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Jonathan Shell

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Jonathan Shell
36th Agriculture Commissioner of Kentucky
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 1, 2024
GovernorAndy Beshear
Preceded byRyan Quarles
Majority Leader of the Kentucky House of Representatives
In office
January 3, 2017 – January 1, 2019
SpeakerJeff Hoover
David Osborne (acting)
Preceded byRocky Adkins
Succeeded byBam Carney
Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives
In office
January 1, 2013 – January 1, 2019
Preceded byLonnie Napier
Succeeded byTravis Brenda
Constituency36th district (2013–2015)
71st district (2015–2019)
Personal details
Born (1987-12-01) December 1, 1987 (age 38)
Danville, Kentucky, U.S.
PartyRepublican
EducationEastern Kentucky University (BS)
WebsiteCampaign website

Jonathan Lance Shell (born December 1, 1987) is an American politician and farmer who has served as the 36th Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture since 2024.

Previously, Shell served as a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from 2013 to 2019, and as Majority Floor Leader from 2017 to 2019. He represented Kentucky's 36th and 71st House districts, which both comprised Garrard and Rockcastle counties as well as part of Madison County.[1][2]

Early life and education

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Jonathan Lance Shell was born on December 1, 1987, in Danville, Kentucky, and was raised on his family's multi-generation cattle and tobacco farm in Garrard County.[3]

He graduated from Garrard County High School in 2006, where he was a member of the school's Future Farmers of America chapter.[4][5] In 2010, Shell earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture from Eastern Kentucky University.[6]

Political career

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State Representative

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While Shell was initially encouraged to seek a seat on the Lancaster city council in 2012, he instead chose to run for Kentucky's 36th House district.[3] Incumbent Lonnie Napier had chosen to retire at the end of his term, and supported Nathan Mick, Garrard County's economic development director, as his replacement.[7] Despite this, Shell won the 2012 Republican primary with 2,102 votes (59.8%) and the 2012 Kentucky House of Representatives election with 11,933 votes (63.3%) against Democratic nominee Bradley Montgomery.[8][9]

Shell was the youngest member of the Kentucky General Assembly when he assumed office on January 1, 2013, at age 24.[10]

During the 2016 Kentucky House of Representatives election, Shell headed the House Republican campaign committee and was tasked with recruiting candidates.[6] Following Republican victories across the state, Senator Mitch McConnell credited Shell with the party taking control of the chamber for the first time since 1920: "A lot of us participated, but he was the indispensable man in getting us the majority."[3]

In January 2017, Shell was selected as the first Republican Majority Floor Leader and the youngest Majority Floor Leader in Kentucky history.[3]

He was defeated for reelection in the 2018 Republican primary, garnering 4,118 votes (49.3%) against Travis Brenda, a teacher at Rockcastle County High School.[11][12]

Commissioner of Agriculture

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In August 2022, Shell announced his candidacy to be the next Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture.[13] He won the 2023 Republican primary with 148,170 votes (56.4%) against State Representative and House Agriculture Committee chairman Richard Heath, and the 2023 Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture election with 763,468 votes (59.4%) against Democratic nominee Sierra Enlow.[14]

On December 30, 2025, Shell announced his intentions to seek reelection as commissioner in 2027.[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Representative Jonathan Shell (R)". Frankfort, Kentucky: Kentucky House of Representatives. Archived from the original on January 22, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  2. ^ "Jonathan Shell's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d Desrochers, Daniel (January 29, 2017). "Jonathan Shell, the millennial making waves in Frankfort". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  4. ^ Bivens, Cyrus (2025-04-22). "From FFA Star to Agriculture Commissioner". National FFA Organization. Retrieved 2026-01-01.
  5. ^ "Former State Rep. Jonathan Shell - Biography | LegiStorm". www.legistorm.com. Retrieved 2026-01-01.
  6. ^ a b Lucke, Jamie (2023-10-30). "The 'voice' of Kentucky agriculture: Commissioner's race takes a partisan turn • Kentucky Lantern". Kentucky Lantern. Retrieved 2026-01-01.
  7. ^ Brammer, Jack (May 11, 2012). "Two Republicans seek to follow Lonnie Napier in Kentucky House". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  8. ^ "Commonwealth of Kentucky May 22, 2012 Official 2012 Primary Election Results" (PDF). Frankfort, Kentucky: Secretary of State of Kentucky. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 3, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  9. ^ "Commonwealth of Kentucky November 6, 2012 Official 2012 General Election Results" (PDF). Frankfort, Kentucky: Secretary of State of Kentucky. p. 36. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 11, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  10. ^ Marrs, Monica (2024-10-18). "From EKU's Meadowbrook Farm to Case Dining Hall". Eastern Kentucky University. Retrieved 2026-01-01.
  11. ^ Thomsen, Jacqueline (2018-05-22). "Teacher defeats Kentucky state House majority leader in GOP primary". TheHill. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
  12. ^ "Our Campaigns - KY State House 071 Race - Nov 08, 2016".
  13. ^ Brammer, Jack (2021-08-25). "Former state Rep. Jonathan Shell launches bid for KY agriculture commissioner". www.kentucky.com.
  14. ^ "Jonathan Shell". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2026-01-01.
  15. ^ Lantern, Sarah Ladd Kentucky (2025-12-30). "KY agriculture commissioner talks food as medicine, foster kids, why he'll run again". Herald Ledger. Retrieved 2026-01-01.
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