James Comer proudly represents Kentucky’s 1st Congressional District in Congress where he serves as Chairman of the House Oversight Committee. As Chairman, Comer is leading some of the most consequential congressional investigations in American history and aggressively advocates for reducing government waste, fraud and abuse. Originally elected in 2016, the 1st District covers 35 counties from the Mississippi River to Central Kentucky.
Comer grew up in rural Monroe County and later attended Western Kentucky University to study his lifelong passion of agriculture. Upon graduation in 1993, Comer entered the business world, taking out a loan to purchase his first farm and dive into his career. He went on to serve six terms in the Kentucky House of Representatives, earning a reputation for being a conservative, pro-business legislator. During his first term, he was named National Republican Freshman Legislator of the Year.
Upon his election as Kentucky’s Commissioner of Agriculture in 2011, Comer took on corruption and cleaned up a Kentucky Department of Agriculture beset by scandal and a lack of accountability. His work to root out fraud and wasteful spending, efforts to return money to taxpayers and grow Kentucky’s agricultural economy received bipartisan acclaim. He promoted rural economic development by spearheading the successful effort to legalize industrial hemp in the commonwealth and developed new branding initiatives for Kentucky farmers.
Based on his conservative voting record, Comer was recently recognized with the American Conservative Union’s “Award for Conservative Excellence.”
This record of conservatism, accomplishment and bipartisanship is exactly what Comer has brought to Washington D.C. In the 115th Congress, he played a pivotal role on the 2018 Farm Bill Conference Committee, paving the way for passing a farm bill that provides certainty and stability for American farmers. For these efforts, he was named Outstanding New Member of Congress by the American Farm Bureau Federation in January 2019.
Chairman Comer has sponsored and passed legislation aimed at lifting burdensome regulations, bolstering government accountability and transparency and creating opportunity for American families. He remains a fierce advocate for government accountability, balancing the federal budget, rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure, and implementing business-friendly policies.
He is married to TJ Comer and they have three children – Reagan, Harlan and Aniston.