Savannah Lee Maddox (born November 2, 1987) is an American politician.[2] She is a Republican and represents District 61 containing Grant County, Gallatin County, and parts of Kenton and Boone Counties in the Kentucky House of Representatives.[3] Maddox is viewed as one of the General Assembly's furthest-right members.[4][5][6]
Maddox introduced House Bill 321 in January 2020, which died in committee. It would have made it a felony for a doctor to perform a surgery or prescribe a medication to a minor intending to alter the child's gender.[13][14]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Maddox was an opponent of Governor Andy Beshear's emergency orders, calling them acts of "tyranny."[15] She proposed a measure to restrict the governor's ability to enact a state of emergency, but it failed to advance.[16][17] Beshear said his actions saved lives, and that they reflected guidance from the White House Coronavirus Task Force.[18]
Maddox's connection to armed militia groups who organized certain protests generated controversy, as did her posting of photos of herself with white supremacists.[19][20] Kentucky State House Democrats called on Republican leaders to formally censure Maddox after protestors from a local far-rightanti-government militiaThree Percenters Chapter that she had taken pictures with hung governor Beshear in effigy outside the state capitol in 2020.[21] She had made comments about Beshear after a protest, that she did not personally attend, which the Democrats said encouraged the protestors to escalate their tactics.[21][22] House Democrats also criticized Maddox for tweets she made in 2014 and 2015 in which she criticized Jews, Muslims, and then-President Barack Obama.[23]
Maddox proposed House Bill 28 in January 2022, which was defeated in the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare chaired by State Senator Ralph Alvarado.[24][25] As she proposed it, it would have banned the state government, local governments, state colleges, and private employers from forcing employees or applicants to disclose whether or not they have received any COVID-19 vaccine shots.[26] The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce opposed HB 28.[27][28] An amended version of the bill, which excluded private employers, cleared the House Committee in March 2022, and passed in the House.[29]
On June 6, 2022, Maddox announced that she would run in the 2023 Kentucky gubernatorial election.[30] In her announcement video, she criticized Beshear's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and fellow Republicans for not challenging the governor's emergency orders.[31]
In the run-up to the primary, which she ultimately did not compete in, she ran against a number of Kentucky Republicans, including former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft, state Attorney General Daniel Cameron, state Auditor Mike Harmon, and state Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles.[32] As of November 2022, she was reported to have raised $210,796 for her campaign.[33] Maddox withdrew from the race on December 20, 2022.[34]
