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Mike Harmon

Republican Party

Prior offices

Kentucky House of Representatives District 54

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Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts

Successor:Allison Ball

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Elections and appointments

Last election

May 16, 2023

Personal

Religion

Christian: Baptist

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Personal Facebook

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Mike Harmon (Republican Party) was theKentucky Auditor of Public Accounts. He assumed office in 2016. He left office on January 1, 2024.

Harmon (Republican Party) ran for election forGovernor of Kentucky. He lost in the Republican primary onMay 16, 2023.

Harmon is a formerRepublican member of theKentucky House of Representatives, representing District 54 from 2002 to 2015. He resigned after he was elected to the state auditor position in the November 2015 general election. Harmon beat first-termincumbent Adam Edelen (D) to become state auditor.^[1]

Harmon shared a ticket withPhil Moffett (R), seeking the nomination forlieutenant governor ofKentucky in2011, placing second in the May 17, 2011, primary.

Biography

Mike Harmon graduated from Boyle County High School. Harmon earned degrees in math, statistics, and theater from Eastern Kentucky University in 1988. His career experience includes working as an associate agent with Darnell & Associates Insurance Agency and a mortgage originator with First Mortgage Company.^[2][3]

Elections

2023

See also: Kentucky gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2023

General election

General election for Governor of Kentucky

IncumbentAndy Beshear defeatedDaniel Cameron andBrian Fishback in the general election for Governor of Kentucky on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Andy Beshear (D)	52.5	694,482
		Daniel Cameron (R)	47.5	627,457
	Submit photo	Brian Fishback (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	83

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	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,322,022
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Kentucky

IncumbentAndy Beshear defeatedGeoff M. Young andPeppy Martin in the Democratic primary for Governor of Kentucky on May 16, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Andy Beshear	91.3	176,589
		Geoff M. Young	5.1	9,865
		Peppy Martin	3.6	6,913

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	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 193,367
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Kentucky

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of Kentucky on May 16, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Daniel Cameron	47.7	144,576
		Ryan Quarles	21.7	65,718
		Kelly Knight Craft	17.2	52,170
		Eric Deters	5.8	17,464
		Mike Harmon	2.6	7,797
		Alan Keck	2.4	7,317
		David Cooper	0.8	2,282
		Jacob Clark	0.6	1,900
		Robbie Smith	0.5	1,388
		Bob DeVore	0.3	931
	Submit photo	Johnny Ray Rice	0.2	726
	Submit photo	Denny Ormerod	0.2	696

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	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 302,965
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Savannah Maddox (R)

2019

See also: Kentucky Auditor election, 2019

General election

General election for Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts

IncumbentMike Harmon defeatedSheri Donahue andKyle Hugenberg in the general election for Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mike Harmon (R)	55.7	779,730
		Sheri Donahue (D)	41.0	574,820
		Kyle Hugenberg (L)	3.3	46,563

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	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,401,113
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts

Sheri Donahue defeatedKelsey Hayes Coots andChris Tobe in the Democratic primary for Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts on May 21, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sheri Donahue	46.7	134,988
		Kelsey Hayes Coots	33.1	95,691
		Chris Tobe	20.2	58,551

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	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 289,230
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Drew Curtis (D)

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. IncumbentMike Harmon advanced from the Republican primary for Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts.

2015

See also:Kentucky Auditor election, 2015

RepublicanMike Harmon defeated incumbent AuditorAdam Edelen (D) in the general election.^[4]

Kentucky Auditor, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Mike Harmon	51.9%	486,741
	Democrat	Adam Edelen	48.1%	450,316
Total Votes				937,057
Election results viaKentucky Secretary of State

No primary was scheduled for either major party as only one candidate filed for the office from each party.

Polls

General election

Campaign finance

First quarter report (2015)
Comprehensive donor information for this election was collected from the state's campaign finance authority. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of$155,471 and spent a total of$46,951.39 during this reporting period. This information was last updated on May 5, 2015.^[5]

Campaign Contributions and Expenditures
Candidate	Office	Beginning balance	Contributions	Expenditures	Ending balance
Adam Edelen	Kentucky Auditor	$247,330.57	$145,521.00	$45,503.92	$347,347.65
Mike Harmon	Kentucky Auditor	$0	$9,950.00	$1,447.47	$8,502.53
Grand Total Raised					$155,471
Grand Total Spent					$46,951.39

Fourth quarter report (2014)
Comprehensive donor information for this election was collected from the state's campaign finance authority. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of$95,635 and spent a total of$28,160.34 during this reporting period. This information was last updated on January 25, 2015.^[6]

Campaign Contributions and Expenditures
Candidate	Office	Beginning balance	Contributions	Expenditures	Ending balance
Adam Edelen	Kentucky Auditor	$180,005.91	$95,635	$28,160.34	$247,480.57
Mike Harmon	Kentucky Auditor	$0	$0	$0	$0
Grand Total Raised					$95,635
Grand Total Spent					$28,160.34

2014

See also:Kentucky House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for theKentucky House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014. The general election was held onNovember 4, 2014. Thesignature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was January 28, 2014. IncumbentMike Harmon ran unopposed in the Republican primary and was unchallenged in the general election.^[7][8][9]

2012

See also:Kentucky House of Representatives elections, 2012

Harmon won re-election in the2012 election forKentucky House of Representatives District 54. He ran unopposed in the Republican primary on May 22, 2012, and defeatedBarry M. Harmon (D) in the general election on November 6, 2012.^[10][11]

Kentucky House of Representatives, District 54, General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Mike HarmonIncumbent	54.8%	9,482
	Democratic	Barry Harmon	45.2%	7,811
Total Votes				17,293

2010

See also:Kentucky House of Representatives elections, 2010

Harmon won re-election to the 54th District Seat on November 2, 2010. Harmon was unopposed, and received 9,789 votes.^[12]

Harmon ran unopposed in the May 18 Republican primary election.^[13][14]

2008

On November 4, 2008, Harmon was re-elected to the 54th District Seat in theKentucky House of Representatives, defeating David C. Sparrow (D).^[15] Harmon raised $50,185 for his campaign, while Sparrow raised $82,573.^[16]

Kentucky House of Representatives, District 54 (2008)
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Mike Harmon (R)		9,375	53.5%
David C. Sparrow (D)		8,157	46.5%

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also:Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Mike Harmon did not completeBallotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.

2019

Mike Harmon did not completeBallotpedia's 2019 Candidate Connection survey.

2015

Harmon's campaign website listed the following themes for the 2015 race:

2012

Harmon's website highlighted the following campaign themes:^[19]

Innocent Unborn

• Excerpt: "I have always been pro-life, but I can tell you, after holding my daughter, Elizabeth, in my hands for the first time when she was born 18 years ago, I can’t imagine myself being any other way."

Healthcare

• Excerpt: "As states, I believe we need to enter into interstate compacts to allow for health insurance to be sold across state lines."

Education

• Excerpt: "In order for Kentucky to educate our young people successfully, we must think of the educational process as a three-legged stool in which all three legs—public, private, and home schools—are strengthened and protected."

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf.Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at theFEC website. Clickhere for more on federal campaign finance law andhere for more on state campaign finance law.

Committee assignments

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Harmon served on the following committees:

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Harmon served on the following committees:

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Harmon served on the following committees:

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Harmon served on the following committees:

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according toBillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Issues

ESG

See also:Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)

Environmental, social, and corporate governance
Select a topic from the dropdown below to learn more. Economy and Society: Ballotpedia's weekly ESG newsletterEnvironmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)Key terms (ESG)Materiality (ESG)Opposition to ESGSocially responsible investingSustainabilitySubmit

As auditor Harmon took positions in opposition toenvironmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG), an approach to investing and corporate decision-making.

State financial officers, includingtreasurers,auditors, andcontrollers, are responsible for auditing other government offices, managing payroll, and overseeing pensions. In some states, certain SFOs are also responsible for investing state retirement and trust funds.

Opposition to U.S. Department of Labor ESG rules (December 2021)

In December 2021, Harmon and 35 other state financial officers and attorneys general submitted a public comment to theU.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in opposition to a proposed DOL rule that would encourage financial managers to consider ESG factors when selecting investments for private sector pension plans.^[20]

Titled the “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights,” the rule would state that pension plan managers “can make investment decisions that reflect climate change and other environmental, social, or governance (‘ESG’) considerations, including climate-related financial risk, and choose economically targeted investments (‘ETIs’) selected, in part, for benefits apart from the investment return.”^[21]

Harmon and the other officials wrote that the rule “would allow employers and investment managers to invest employee retirement savings in a way that benefits social causes and corporate goals even if it adversely affects the return to the employee” and that it would permit “proxy voting in ways that support ESG investment goals contrary to shareholder interests.”^[22]

The state officials wrote that they were “opposed to investment managers and employers being encouraged or mandated to consider ESG factors and protected from legal action when they do” and that the DOL’s proposed rule “makes what should be a financial decision into a political one.”^[23]

Opposition to Federal Reserve Bank appointee (January 2022)

In January 2022, Harmon was one of 25 members of the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF) who co-signed a letter to President Joe Biden, asking him to withdraw the nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin to the Federal Reserve Bank Board of Governors.^[24]

In a May 2020New York Times commentary titled “Why Is the Fed Spending So Much Money on a Dying Industry?,” Raskin wrote that Federal Reserve policy decisions should oppose investments in fossil fuels and support investments in the renewable energy sector: “The decisions the Fed makes on our behalf should build toward a stronger economy with more jobs in innovative industries — not prop up and enrich dying ones.”^[25]

Harmon and the signatories on the SFOF letter wrote that they were concerned Raskin “would use the supervisory authority as Vice-Chair for Supervision at the Federal Reserve Bank to disrupt the private banking sector, reliable energy supplies, and the U.S. economy.”^[26]

In March 2022, Raskin withdrew her name from consideration for the Federal Reserve position.^[27]

Letter regarding use of ESG criteria by S&P Global Ratings (June 2022)

In June 2022, Harmon co-signed a letter to the leadership of S&P Global Ratings opposing the firm’s “new plan to include ESG credit indicators in its credit ratings for states and state subdivisions.” The letter was also signed byKentucky State TreasurerAllison Ball,Kentucky Secretary of StateMichael Adams,Kentucky Commissioner of AgricultureRyan Quarles, andAttorney General of KentuckyDaniel Cameron.^[28]

Harmon and the other signatories wrote that S&P had failed to conduct “cost-benefit-analysis that weighs national security risks and the health of state economies against the need to introduce these ESG factors into its credit ratings.” They also wrote that “subjective, leftist ESG scoring will unquestionably hurt states like Kentucky—where a reduction in coal, oil, and gas production would cause increased unemployment, higher fuel costs, and a decrease in overall tax revenue, thereby negatively impacting Kentucky’s overall creditworthiness and causing undue hardship and suffering for the people of this state.”^[29]

Opposition to Morningstar ratings of Israel investments (August 2022)

In late August 2022, Harmon and 17 other members of the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF) co-signed a letter addressed to the Morningstar investment rating service expressing their “serious concern regarding reports that Morningstar, Inc. (Morningstar), through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Sustainalytics, negatively rates firms connected to Israel in apparent alignment with the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.” The letter asserted the BDS movement was “antithetical to the global causes of peace, democracy, and human rights” and asked Morningstar to take corrective action immediately to terminate all research and ratings products that treat Israel-connected companies differently than companies operating in other free democracies.”^[30]

2016 Republican National Convention

See also:Republican National Convention, 2016

Harmon wasa delegate to the2016 Republican National Convention fromKentucky.^[31] In theKentucky Republican caucuses on March 5, 2016,Donald Trump received 17 delegates,Ted Cruz received 15, andMarco Rubio andJohn Kasich received seven each. Ballotpedia was not able to identify which candidate Harmon was bound by state party rules to support at the national convention. If you have information on how Kentucky’s Republican delegates were allocated, please emaileditor@ballotpedia.org.^[32]

Delegate rules

See also:RNC delegate guidelines from Kentucky, 2016 andRepublican delegates from Kentucky, 2016

Delegates from Kentucky to theRepublican National Convention were selected by nomination committees and approved at the county and state conventions. Kentucky GOP rules required national convention delegates to have supported the 2012 Republican presidential nominee. Kentucky GOP rules and Kentucky state law required delegates from Kentucky to vote for the candidate to whom they were allocated through the first round of voting at the national convention. If a candidate died or withdrew prior to the first round of voting at the national convention, the chairman of the Kentucky delegation was to call a meeting at which the delegates were to vote on the remaining candidates and be reallocated on the basis of the results.

Kentucky caucus results

See also:Presidential election in Kentucky, 2016

Kentucky Republican Caucus, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Delegates
Donald Trump	35.9%	82,493	17
Ted Cruz	31.6%	72,503	15
Marco Rubio	16.4%	37,579	7
John Kasich	14.4%	33,134	7
Ben Carson	0.8%	1,951	0
Rand Paul	0.4%	872	0
Other	0.2%	496	0
Jeb Bush	0.1%	305	0
Mike Huckabee	0.1%	174	0
Chris Christie	0%	65	0
Carly Fiorina	0%	64	0
Rick Santorum	0%	31	0
Totals		229,667	46
Source:The New York Times andRepublican Party of Kentucky

Delegate allocation

See also:2016 presidential nominations: calendar and delegate rules

Kentucky had 46 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, 18 were district-level delegates (three for each of the state's six congressional districts). District delegates were allocated proportionally; a candidate had to win at least 5 percent of the statewide caucus vote in order to be eligible to receive any district delegates.^[33][34]

Of the remaining 28 delegates, 25 served at large. At-large delegates were allocated proportionally; a candidate had to win at least 5 percent of the statewide caucus vote in order to be eligible to receive any of the state's at-large delegates. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention. The RNC delegates were allocated in the same manner as the at-large delegates.^[33][34][35]

Personal

Note: Pleasecontact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Harmon and his wife, Lynn, have one child.^[19] Harmon is a member of the Junction City First Baptist Church.^[19]

Noteworthy events

Tested positive for coronavirus on January 2, 2021

See also:Politicians, candidates, and government officials diagnosed with or quarantined due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Coronavirus pandemic
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On January 2, 2021, Harmon announced that he had tested positive for coronavirus.^[36]

See also

2023 Elections

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External links

Footnotes

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