Reggie Thomas

{{Short description|American politician}}

{{for|the professional wrestler also known as Reginald Thomas|Reggie (wrestler)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2014}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Reggie Thomas

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| state_senate = Kentucky

| district = 13th

| term_start = January 7, 2014

| term_end =

| predecessor = Kathy Stein

| successor =

| birth_name = Reginald Thomas

| birth_date = {{birth-date and age|May 20, 1953}}

| birth_place =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality = American

| party = Democratic

| spouse = Lynda Morris Thomas (1980-2015)

| children = 3

| residence = Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.

| alma_mater = Dartmouth College
Harvard Law School

| occupation =

| profession = attorney, law professor

| website = {{URL|http://www.reggie4ky.com/|Reggie Thomas for Congress}}

| branch =

}}

Reginald L. Thomas (born May 20, 1953) is an American politician from the state of Kentucky. A member of the Democratic Party, Thomas is a member of the Kentucky Senate and currently serves as the minority caucus chair.{{cite web | url = http://www.kentucky.com/2013/12/10/2981505/democrat-reginald-thomas-wins.html | title = Democrat Reginald Thomas wins state Senate special election | work = Kentucky.com | date = December 10, 2013}}{{cite web |last1=Latek |first1=Tom |title=State Dems re-elect McGarvey, Parrett as minority leaders |url=https://kentuckytoday.com/stories/state-dems-re-elect-mcgarvey-parrett-as-minority-leaders,29353 |website=Kentuckytoday.com |access-date=4 August 2021}} Thomas' election in 2013 marked the first time that two African Americans served in the Kentucky Senate concurrently.{{cite web | url = http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20131210/NEWS01/312100101/Republicans-move-closer-to-taking-control-of-House?odyssey=tab%7Cmostpopular%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE | title = Republicans move closer to taking control of House | work = The Courier-Journal | date = December 10, 2013}} Thomas is an attorney and law professor; he earned an A.B. degree from Dartmouth College in 1975 and a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School in 1978.{{cite web | url = http://www.lrc.ky.gov/legislator/S013.htm | title = Senate District 13: Reginald Thomas (D) | publisher = Kentucky Legislature | access-date = July 24, 2014}}{{cite news | url = http://www.kentucky.com/2013/11/22/2947912/questions-surround-candidates.html | title = Questions surround candidate's 1984 departure from University of Kentucky | work = Lexington Herald Leader | date = November 22, 2013}}

On July 1, 2017, Thomas announced he would challenge Representative Andy Barr in Kentucky's 6th congressional district during the 2018 midterm elections.{{Cite news|url=http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article159248309.html|title=Thomas announces he'll challenge Barr for House of Representatives seat in 2018|work=Lexington Herald-Leader|last=Desrochers|first=Daniel|date=July 1, 2017|access-date=July 1, 2017}} He lost the Democratic primary to Amy McGrath, who then lost the general election to Barr.

In 2021, Thomas went viral with a TikTok video receiving more than 4 million views of himself singing the song Rick and Morty by Soulja Boy with the caption "Rapping Rick and Morty to the Senate Chambers until we raise the minimum raise in Kentucky".{{Cite web |last=Thalen |first=Mikael |date=2021-09-01 |title=Kentucky Dem raps 'Rick & Morty' to try and raise the minimum wage |url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/kentucky-senate-dems-tiktok-rick-morty/ |access-date=2024-04-23 |website=The Daily Dot |language=en-US}}