Joseph Wayne Prather[1] (born 1939) was the Secretary of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
A resident of Vine Grove, Kentucky, Prather was a State Senator and received the nomination for lieutenant governor in 1976.
[1] He is, however, probably best known as an unsuccessful Democratic nominee for Representative from the Kentucky's 2nd district in the special election on May 24, 1994, after longtime incumbent and a fellow Democrat William Huston Natcher died in office after over 40 years of service in the House.
Lewis often compared and tied Prather to then-unpopular (this was before the 1994 midterm election, when Democrats lost control in both houses of Congress for the first time since 40 years) President Bill Clinton.
[3] A portion of Kentucky Route 313 is named the Joe Prather Highway in his honor.