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Ralph Alvarado
Ralph Alvarado (Republican Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Kentucky's 6th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled on May 19, 2026.[source]
Alvarado (Republican Party) was a member of the Kentucky State Senate, representing District 28. He assumed office on January 1, 2015. He left office on January 6, 2023.
Alvarado resigned from the state Senate on January 6, 2023, to become commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Health.[1]
Alvarado ran on a joint ticket with Governor Matt Bevin in the 2019 Kentucky gubernatorial race.[2]
Biography
Ralph Alvarado was born in Winchester, Kentucky. He earned a bachelor of science and a medical degree from Loma Linda University and conducted his medical residency at the University of Kentucky. Alvarado’s career experience includes working as a physician with Kentucky One Medical Group, a member of the board of trustees of the Kentucky Medical Association, a fellow and a member of the government council with the American College of Physicians, and as a member of the Clark County Chamber of Commerce.[3]
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2021-2022
Alvarado was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Banking and Insurance Committee
- Senate Health and Welfare Committee, Chair
- State and Local Government Committee
2019-2020
Alvarado was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Health and Welfare Committee, Chair
- State and Local Government Committee
- Senate Transportation Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Kentucky committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Appropriations and Revenue |
| • Health and Welfare, Vice chair |
| • State and Local Government |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Alvarado served on the following committees:
| Kentucky committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Appropriations and Revenue |
| • Health and Welfare, Vice Chair |
| • State and Local Government |
| • Appropriations and Revenue |
| • Health and Welfare |
| • Local Government |
| • State Government |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2026
See also: Kentucky's 6th Congressional District election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on May 19, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 6
Zach Dembo, David Kloiber, Erin Petrey, and Cherlynn Stevenson are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 6 on May 19, 2026.
| ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 6
Ralph Alvarado, Ryan Dotson, and Deanna Frazier Gordon are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 6 on May 19, 2026.
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Andy Barr (R)
Endorsements
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2022
See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Kentucky State Senate District 28
Incumbent Ralph Alvarado defeated Joshua Buckman in the general election for Kentucky State Senate District 28 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Ralph Alvarado (R) | 98.0 | 27,097 |
 | Joshua Buckman (Independent) (Write-in) | 2.0 | 551 | |
| Total votes: 27,648 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Ralph Alvarado advanced from the Republican primary for Kentucky State Senate District 28.
2019
See also: Kentucky gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2019
General election
General election for Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
Jacqueline Coleman defeated Ralph Alvarado and Ann Cormican in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jacqueline Coleman (D) | 49.2 | 709,890 |
| Ralph Alvarado (R) | 48.8 | 704,754 | |
| Ann Cormican (L) | 2.0 | 28,433 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 46 | ||
| Total votes: 1,443,123 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
Jacqueline Coleman defeated Stephanie Horne, Gill Holland, and Joshua French in the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky on May 21, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jacqueline Coleman | 37.9 | 149,448 |
 | Stephanie Horne | 31.9 | 125,981 | |
 | Gill Holland | 27.9 | 110,161 | |
| Joshua French | 2.3 | 8,923 | ||
| Total votes: 394,513 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
Ralph Alvarado defeated Michael T. Hogan, Justin Miller, and James Anthony Rose in the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky on May 21, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ralph Alvarado | 52.4 | 136,069 |
 | Michael T. Hogan | 39.0 | 101,345 | |
| Justin Miller | 5.4 | 14,040 | ||
| James Anthony Rose | 3.2 | 8,412 | ||
| Total votes: 259,866 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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2018
See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2018
General election
General election for Kentucky State Senate District 28
Incumbent Ralph Alvarado defeated Denise Gray in the general election for Kentucky State Senate District 28 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ralph Alvarado (R) | 53.4 | 23,212 |
 | Denise Gray (D) | 46.6 | 20,291 | |
| Total votes: 43,503 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Kentucky State Senate District 28
Denise Gray advanced from the Democratic primary for Kentucky State Senate District 28 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Denise Gray |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Kentucky State Senate District 28
Incumbent Ralph Alvarado advanced from the Republican primary for Kentucky State Senate District 28 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Ralph Alvarado |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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2014
- See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for the Kentucky State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was January 28, 2014. Incumbent R. J. Palmer II ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Ralph Alvarado ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Alvarado defeated Palmer in the general election.[4][5][6]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Ralph Alvarado |
52.8% | 18,636 | |
| Democratic | R.J. Palmer II Incumbent | 47.2% | 16,656 | |
| Total Votes | 35,292 | |||
2010
- See also: Kentucky State Senate elections, 2010
Alvarado ran in the 2010 election for Kentucky State Senate District 28. Alvarado defeated Bryan Lutz in the Republican primary election on May 18, 2010, and was defeated by R.J. Palmer in the general election on November 2, 2010.[7][8]
| Kentucky State Senate, District 28 - Republican Primary (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Ralph Alvarado
|
3,386 | 65.5% | ||
| Brian Lutz | 1,780 | 34.5% | ||
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Ralph Alvarado has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Ralph Alvarado asking him to fill out the survey. If you are Ralph Alvarado, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.
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2022
Ralph Alvarado did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2019
Ralph Alvarado did not complete Ballotpedia's 2019 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
2016 Republican National Convention
- See also: Republican National Convention, 2016
| Ralph Alvarado | |
| Republican National Convention, 2016 | |
| Status: | Delegate |
| State: | Kentucky |
| Bound to: | Unknown |
| Delegates to the RNC 2016 | |
| Calendar and delegate rules overview • Types of delegates • Delegate rules by state • State election law and delegates • Delegates by state | |
Alvarado was a delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from Kentucky.[9] In the Kentucky Republican caucuses on March 5, 2016, Donald Trump received 17 delegates, Ted Cruz received 15, and Marco Rubio and John Kasich received seven each. Ballotpedia was not able to identify which candidate Alvarado was bound by state party rules to support at the national convention. If you have information on how Kentucky’s Republican delegates were allocated, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.[10]
Speaking slot
Alvarado received a speaking slot at the 2016 Republican National Convention. His July 20 speech focused on the story of his family, legal immigration, and Hillary Clinton. The speech can be viewed below.
RNC Rules Committee
- See also: RNC Rules Committee, 2016
Alvarado was a member of the RNC Rules Committee, a 112-member body responsible for crafting the official rules of the Republican Party, including the rules that governed the 2016 Republican National Convention.[11]
Appointment process
The convention Rules Committee in 2016 consisted of one male and one female delegate from each state and territorial delegation. The Rules of the Republican Party required each delegation to elect from its own membership representatives to serve on the Rules Committee.
Delegate rules
| Ralph Alvarado speaking at the 2016 Republican National Convention. |
Delegates from Kentucky to the Republican National Convention were selected by nomination committees and approved at the county and state conventions. Kentucky GOP rules required national convention delegates to have supported the 2012 Republican presidential nominee. Kentucky GOP rules and Kentucky state law required delegates from Kentucky to vote for the candidate to whom they were allocated through the first round of voting at the national convention. If a candidate died or withdrew prior to the first round of voting at the national convention, the chairman of the Kentucky delegation was to call a meeting at which the delegates were to vote on the remaining candidates and be reallocated on the basis of the results.
Kentucky caucus results
- See also: Presidential election in Kentucky, 2016
| Kentucky Republican Caucus, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
|
Donald Trump |
35.9% | 82,493 | 17 | |
| Ted Cruz | 31.6% | 72,503 | 15 | |
| Marco Rubio | 16.4% | 37,579 | 7 | |
| John Kasich | 14.4% | 33,134 | 7 | |
| Ben Carson | 0.8% | 1,951 | 0 | |
| Rand Paul | 0.4% | 872 | 0 | |
| Other | 0.2% | 496 | 0 | |
| Jeb Bush | 0.1% | 305 | 0 | |
| Mike Huckabee | 0.1% | 174 | 0 | |
| Chris Christie | 0% | 65 | 0 | |
| Carly Fiorina | 0% | 64 | 0 | |
| Rick Santorum | 0% | 31 | 0 | |
| Totals | 229,667 | 46 | ||
| Source: The New York Times and Republican Party of Kentucky | ||||
Delegate allocation
Kentucky had 46 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, 18 were district-level delegates (three for each of the state's six congressional districts). District delegates were allocated proportionally; a candidate had to win at least 5 percent of the statewide caucus vote in order to be eligible to receive any district delegates.[12][13]
Of the remaining 28 delegates, 25 served at large. At-large delegates were allocated proportionally; a candidate had to win at least 5 percent of the statewide caucus vote in order to be eligible to receive any of the state's at-large delegates. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention. The RNC delegates were allocated in the same manner as the at-large delegates.[12][13][14]
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Kentucky scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023
In 2023, the Kentucky State Legislature was in session from January 3 to March 30.
- Legislators from the Louisville area are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to family issues.
2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the Kentucky State Legislature was in session from January 4 to April 14.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Kentucky State Legislature was in session from January 5 to March 30.
|
2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Kentucky State Legislature was in session from January 7 to April 15.
|
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 8 through March 29.
|
2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2018, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 2 through April 14.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 3 through March 30.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2016, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 5 through April 15.
|
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Kentucky General Assembly was in session from January 6 through March 23.
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See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Office of the Governor, "Gov. Lee Names Dr. Ralph Alvarado Commissioner for TN Department of Health," November 22, 2022
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Candidate Filings with the Office of the Secretary of State," accessed January 30, 2019
- ↑ Kentucky General Assembly, "Senator Ralph Alvarado (R)," accessed March 23, 2020
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Election: 2014 General Election," accessed October 29, 2014
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Official 2014 Primary Election Results," accessed October 29, 2014
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Official 2014 General Election Results," accessed December 5, 2014
- ↑ Kentucky State Board Of Elections, "Statewide Results - 2010 Primary Election," accessed September 2, 2014
- ↑ Kentucky State Board Of Elections, "Official 2010 General Election Results," accessed September 2, 2014
- ↑ Cincinnati.com, "Kentucky GOP releases list of delegates," April 25, 2016
- ↑ To build our list of the state and territorial delegations to the 2016 Republican National Convention, Ballotpedia relied primarily upon official lists provided by state and territorial Republican parties, email exchanges and phone interviews with state party officials, official lists provided by state governments, and, in some cases, unofficial lists compiled by local media outlets. When possible, we included what type of delegate the delegate is (at-large, district-level, or RNC) and which candidate they were bound by state and national party bylaws to support at the convention. For most delegations, Ballotpedia was able to track down all of this information. For delegations where we were not able to track down this information or were only able to track down partial lists, we included this note. If you have additional information on this state's delegation, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's list of 2016 RNC Rules Committee members is based on an official list from the Republican National Committee obtained by Ballotpedia on June 24, 2016
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Republican National Committee, "2016 Presidential Nominating Process," accessed October 6, 2015
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 CNN.com, "Republican National Convention roll call vote," accessed July 20, 2016
- ↑ Republican National Committee, "Memorandum on Binding of RNC Members," January 29, 2016
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Kentucky State Senate District 28 2015-2023 |
Succeeded by Greg Elkins (R) |
| Preceded by - |
Tennessee Commissioner Department of Health -2025 |
Succeeded by - |
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