Ralph Alvarado is running against Republican Primary: Ryan Dotson, Deanna Gordon, Adam Perez Arquette, Greg Plucinski, Steve Shannon; Democratic Primary: Cherlynn Stevenson, David Kloiber, Zach Dembo; Independents: Jay Bowman, Pete Lynch.
Open seat race after Rep. Andy Barr announced his U.S. Senate bid to replace retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell. KY-06 is a Republican-leaning district (Barr won with 62.7% in 2022) centered on Lexington, but Democrats view it as flippable. If elected, Alvarado would be the first Hispanic to represent Kentucky in Congress.
Crowded Republican primary with 5+ candidates. Alvarado resigned as Tennessee Health Commissioner on July 11, 2025 to run. His medical background and alignment with Trump's MAHA movement are central to his campaign. Alvarado raised $376,986 in Q3 2025, leading the Republican field with $320,754 cash on hand as of September 30. He raised over $595,060 total through year-end 2025. Key GOP rival Deanna Gordon raised $358,249 but mostly self-funded. The Democratic primary is also competitive with former State Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson and former Lexington Councilmember David Kloiber both running.
Key dates to watch: Primary on May 19, 2026 and General Election on November 3, 2026.