]

Ryan Quarles
4th President of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2, 2024

Kentucky House of Representatives 62nd District Republican primary election, 2010
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Ryan Quarles	2,081	59.99
Republican	Ricky Hostetler	1,388	40.01

Kentucky House of Representatives 62nd District Election, 2010
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Ryan Quarles	8,508	50.66
Democratic	Charlie Hoffman	8,287	49.34

Kentucky House of Representatives 62nd District Election, 2012
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Ryan Quarles (inc.)	12,408	54.03
Democratic	Charlie Hoffman	10,557	45.97

Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Republican primary election, 2015
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Ryan Quarles	92,700	50.39
Republican	Richard Heath	91,271	49.61

Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Election, 2015
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Ryan Quarles	563,013	60.08
Democratic	Jean-Marie Lawson Spann	374,077	39.92

Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Republican primary election, 2019
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Ryan Quarles	193,994	82.21
Republican	Bill Polyniak	41,971	17.79

Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Election, 2019
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Ryan Quarles	821,414	58.2
Democratic	Robert Haley Conway	545,099	38.6
Libertarian	Joshua Gilpin	44,596	3.2

Higher education career

Quarles' interest in higher education developed during a three-year stint as the student representative to the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. ^[23]

In September 2023, he was named president of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) Board of Regents. ^[24]

Accomplishments during his first 100 days in office:

• Conducted a statewide "Focus on the Future" tour to visit each of the 16 colleges. He met with faculty, staff, and students, as well as visiting a wide variety of career-focused programs that colleges offer. ^[25]
• Secured additional funding during the 2024 legislative session, including an increase in overall budget and additional Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship opportunities. In addition, KCTCS worked with lawmakers to recognize National Mental Health Day in Higher Education. ^[26]
• Released an independent report that determined KCTCS added $3.9 billion in annual income to the economy during fiscal year 2022–2023, equal to 1.6% of the state's gross state product. ^[27]
• Established a FASFA Rapid Response Task Force to address delays with the national rollout. As of June 2024, 85% of eligible KCTCS students had completed the FASFA and had received confirmation of accepted applications from the U.S. Department of Education. ^[28]

In June 2024, Quarles outlined his vision for learner success, employment success, and organizational success, along with 20 goals to achieve in the next 12 months. ^[29]

References

1. 2015 Kentucky General Assembly Directory, legislature.ky.gov, April 2015.
2. "Student Named Truman Scholar". University of Kentucky Public Relations. March 29, 2005. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
3. "Ryan Quarles biodata". Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
4. Steve Beshear. "Kentucky: Council on Postsecondary Education – Ryan Quarles Biodata". Cpe.ky.gov. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
5. "Quarles tapped as new president of Kentucky Community & Technical College System". Louisville Public Media. September 29, 2023. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
6. "Kentucky State Board of Elections: 2010 Primary Election". clarityelections.com. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
7. Hopkins, Shawntaye (October 5, 2010). "Georgetown candidate for state House arrested for reckless driving". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
8. Hopkins, Shawntaye (October 16, 2010). "Candidate to pay fine in careless driving case". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
9. "House District 62". Lrc.ky.gov. Archived from the original on February 4, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
10. Boggs, Jerry (November 8, 2012). "Thayer, Quarles head back to state legislature". Georgetown News-Graphic. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
11. "Election Results/2010-2019" (PDF). March 2022.
12. ""Announcement" – Ryan Quarles". YouTube. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
13. "KY - Election Results". results.enr.clarityelections.com. Archived from the original on December 2, 2019.
14. Charity Blanton (August 8, 2022). "Delta-8 declared legal in KY after much uncertainty". WPSD Local 6.
15. "Order"; Kentucky Hemp Association v. Ryan Quarles, Commonwealth of Kentucky Boone Circuit Court (2022).
16. Steve Rogers (July 15, 2021). "Hemp Association takes legal action after raids in Morehead, other places". WTVQ.
17. "Records case leads to rare agreement among political rivals". Spectrum News. June 4, 2022.
18. Schreiner, Bruce (April 30, 2022). "GOP's Quarles announces run for Kentucky governor in 2023". Associated Press . Retrieved May 1, 2022.
19. "Kentucky Auditor Mike Harmon is running for governor". Louisville Courier Journal. July 12, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
20. Schweinert, Lexi (January 4, 2023). "Ryan Quarles to officially file for governor race Thursday". WNKY . Retrieved May 4, 2023.
21. Corasaniti, Nick (May 1, 2023). "A Hostile, Under-the-Radar Primary Splinters Republicans". The New York Times . Retrieved May 4, 2023.
22. Schreiner, Bruce (May 16, 2023). "Trump-backed Daniel Cameron to face Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear in November". Associated Press . Retrieved May 16, 2023.
23. Kast, Monica (October 23, 2023). "'A lifelong dream.' Ryan Quarles discusses his priorities as new KCTCS president". Lexington Herald-Leader. pp. 1–2. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
24. "Ryan Quarles selected as fourth president of KCTCS". KCTCS. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
25. "KCTCS President Ryan Quarles to engage with Hopkinsville Community College". Clarksville Online - Clarksville News, Sports, Events and Information. April 7, 2024. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
26. "Quarterly Report". KCTCS. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
27. "Study shows KCTCS's impacts on Kentucky economy". FOX 56 News. February 8, 2024. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
28. "FAFSA crisis for many Kentucky colleges, universities as fall semester approaches". FOX 56 News. March 22, 2024. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
29. "President's Visions & Goals". KCTCS. Retrieved June 21, 2024.

External links

• Official site
• Will Yakowicz (August 11, 2022). "How Kentucky Lost Its War Against Delta-8 THC", Forbes.

Party political offices
Preceded by James Comer	Republican nominee for Agriculture Commissioner of Kentucky 2015, 2019	Succeeded by Jonathan Shell
Political offices
Preceded by James Comer	Agriculture Commissioner of Kentucky 2016–2024	Succeeded by Jonathan Shell