Geoff Young

{{Infobox person

| name = Geoff Young

| image = Geoff Young on WeThePeople (cropped).jpg

| caption = Young in 2016

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1956|6|25}}

| birth_place = Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

| education = Massachusetts Institute of Technology
University of Kentucky

| party = Democratic (2014–2020; 2022–present)

| otherparty = Green (2012)
Republican (2020)

| website = https://www.young4ky.com/

}}

Geoffrey M. Young (born June 25, 1956) is an American perennial candidate who has run for numerous offices in Kentucky. He ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in Kentucky's 6th congressional district in 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022, as well as for Governor of Kentucky in 2015, 2019 and 2023. Young has sought office as a member of the Green, Democratic, and Republican parties, and has been a member of the Democratic Party since 2022.

Early life and education

Young was born in Massachusetts.{{cite news |title=Candidate Conversations: Geoff Young |url=https://spectrumnews1.com/ky/northern-ky/news/2019/04/17/candidate-conversations--geoff-young- |access-date=18 May 2023 |work=Spectrum News |date=April 17, 2019}} He graduated from Marblehead High School in 1974 and earned a Bachelor's degree in economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1977, and a Master's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1981. In 1982, he moved to Fayette County, Kentucky to attend the University of Kentucky; he graduated with a master's degree in Agricultural economics in 1988.{{Cite web |title=Geoff Young |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Geoff_Young |access-date=2023-05-17 |website=Ballotpedia |language=en}}

Political career

Young is a perennial candidate from Kentucky. Young first ran for office in 2012 as the Kentucky Green Party candidate for state house District 45.{{cite news |last1=Rucker |first1=Ericka |title=Nothing Shocking: Kentucky's Beshear And Cameron Sail To Primary Wins Over Opponents, Will Face Off In Fall |url=https://www.leoweekly.com/2023/05/nothing-shocking-kentuckys-beshear-and-cameron-sail-to-primary-wins-over-opponents-will-face-off-in-fall/ |access-date=18 May 2023 |work=Leo Weekly |date=May 16, 2023}} By 2022, Young had never made it past a primary election and had run for the Democratic Party's nomination in Kentucky's 6th congressional district in 2014, 2016, and 2018 and for the Governor of Kentucky in 2015 and 2019.{{cite news |title=Kentucky Primary 2019: Geoff Young, The Perennial Candidate |url=https://www.lpm.org/news/2019-05-13/kentucky-primary-2019-geoff-young-the-perennial-candidate |access-date=18 May 2023 |work=Louisville Public Media |date=May 13, 2019}}{{cite news |last1=Borton |first1=Byland |title=Kentucky Democratic Party, Beshear won't back Congressional nominee Geoff Young |url=https://www.lpm.org/news/2022-05-20/kentucky-democratic-party-beshear-wont-back-congressional-nominee-geoff-young |access-date=18 May 2023 |work=Louisville Public Media |date=May 20, 2022}} In 2020, Young ran as a Republican for Kentucky's 6th congressional district and lost the primary. Young has frequently filed lawsuits against the Kentucky Democratic Party, claiming they had rigged primary elections against him.

In 2022, Young won the Democratic Party's nomination for Kentucky's 6th congressional district in the race against Andy Barr. The Kentucky Democratic Party refused to endorse or support Young's campaign due to frequent lawsuits being filed against them by Young, and Governor Andy Beshear refused to endorse Young because he had allegedly called Beshear a "criminal" in front of Beshear's son, with Beshear adding that Young "needs help". During the 2022 campaign, Young was denounced by Democrats and Republicans for claiming Ukraine was controlled by Nazis and for supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine.{{cite news |last1=Buczek |first1=Karolina |title=Why KY Democrats won't support one of their Democratic nominees for Congress |url=https://www.lex18.com/news/lex-in-depth/why-ky-democrats-wont-support-one-of-their-democratic-nominees-for-congress |access-date=18 May 2023 |work=LEX18 |date=October 28, 2022}}{{cite news |last1=Recker |first1=Scott |title=Democrats Don't Want to Support Congressional Candidate They Say Sued and Harassed Them |url=https://www.leoweekly.com/2022/05/democrats-dont-want-to-support-congressional-candidate-they-say-sued-and-harassed-them/ |access-date=18 May 2023 |work=Leo Weekly |date=May 19, 2022}}{{Cite web |last=Reynolds |first=Nick |date=2022-08-24 |title=Meet the Democrat Siding With Putin on the Ukraine War |url=https://www.newsweek.com/meet-democrat-siding-putin-ukraine-war-1736517 |access-date=2023-05-23 |website=Newsweek |language=en}} In 2023, Young ran for governor in the Democratic primary against Beshear and Peppy Martin.{{cite news |title=Geoff Young announces campaign for Kentucky Governor 2023 |url=https://www.lex18.com/news/geoff-young-announces-campaign-for-kentucky-governor-2023 |access-date=18 May 2023 |work=LEX18 |date=November 13, 2022}} Beshear won the primary with over 90% of the vote.{{cite news |last1=Krauth |first1=Olivia |title=Daniel Cameron wins GOP nod in governor's primary, will face Andy Beshear |url=https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2023/05/16/who-won-the-kentucky-gop-governor-race-2023-primary-election-results/70191118007/ |access-date=18 May 2023 |work=Courier-Journal |date=May 16, 2023}} On December 5, 2023, he filed to run for representative of Kentucky's 3rd congressional district in the 2024 elections. He faced incumbent Morgan McGarvey and Jared Randall in the primary election on May 21, 2024,{{Cite web |title=Election Candidate Filings - US Representative |url=https://web.sos.ky.gov/CandidateFilings/default.aspx?elecid=82&id=4 |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=web.sos.ky.gov}} losing with 11.2% of the vote against McGarvey's 84.1%.{{Cite news |date=2024-05-21 |title=Kentucky 3rd Congressional District Primary Election Results |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/05/21/us/elections/results-kentucky-us-house-3-primary.html |access-date=2024-05-29 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}