Michael Adams (Kentucky politician)


Michael G. Adams is an American politician who is a member of the Republican Party. He is the Secretary of State of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He succeeded Alison Lundergan Grimes on January 6, 2020.

Early life and career

Adams is from Paducah, Kentucky. He graduated from Reidland High School, the University of Louisville, and Harvard Law School. He worked for Mitch McConnell and Ernie Fletcher before becoming counsel to the Deputy Attorney General of the United States during the second term of President George W. Bush. After the Bush administration, Adams served as general counsel to the Republican Governors Association, before working in election law. He served as Mike Pence's political law attorney. Adams served as the campaign attorney for Eric Greitens.

Kentucky Secretary of State

2019 election

In the 2019 Kentucky elections, Adams ran for Secretary of State of Kentucky as a Republican. He defeated Heather French Henry in the general election on November 5.
Results

Tenure

Since Adams, a Republican, will be serving under governor Andy Beshear, a Democrat, it is likely that his power will be limited as the governor has the final say on many of the things the Secretary of State has to do. Adams has expressed support for a Voter ID law, despite Governor Beshear being firmly against the idea. On April 14, 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kentucky General Assembly passed a Voter ID law over governor Beshear's veto, which the American Civil Liberties Union has indicated they will challenge in court. Adams did, however, support Beshear’s executive order restoring voting rights to 140,000 people convicted of non-violent felonies in Kentucky who have served their sentences.