State Rep. Sannie Overly will be the first woman in history elected to a leadership position in the Kentucky House of Representatives.Overly, of Paris, on Tuesday was elected House Democratic Caucus Chair in private leadership elections today. Overly beat state Rep. Bob Damron, of Nicholasville, for the position; all other House Democratic leaders retained their posts.“It was a humbling experience to be the person that this caucus would choose for the first time in the commonwealth’s history to serve in House leadership," Overly said. " I’m honored, I’m humbled, I look forward to serving."Overly has served for more than six years, after originally winning a special election for her seat. She was also transportation budget sub-committee chair in recent budget cycles.As for why she chose to run now, Overly says she felt the timing was right.“It’s an honor to serve as chair of the caucus and I’ve had an opportunity over the past five years to get to know, to get to meet the various members of the caucus and I felt the time was right for me to try and make that move within our caucus,” she says.House Republicans elected a new whip, Bam Carney, which was an open position due to another member's retirement. They also re-elected Jeff Hoover as their floor leader and Bob Deweese as caucus chair.In a statement, Hoover thanked his members for making him the longest serving Republican leader in the House.“It is very humbling to me that our members once again voiced their confidence in me as their leader. We have many crucial issues facing our Commonwealth, and I look forward to working as House Republican Floor Leader with our members and those across the aisle on solving these problems," Hoover said in a statement.
