| Ryan Dotson | |
| Birth Date: | November 22, 1972 |
| State House: | Kentucky |
| District: | 73rd |
| Term Start: | January 1, 2021 |
| Predecessor: | Les Yates |
| Party: | Republican (after 2012)Democratic (before 2012) |
| Birth Place: | Pikeville, Kentucky |
| Residence: | Winchester, Kentucky |
| Committees: | Health Services (Vice Chair) Natural Resources & Energy Small Business & Information Technology Tourism & Outdoor Recreation |
D. Ryan Dotson (born November 22, 1972) is an American politician serving as a Republican member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from Kentucky's 73rd House district. His district includes Clark County and part of Fayette County.[1]
Dotson was born on November 22, 1972, in Pikeville, Kentucky. He graduated from Phelps High School before attending community college in West Virginia. Dotson then enlisted in the United States Army, where he served as a radiologist. After leaving the army, he worked for a short time at the University of Kentucky's Albert B. Chandler Hospital before moving to Winchester, Kentucky.[2]
While briefly involved in real estate, Dotson currently owns a daycare as well as numerous restaurants located in Winchester, Mount Sterling, Lexington, and Somerset.
Dotson identifies as a Pentecostal, and serves as senior pastor of Lighthouse World Outreach Center.
In 2019, Dotson was scheduled to appear on an episode of Vanderpump Rules, a spin-off of the reality TV series The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, to officiate the wedding of stars Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright. Dotson was later removed from the position after tweets resurfaced that were characterized as anti-LGBT and transphobic. While still invited as a guest, Dotson chose not to attend.[3]
According to Dotson, he was raised in an environment surrounded by ancestral Democrats, where belonging to the party of Andrew Jackson and Harry S. Truman was "natural." However, Dotson switched his registration to the Republican party in 2012, citing Ronald Reagan in that the party had left him and "drifted too far left."
On June 11, 2021, Dotson authored legislation that would ban transgender women from playing on women's sports teams in Kentucky.[4]