Adkins (born November 4, 1959) is an American politician from Kentucky.
He is a member of the Democratic Party and is serving as Senior Advisor to the Governor of Kentucky, Andy Beshear.
He is a former member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, representing the 99th District of the Kentucky House from 1987 to 2019.
His House district was in eastern Kentucky and includes Elliott, Lewis, and Rowan Counties.
From 2003 through 2016 he was the House majority leader.
From 2016 to 2019, he was the chamber's Minority Floor Leader.Adkins ran for governor of Kentucky in the 2019 Kentucky gubernatorial election, with running mate Stephanie Horne.
Adkins finished in second place in the Democratic primary, losing to Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear.
Adkins joined the Beshear administration on December 10, 2019, as the governor's senior advisor.