28-05-2025
KY Politics Insider: A legitimate Democratic challenger for Rep. Hal Rogers?
Kentucky Politics Insider offers an analysis of Kentucky politics and the conversations that drive decisions. Email reporter Austin Horn at ahorn@ or ping him on social media sites with tips or comments.
Rep. Hal Rogers is accustomed to landslide victories.
Only once in 23 congressional elections has an opponent even come within single digits: The late state Sen. John Doug Hays lost to Rogers by about nine percentage points in 1992.
Rogers, whose 5th Congressional District covers most of Eastern Kentucky and parts of Southern Kentucky, has dominated every other general election contest by 30 points or more.
Despite this, it sure sounds like someone with a legitimate background in politics and public service will give it a try in 2026.
Ned Pillersdorf is a Prestonsburg attorney known for his involvement in several high-profile cases and the campaigns of his wife, former Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Janet Stumbo.
'The Democratic Party is certainly encouraging me to run. I'm seriously considering it, and I'll have an announcement on the Fourth of July,' Pillersdorf said.
Pillersdorf, 70, is known in Eastern Kentucky for several reasons.
Perhaps most notably, he led an effort to recruit lawyers to represent people who faced losing Social Security disability benefits as a result of the biggest disability scam in U.S. history, the long-running, massive fraud perpetrated by Eric C. Conn.
For that effort, Pillersdorf won a 'Pro Bono Publico Award' in 2023, being one of just four American Bar Association members earning the honor.
He also litigated on behalf of coal miners who went on strike at the Blackjewel mine site in Harlan County.
The Pillersdorf name has also stayed in the news throughout the region, whether that be in his legal capacity, helping run political campaigns for his wife, or speaking out in support of the animal shelter he helped found, the Dewey Dam Dog and Cat Protection Society.
Pillersdorf framed his potential candidacy as a reaction to Rogers' vote in favor of the House bill extending Trump-backed tax cuts that mostly benefit the wealthy and cuts spending on Medicaid and food stamps.
Rogers has defended his vote as 'strengthening' Medicaid by targeting fraud and abuse. But Pillersdorf has insisted it amounts to political 'treason' for the vulnerable in the district, which is one of the most Medicaid-reliant out of all 435 districts in the country.
'If there's one Congressional district where the Medicaid cuts resonate in the country, this is it,' he said. 'I am clear-eyed, I know what the Republican votes were in the last election… but if Rogers runs again, and I assume he is, he needs a viable, well-financed opponent.'
Rogers has previously told the Herald-Leader he has 'every intention of running for reelection.' At 87, he is the oldest member of the House.
Age, a hot topic in Washington as the fallout over former President Joe Biden's deterioration continues to reverberate, could become an issue. Additionally, three members of Congress, all in their 70s, have died so far this year.
Biden is currently 82 years old. Rogers, at 87, would be 89 if he wins reelection to start his 24th term in Congress.
'I'm 70, and I'm in excellent health,' Pillersdorf added.
It's no secret that President Donald Trump wants 4th Congressional District Rep. Thomas Massie gone.
Multiple times during the early days of his term, most recently over the Northern Kentucky congressman's vote against the president's budget bill, Trump has said that Massie should be primaried.
Last week, national news outlet Axios reported that two Kentucky Republicans in the district were being discussed as GOP opponents for the seven-term congressman.
One of them, state Sen. Aaron Reed, responded quickly on social media: 'Fake news,' he wrote.
The other, state Rep. Kim Moser, did not respond to a Herald-Leader inquiry about her future plans. Moser, a powerful committee chair in Frankfort, survived a close primary in 2024 to an opponent far less-funded than she was.
It's worth pointing out point blank: Previous efforts to oust Massie have failed tremendously.
The difference this time could be money. We know that outside groups like MAGA Inc., the pro-Trump $500 million group, and the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee seem willing to chip in some.
But how much would it take to unseat the House's most famous GOP contrarian? Probably a lot.
Massie seems to think nobody could beat him.
'Any serious person considering running should spend money on an independent poll before letting swampy consultants take them for an embarrassing ride,' Massie wrote in a comment provided to the Herald-Leader.
Rep. Andy Barr unveiled a list of county judge-executive endorsements for his 2026 Senate bid last week that spanned basically the entirety of his Central Kentucky based district — only a couple GOP judge-executives, those over Anderson County and Clark County, didn't endorse him.
As a reminder, judge-executives matter. A lot.
Unless a county has a member of legislative leadership, or its one of the two consolidated local governments in Jefferson and Fayette counties, it's a safe bet that the judge-executive is the most important elected official there. They act as the head of the executive and legislative branches of county government.
But how much do their endorsements matter? Potentially a lot, but in big GOP races like this one there's a wrinkle: They pale in comparison to the endorsement of Trump.
Just ask former commissioner of agriculture Ryan Quarles, who earned the support of dozens of them across the state in his 2023 run for governor but finished in a distant second to the Trump-backed former attorney general, Daniel Cameron, who is now running against Barr for Senate.
On the Democratic side of the aisle, former state representative Cherlynn Stevenson announced several local official and ex-local official endorsements.
Some big names on there include Sen. Reggie Thomas, D-Lexington, who previously ran for the seat and whose Senate district covers most of Lexington inside New Circle Road; former judge and legislator Ernesto Scorsone; most of her old Lexington House colleagues; Lexington city Councilwoman Emma Curtis and more.
If it wasn't clear already, these endorsements provide another sign that the state party's two biggest stars below Gov. Andy Beshear — Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and senior adviser Rocky Adkins — will not jump in this race.
All signs point to the continued interest of both former Lexington-Fayette Urban County Councilman David Kloiber and federal prosecutor Zach Dembo for the Democratic nomination to the district, which the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee put on a target list to potentially flip blue.
Currently, state Rep. Ryan Dotson is the only Republican with significant name ID to have announced a bid to fill Barr's shoes in the 6th Congressional District.
But a couple others certainly appear to be making moves.
State Sen. Amanda Mays Bledsoe, R-Lexington, visited Israel in an eight-day trip that concluded this weekend, according to several social media posts.
The trip was made with a number of politically influential Republicans, including a Fox News personality once floated as a potential replacement for Vice President J.D. Vance's Senate seat and another state legislator.
Sponsored trips like these often take place with groups of influential people seen as a rising crop of political leaders. Though Bledsoe did not offer comment on the sponsor of the trip, the most common host for U.S. political trips to Israel is the American Israel Education Foundation, a nonprofit linked to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Bledsoe wasn't the only busy one last week.
State Rep. Deanna Gordon, R-Richmond, spent part of the week in political meetings with Republicans in Washington, someone affiliated with Gordon confirmed to the Herald-Leader.
The primary comes at a time when Trump has incentive to weigh in on House primaries, specifically. Holding a majority there means avoiding investigations and potentially a third impeachment inquiry into him.
Axios reported this week that the White House is particularly 'worried about retaining the Central Kentucky seat' given Barr's departure.
That could signal an increased willingness for Trump to put his thumb on the scale for his favored candidate, or the one his team sees as the most likely to win.
