Senator Jimmy Higdon Contact information

James Cecil Higdon II, known as Jimmy Higdon, is an American businessman from Lebanon, Kentucky. He has been a Republican member of the Kentucky State Senate since 2009. He represents District 14, which until August 23, 2013, included Marion, Mercer, Nelson, Taylor, and Washington counties in Central Kentucky.

Higdon was born on July 15, 1953, in Taylor County, Kentucky. He is the oldest of seven children of James Cecil and Alice Higdon. He graduated in 1971 from Marion County High School. In 1975, he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in industrial arts technology with a minor in business administration from Morehead State University in Morehead in Rowan County in northeastern Kentucky. Thereafter, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Army, trained at Fort Lee, in Prince George County near Petersburg, Virginia.

In 1976, Higdon returned to Lebanon to become a partner in Key Market, subsequently Higdon’s Foodtown IGA, or Independent Grocers Alliance. On January 22, 2011, after three consecutive years of losses, Higdon’s IGA closed. Higdon sold the business to Houchens Industries, based in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Houchens established a Save-A-Lot outlet at the former IGA location.

Higdon served as Senate President Pro Tem from 2017 until 2019, and was appointed Chairmen of Transportation Committee in 2020. He has also served as Majority Whip of the Kentucky Senate from January 2015 to January 2018. He was a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from the 24th district from January 1, 2003, to December 2009.

Higdon’s career experience includes working as a board member with the Marion County Economic Development Board, the Kentucky Grocers Association, the Lebanon-Marion County Industrial Foundation, and other Kentucky organizations. He has been assigned to various committees throughout his tenure, including the Senate Education Committee, Senate Licensing and Occupations Committee, Senate Transportation Committee, and Senate Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection Committee.