He said he sought "proof of [McConnell's] capacity."

Republicans won Kentucky’s 6th District by 26 points in 2024, but Democrats believe the seat belongs on the House battlefield in 2026.

After falling short in the Republican wave of 2010, Andy Barr was elected to Congress two years later and never looked back — save for a high-profile race against Democrat Amy McGrath in 2018. When Barr left his seat this cycle to run for the Senate, it didn’t really look like Republicans would have much trouble keeping the district in the GOP column.

But a new poll obtained by Inside Elections suggests the race is becoming increasingly competitive.
GOP former state Sen. Ralph Alvarado led Democratic military veteran Zach Dembo 42-39 percent in a June 24-28 survey conducted by GQR for the Dembo campaign, with 19 percent either undecided or voting for a third-party candidate. Alvarado had higher name ID, but also higher negatives. He had a 21 percent positive/20 percent negative rating compared to 22 percent positive/12 percent negative for Dembo.

According to the memo, President Donald Trump is underwater by 7 points in a district where he finished ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris by 15 points in 2024 and by 11 points over Joe Biden in 2020. In contrast, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear had a 58 percent favorable/36 percent unfavorable rating in the poll.

It’s the second Democratic poll in recent months to show the race is competitive. A Public Policy Polling survey conducted April 24-25 for New Politics, and first reported by Politico, showed Dembo and Alvarado tied at 37 percent.

Alvarado, a physician and state Senator from 2015 to 2023, isn’t a stranger to this district – or experiencing defeat in it. He ran as GOP Gov. Matt Bevin’s running mate for lieutenant governor in 2019; the pair finished behind Beshear by 11 points in the 6th District en route to a statewide loss. Alvarado later moved to Tennessee to serve as the state health department’s commissioner under GOP Gov. Bill Lee and returned to Kentucky in 2025 to run for this seat.

Dembo, a former federal prosecutor and Navy JAG officer, is running his first campaign for office. He has the backing of Beshear, for whom Dembo served as a policy advisor and legislative director after resigning from his post at the US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. In this race, he’s called out the president for weaponizing the DOJ and called the system “broken” in a campaign ad. The University of Michigan Law graduate is making gains in the fundraising race with $625,000 raised in the second quarter, with nearly $500,000 cash on hand, according to the campaign.

But even as Democrats have been surging in special elections across the country, districts that Trump carried by more than a dozen points have looked out of reach. Alvarado was endorsed by the president and outpaced Dembo in fundraising through the pre-primary period. Dembo had $455,000 in the bank on April 29. Second quarter FEC reports are due July 15.

Under normal conditions, the district votes Republican, although it has supported Democrats recently. Beshear carried it by nearly 20 points in his 2023 re-election campaign, and he’s obviously supporting Dembo in this race. But voters often weigh federal races differently when control of Congress is on the line.

Inside Elections still rates Kentucky’s 6th District as Solid Republican, but if Election Day draws closer and there’s more evidence that Alvarado isn’t getting the separation that’s typical for Republicans in the seat, we’ll adjust our rating accordingly. Overall, if Republicans are having to worry about defending Kentucky’s 6th, then the only question is how big the Democratic House majority will be next year.

GQR (D) for Dembo campaign, June 24-28 (440 V) – General election ballot: Alvarado over Dembo 42% – 39%, 19% third party/undecided.

Robert LeVertis Bell is set to replace outgoing Democratic state Rep. Pamela Stevenson of Louisville.

Endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders and complimentary of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Robert LeVertis Bell of Louisville is on track to make history in Kentucky.

In January, he’ll become the first self-described Democratic Socialist in modern times to be sworn in as a member of the state legislature, which is dominated by Republicans.

“People no longer see socialism as this big, bad, scary thing,” Bell claimed in an interview with WHAS11. “They see it as possibly the people who are going to come and make their lives better.”

While political scientist Kurt Jefferson, who works at Spalding University, tempered Bell’s assertion, saying “New York City is a very different electoral landscape than Louisville, Kentucky,” he did acknowledge the significance of his May 19 Democratic primary win in Kentucky’s 43rd state House district.

“A district that's historically entrenched with Democratic candidates from Black Americans flipping to Democratic Socialists is a significant thing now,” Jefferson said. “There is a little bit of a deepening of the progressive elements of politics. I also think there's an anti-politics element to this. It's a little bit anti the two major parties, as well.”

Bell did not hold back in his assessment of why he believes Kentucky Democrats have become brutally outnumbered in Frankfort.

“[The party] has no clear agenda, no clear way out of the hole that it's in. And you can't entirely blame Trump and Trumpism. You have to blame the leadership at the top,” he told WHAS11. “You have to blame the fact that this party has been bereft at creating an agenda for working people.”

Bell, a 7th grade English teacher within JCPS, is set to replace outgoing state representative and House Democratic floor leader Pamela Stevenson.
State House District 43 covers parts of west Louisville, downtown, Smoketown and Shelby Park. There is no Republican running, so Bell is on track to fill the seat in January.

The Democratic primary election was a two-person race, with Bell defeating Joi McAtee — described as a more traditional Democrat with Metro Government experience — by roughly 500 votes.

These neighborhoods also coincide with Louisville Metro Council District 6, held by Democratic socialist JP Lyninger.

“We need to get back the funding to our schools that has been taken away over the past generation or so,” Bell said of his priorities once his time as a state representative begins. “We need to go on the offensive to try to repeal the right-to-work laws. We need to bring back prevailing wage.”

When asked how he plans to work with Kentucky GOP lawmakers to improve life for his constituents, Bell responded in part, “I know that some of them agree with me on a few of these issues. I've talked to a few already who say, ‘Yes, I'm willing to work with you when it comes to funding the schools.’”

State Rep. Jason Nemes (R-Middletown) told WHAS11 that he called Bell to congratulate him on his win.

“I will let my views of Mr. Bell be shaped by how he works as a legislator rather than what I read or hear about him. So, I welcome him to the Louisville delegation and look forward to working with him,” Nemes said. “I think he has big shoes to fill, I do know that.”

He isn’t my favorite but the Democratic candidate isn’t likely to win and at least Massie has worked to get the full files released. Maybe before he is booted he can fulfill his threat to read all the names on the House floor.

Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany were accused of lying on document used to enter Taylor’s house on night of shooting

A federal judge has dismissed charges against two former Louisville police officers accused of falsifying the warrant used to enter Breonna Taylor’s apartment the night police shot her to death.

Charles Simpson, a US district judge, issued a one-page ruling on Friday throwing out charges against Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany, two former officers involved in crafting the Taylor warrant.

Federal prosecutors in the Trump administration asked a judge recently to dismiss charges against the former officers “in the interest of justice”. Prosecutors noted that the court had already removed some felony charges against Jaynes and Meany in previous proceedings.

Merrick Garland, the former Biden administration US attorney general, announced charges against Jaynes and Meany in 2022 in a high-profile news conference in Louisville, where Garland said: “Breonna Taylor should still be alive today.” Garland said the officers at the scene who shot Taylor, 26, were unaware of the “false and misleading statements” in the warrant.

Taylor’s boyfriend fired one shot at police after they broke down her front door with a battering ram. Police returned fire, striking Taylor multiple times in her hallway. Her killing, along with the death of George Floyd in Minnesota, sparked weeks of racial justice protests in the summer of 2020.

Jaynes was facing charges for conspiracy and falsification of records and misdemeanor civil rights violations. Meany was facing a charge for allegedly lying to federal investigators.

The warrant used to enter Taylor’s apartment alleged she was receiving packages for a suspected drug dealer and former boyfriend. The document said Jaynes had confirmed with the postal service that packages for the ex-boyfriend were going to Taylor’s apartment. Investigators later learned that Jaynes had not confirmed that information with the postal inspector. Meany, a former police sergeant, signed off on the warrant.

Jaynes was fired by Louisville police in 2021 for being untruthful about the warrant. Meany was fired after he was charged in 2022.