Thomas Rhea

Thomas Stockdale Rhea (1871–1946) was a Democratic politician from the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. He served as Kentucky State Treasurer in 1912 and was state highway commissioner in the administration of Governor Ruby Laffoon. Known as "The Sage of Russellville" or "The Gray Fox", Rhea was a powerful Democratic political boss in the state. He was the son of Albert Gallatin and Jane (Stockdale) Rhea. His grandfather, Charles Rhea, owned and edited the first newspaper in Logan County.

During World War I, Rhea served on the United States Munitions Board. In 1928, he unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Laffoon easily won the gubernatorial nomination, but Howard lost the nomination for lieutenant governor to Happy Chandler, in part because Chandler received the backing of Rhea's political enemy, Ben Johnson. Laffoon and Chandler won the election, and Laffoon removed Johnson as state highway commissioner, appointing Rhea to that position.

Laffoon backed Rhea as his successor in 1935. Chandler called the General Assembly into a special session to vote on a mandatory primary bill.

Beckham did not run in the primary, however; Chandler did. Rhea also supported John Y. Brown, Sr. against Chandler ally Keen Johnson in the 1939 gubernatorial election.

In 1941, Rhea was again elected sheriff of Logan County and became chair of the state sheriffs board. Rhea continued his service as sheriff through 1945. He was buried in Maple Grove Cemetery in Russellville. On the occasion of his death, an article in the Louisville Courier-Journal opined that "he was a figure whose like will not be seen again in Kentucky politics."