RICHMOND – 81st District incumbent Rep. C. Wesley Morgan, R-Richmond, could be in for a fight as he faces audiologist Deanna Frazier in the GOP primary.

Morgan, who was one of the most vocal voices in calling for the ouster of former House Speaker Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown, amid sexual harassment allegations, has found it hard to gain friends in the Republican caucus, which includes getting action of any of his bills.

“By me calling him out in November and all the way through the session ended, I basically was black balled, so not one bill of mine was allowed to come to committee, let alone come to the floor,” Morgan said.

Morgan had received criticism for filing six liquor bills at the start of the 2017 session that some lawmakers and media perceived to be beneficial to Morgan, who owns four liquor stores in the Richmond area.

“Those are all really consumer protection bills, they were actually not a self-serving bill,” Morgan said. “In fact, John Schaaf, with the Ethics Commission, actually made that statement in writing that there was no ethics violation whatsoever, there was no self-serving, there was none of that.”

Morgan said that Frazier, who was unavailable to talk to Pure Politics, has been recruited and supported by the Kentucky GOP for one purpose only, and that is to defeat him.

“Their whole purpose is to remove me, the thorn, from the Republican caucus,” Morgan said. “They could care less whether Deanna Frazier wins the seat or not.”

Frazier was not available for a candidate profile on the race, but issued a statement on why she is seeking the GOP nomination.

“I am running for office because I was raised in Madison County and I care deeply about our community and its success,” she wrote. “I feel there is an opportunity for greater collaboration between our locally elected officials and the state. As a small business owner, I want to look at ways to reduce spending and ways to increase revenue streams.

The two candidates are fairly even as far as fundraising is concerned.

Morgan has raised $18,933 and has $3,965 remaining, while Frazier had $17,945 to start and has $4,925 to spend during the stretch run.

The winner will face off against Emerge Kentucky graduate and Richmond city commissioner Morgan Eaves in the November election.