Senator Brandon Smith Contact information

Brandon D. Smith, born on June 14, 1967, is an American businessman from Hazard, Kentucky who serves in the Commonwealth of Kentucky Senate. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Smith was born in Hazard and is a 1991 graduate of the University of Kentucky with a B.A. in political science. He is the owner of Mohawk Energy, a small mining company based in Lexington. The company is unrelated to the Texas fracking supply corporation by the same name. He is a Presbyterian and a Freemason. Smith and his wife Laurel have five children.

Smith served on the city commission of Hazard from 1993 to 1998. He was elected to District 84 of the Commonwealth of Kentucky House of Representatives in 2000, unseating Democratic incumbent Scott Alexander from Hazard Kentucky. He served there until February 5, 2008, when he was elected in a special election to the 30th district (Bell, Breathitt, Johnson, Leslie, Magoffin and Perry counties) of the Commonwealth Senate, to replace Daniel Mongiardo, newly elected as Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky (and himself a Hazard native and resident).

Smith was reelected in 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022. In 2014, Smith attracted local and eventually national news media attention when he stated during a legislative committee hearing that the temperature on Mars is exactly as it is here. Despite Smith’s assertion, the average temperature of Mars is colder than that of Earth by 138 degrees Fahrenheit.

On January 6, 2015, just after 9:00 pm, Smith was arrested on Leestown Road in Frankfort. Smith’s professional experience includes working as Retail Operations Director for Perry Oil Company, Vice-President of Hazard Food Mart, Inc. and Owner of Daniel Boone Investments.

Smith served as Senate majority whip from 2013 to 2014. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 2001 to 2008 and was commissioner of the City of Hazard from 1993 to 1998. Smith was assigned to various committees throughout his tenure, including the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee, Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee, Chair Senate Transportation Committee, Senate Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection Committee.