Matt Bevin's ex-running mate Ralph Alvarado announces bid to replace Andy Barr in Congress
Ralph Alvarado, a former state senator and ex-Gov. Matt Bevin's running mate in his unsuccessful 2019 reelection campaign, announced July 17 that he plans to run to represent Kentucky's 6th Congressional District in the next election.
In a social media post announcing the move, Alvarado called himself "Day One MAGA" with priorities to "close the border," "crush the woke left," "bring jobs home" and "save America."
The seat will be on the ballot in the May 2026 primary. Election Day that fall is set for Nov. 3.
Alvarado served in the state Senate from 2015 into 2023, when he was hired as Tennessee's health commissioner by Gov. Bill Lee, who touted Alvarado's background in hospital management and experience as chair of the Kentucky Senate Health and Welfare Committee. Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, praised the Winchester Republican at the time as "among the most effective legislators in the Kentucky General Assembly."
Alvarado stepped down from his position running Tennessee's Department of Health on July 11, state leaders announced.
Alvarado made history as the first Hispanic person elected to the Kentucky General Assembly when he won his seat in 2014. While he was raised in California, his mother is from Argentina and his father is from Costa Rica. He was chosen by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump to speak at the 2016 Republican National Convention, drawing praise afterward from U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell as an "impressive leader" with "a bright future in the Republican Party."
Other Republicans in the 2026 congressional race include state Rep. Ryan Dotson, also of Winchester, and state Rep. Deanna Gordon, of Richmond, who confirmed she's running on July 9. State Sen. Amanda Mays Bledsoe, who represents Lexington, had been considered a potential contender but has said she does not plan to run.
Democrats in the race include former state Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson of Lexington and former Lexington city council member David Kloiber. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has identified the district as one of 35 across the county that it hopes to flip in 2026.
Barr is vacating the seat in order to run for the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by McConnell. He's running in the Republican primary against former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and Lexington businessman Nate Morris. Democratic state Rep. Pamela Stevenson is also running.
Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@courier-journal.com.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Ralph Alvarado enters Kentucky race to replace Andy Barr in Congress
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