41 Facts About James Comer

James Comer previously served in the Kentucky House of Representatives and served as the agriculture commissioner of Kentucky.

James Comer served as Kentucky's agriculture commissioner from 2012 to 2016 and in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 2000 to 2012.

James Comer unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for governor of Kentucky in the 2015 election.

On November 8,2016, James Comer won both a full term to the seat for the next Congress and a special election that allowed him to serve the remainder of Whitfield's term.

James Comer grew up in Monroe County, Kentucky, graduating from Monroe County High School, Tompkinsville, Kentucky, in 1990.

James Comer received a BS in Agriculture from Western Kentucky University in 1993.

James Comer served as a director of the South Central Bank for 12 years.

James Comer served as president of the Monroe County Chamber of Commerce from 1999 to 2000.

In 2000, James Comer was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives at the age of 27 following the retirement of incumbent Billy Polston.

James Comer defeated Donnie Polston, Billy's wife, for the Republican nomination.

James Comer had the highest percentage of the vote of any candidate on the ballot, and raised $606,766 to his opponent's $204,287.

That year James Comer, became chair of the Kentucky Industrial Hemp Commission, and shortly after taking office, he called the legalization of industrialized hemp his top priority, and was "instrumental in getting the hemp industry up and running", including by founding several pilot programs in an effort to restart Kentucky's industrial hemp industry.

James Comer filed suit against the DEA, which resulted in the DEA allowing hemp seeds to be delivered to Kentucky farmers for the first new crops.

James Comer founded the Kentucky Proud Farm to Campus program, and created a mobile science centers program for primary and secondary school students to learn about agricultural sciences.

James Comer refused to concede and said he would request a recanvass.

James Comer said that should Comer want a full recount, it would require a court order from the Franklin Circuit Court.

In 2016, James Comer entered the Republican primary election for the 1st congressional district of Kentucky against two other competitors.

James Comer was sworn in soon after the results were certified, giving him two months' more seniority over the rest of the 2017 freshman class.

James Comer partnered with Murray State University to form the Congressman James Comer Congressional Agriculture Fellowship program, and advocated for agricultural legislation reform.

James Comer criticized the regulatory policies of Barack Obama, and supported the early domestic policies and actions of President Donald Trump.

James Comer is a social conservative on same-sex marriage and abortion, which means he is in opposition to both.

James Comer believes the trade embargo on Cuba should be lifted.

James Comer was an original cosponsor of the Hemp Farming Act, which legalized hemp nationwide and removed federal regulations on the crop.

James Comer was a member of the conference committee that negotiated its final version.

When introducing the bill, James Comer said, "this bill is a critical step toward ensuring that our students maintain access to the school meals they rely on for their health and well-being".

In March 2023, James Comer confirmed that he had ended a House investigation into Trump's financial dealings, in which Trump's former accounting company, Mazars USA, had been turning over documents as part of a court-supervised settlement; the documents provided information on how foreign governments patronized the Trump International Hotel.

James Comer said he "didn't even know who or what Mazars was" and that he was instead investigating "money the Bidens received from China".

James Comer discussed the impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden in October 2023, stating that "because we have so many documents, and we can bring these people in for [private] depositions or [public] committee hearings, whichever they choose".

In March 2024, James Comer declared: "I am preparing criminal referrals as the culmination of my investigation" for the impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden.

Later in August 2024, James Comer announced another investigation, this time on the Democratic Party's vice-presidential nominee, Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, as James Comer asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation to provide information on Walz in relation to China.

In 2016 James Comer called the Obama administration's final budget a "disaster in the making".

James Comer voted against the Respect for Marriage Act in 2022.

In June 2021, James Comer was one of 49 House Republicans to vote to repeal the AUMF against Iraq.

James Comer voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

James Comer is married to Tamara Jo "TJ" James Comer and has three children.

James Comer was baptized at First Baptist Church of Tompkinsville and is a member of Elkhorn Baptist Church in Midway, Kentucky.

In 2017, James Comer transferred this stake to a shell company, Farm Team Properties, that James Comer owns with his wife.

James Comer reported that Farm Team Companies was worth at least $500,000 in 2022, but it was "not clear" if the shell company owned any other assets, reported the Associated Press in 2023.

In 2020, James Comer was criticized for stock trading ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic-related 2020 stock market crash: James Comer reportedly dumped shares in Bank of America and purchased shares of online workplace messaging company Slack.

On May 5,2015, James Comer was accused of physical and mental abuse by Marilyn Thomas, a woman he dated while attending Western Kentucky University in 1993.

James Comer has said he believes the accusation was a political stunt to hinder his gubernatorial campaign.