Democrat Zach Dembo claimed victory in the U.S. House race to represent Central Kentucky against Republican Ralph Alvarado Tuesday night, flipping a district that voted for President Donald Trump by 15 percentage points in 2024.
“The status quo isn’t working. Washington isn’t working,” Dembo said during his acceptance speech Tuesday at Central Bank Center in Lexington, “and it’s time to send an independent voice from Kentucky whose family has been here for nine generations to clean it up.”
Dembo is a Navy veteran and former federal prosecutor who also briefly worked within Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration. His campaign has focused on fighting corruption in Congress and opposing many of Trump’s policies, which Dembo says make life more expensive for Central Kentuckians.
The seat, initially considered solidly red by pollsters, slowly moved into toss-up territory in the final months. With 99% of votes counted, Dembo won with 52.7% of the vote to Alvarado’s 43.3%, according to the Associated Press.
Dembo expressed early interest in working across the aisle, including with the president, Tuesday night.
“I hope there are things he wants to work together on for the Kentucky sixth, and if he does, I’d be happy to work with him,” Dembo told media. “And if he doesn’t, I’m going to oppose him. All that matters is what he’s doing to the Kentucky sixth.”
This midterm cycle, Democrats competed in districts previously considered nigh unwinnable for them. The last time a Democrat came close to winning the 6th Congressional District was in 2018, when Amy McGrath took on incumbent Rep. Andy Barr. However, that was before 2022 redistricting made the seat lean more Republican. Still, it is Kentucky’s most purple U.S. House district, and despite Trump’s solid win in 2024, Beshear came away with an even larger margin the year before.
"Tonight we sent a message from right here in the Sixth District that Democrats can win anywhere and we should be fighting everywhere,” Beshear said as he introduced the Congressman-elect.
As in other congressional races across the country, Alvarado and Dembo competed on plans to lower prices for central Kentuckians. Dembo has largely proposed reversing Trump policies that have directly contributed to price hikes: blanket tariffs and the war in Iran.
Alvarado, Kentucky’s first Hispanic state senator, ran unsuccessfully on Gov. Matt Bevin’s ticket in 2019 and then served as Tennessee’s health commissioner. His campaign focused on the health care system and tax cuts, like the ones implemented in Trump’s signature policy package, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which simultaneously cut funding for Medicaid and food assistance. Dembo has promised to reverse those cuts when he gets to Congress.
Dembo promises to root out corruption in Washington, D.C., and overhaul campaign finance laws. As a former federal prosecutor, he frequently said he is not a career politician and does not view the seat as a “life sentence.”
With Trump’s favorability rating falling across the country — including in Kentucky — Alvarado distanced himself from the president and his policies, even after campaigning heavily on that endorsement in his primary race.
“I would not have traded the journey we have taken together really for anything,” Alvarado said in his concession speech. “Because campaigns are about more than election results. They’re about people.”
Midterms are generally viewed as a referendum on the current president. According to Civiqs polling, Trump’s approval rating is a net -12% in Kentucky and even lower nationally.
Other US House districts in Kentucky
By the time the 6th Congressional District race was called late Tuesday night, the Associated Press had already declared the winners of Kentucky’s other five U.S. House races with no surprise outcomes.
In Northern Kentucky, Trump-endorsed Republican Ed Gallrein came out on top, defeating Democrat Melissa Strange and Libertarian candidate Jeremy Todd. Gallrein won a contentious primary in May against current Congressman Thomas Massie, a longtime target of Trump’s who was the subject of a blitz of attack ads from the president’s aligned PACs.
In Eastern Kentucky, long-time incumbent Hal Rogers won over well-known Democratic lawyer Ned Pillersdorf. It was the first House race the AP called Tuesday night, within an hour of poll close.
In Western Kentucky, Republican congressional incumbents James Comer and Brett Guthrie achieved easy victories, as did Democratic Rep. Morgan McGarvey in Louisville. Dembo is joining McGarvey as the second Democrat in Kentucky’s congressional delegation.
*This story has been udpated to include additional details.
