Former Kentucky gubernatorial candidate Robert Goforth was arrested Tuesday morning on domestic violence charges, according to authorities.

Goforth, 44, was booked into the Laurel County Detention Center just after 4 a.m. on charges of first-degree strangulation, fourth-degree assault (domestic violence) and third-degree terroristic threatening.

The Laurel County Sheriff's Office arrested Goforth just after 3 a.m. at a residence off Blevins and Brown Road after a woman filed a complaint at the 911 dispatch center in London, according to an arrest citation.

The woman alleged the assault happened about 1:30 a.m. with three small children in the home, and she had visible marks on her forehead, neck and arms, according to authorities.

The arrest citation noted that the woman completed paperwork for an emergency protective order and told deputies that Goforth tried to "hog tie her."

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Police say that Goforth, a Republican legislator from East Bernstadt, strangled the woman with an "Ethernet cord from a kitchen drawer, and threatened to kill her."

Goforth also struck the woman, leaving her with a bruise and knot on her forehead, according to the arrest report.

The woman told deputies that when her face was toward the ground, Goforth grabbed an Ethernet cable and began strangling her "to the point that she had difficulty breathing and believed she was going to pass out," according to the citation.

The woman said she was able to leave the residence after promising Goforth she would unlock her phone, which is what "initiated the altercation," according to the citation.

When deputies traveled to the residence, they had to make two attempts to make contact with Goforth, and they also found all three children safe, the arrest report said.

Goforth did not appear to be "under the influence of alcohol or drugs," the citation noted.

Goforth was released from jail after posting $25,000 bond, and an arraignment hearing is scheduled for June 1, according to court records. He did not have an attorney immediately listed in online records.

Goforth did not immediately respond to a request for comment left on his cellphone.

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In 2019, the Republican-controlled General Assembly voted to elevate strangulation to a felony offense and define it as a crime of domestic or dating violence amid concerns by women's advocates that strangulation often leads to more severe or fatal attacks.

Most strangulation victims are women experiencing domestic violence and are seven times more likely to be killed by an intimate partner later, according to a 2008 study from Johns Hopkins University.

Goforth, who was elected to the House in 2018, was among the lawmakers who voted for Senate Bill 70, sponsored by Sen. Alice Forgy Kerr of Lexington. It passed the House unanimously and the Senate by a vote of 31-4 before being signed into law.

House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, said in a statement that the House GOP caucus had "just been made aware of these charges and do not know the facts related to this case."

"While we reserve comment on this specific situation, the House Majority Caucus unequivocally denounces any form of domestic violence and has zero tolerance for it or its perpetrators," Osborne said. "A society that values human life must also condemn domestic abuse. We each have a moral obligation to not only speak out against domestic violence, but also to recognize that domestic abuse knows no boundaries. Its victims and perpetrators come from every income, race, or socioeconomic status."

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Goforth ran against former Gov. Matt Bevin in the 2019 primary. He received 39% of the vote.

At the outset of the 2019 campaign, Goforth was accused of sexually assaulting a Somerset woman more than a decade ago. He vehemently denied those allegations.

Kentucky Democratic Party spokeswoman Marisa McNee said in a news release Tuesday that Goforth "must resign immediately."

"This is not the first time a victim of Mr. Goforth’s violent assaults has come forward," McNee said. "Republican leadership has ignored this for far too long, it is time for them to take action. Goforth needs to go."

Goforth is the second Kentucky state representative from Laurel County to get arrested in the past week since the 2020 legislative session came to a close.

State Rep. Derek Lewis, R-London, was arrested last Thursday and charged with drunken driving after his pickup truck was found in a ditch on Hatcher Road in London, just hours after the state House had adjourned in Frankfort. He has pleaded not guilty.

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Reach Phillip M. Bailey at pbailey@courier-journal.com or 502-582-4475. Follow him on Twitter at @phillipmbailey. Reach Billy Kobin at bkobin@courierjournal.com or 502-582-7030.