Melinda Gibbons Prunty

Melinda Gibbons Prunty (born December 5, 1957) is a Republican politician who represented Kentucky's 15th legislative district in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 2017 to 2023. She did not seek reelection in 2022.

Personal life Prunty earned a bachelor's degree in physical therapy from the University of Kentucky in 1979. She also holds a Master of Theological Studies degree from Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in Saint Meinrad, Indiana, which she completed in 2010.

Prunty was raised in the Methodist church, but converted to Roman Catholicism as an adult. She served as director of the Office of Youth Ministry for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Owensboro, resigning in 2016 to seek public office. Yonts told The Messenger-Inquirer, "It wasn't me, it was Trump", noting that over half of the 15th district voted a Republican straight ticket, with presidential candidate Donald Trump at the top of the ballot. Prunty's election was part of a Republican landslide in Kentucky that saw the party take control of the state House for the first time since 1921. Including Prunty, 17 Republican challengers unseated Democratic incumbents in the election, turning a 53–47 Democratic majority into a 64–36 Republican majority.