Kentucky's 4th Congressional District election, 2026 (May 19 Republican primary)

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Kentucky's 4th Congressional District
Democratic primary Republican primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: January 9, 2026
Primary: May 19, 2026 General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Voting in Kentucky
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican DDHQ and The Hill: Pending Inside Elections: Solid Republican Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
Kentucky's 4th Congressional District U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th Kentucky elections, 2026 U.S. Congress elections, 2026 U.S. Senate elections, 2026 U.S. House elections, 2026 Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House raceArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House raceFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House raceOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House raceTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House raceVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House raceSubmit

A Republican Party primary takes place on May 19, 2026, in Kentucky's 4th Congressional District to determine which Republican candidate will run in the district's general election on November 3, 2026.

Candidate filing deadline	Primary election	General election
January 9, 2026	May 19, 2026	November 3, 2026

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Kentucky utilizes a closed primary process, in which the selection of a party's candidates in an election is limited to registered party members.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

This page focuses on Kentucky's 4th Congressional District Republican primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Democratic primary and the general election, see the following pages:

• Kentucky's 4th Congressional District election, 2026 (May 19 Democratic primary)
• Kentucky's 4th Congressional District election, 2026

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

• Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
• Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies
  

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4

Incumbent Thomas Massie, Nicole Lee Ethington, and Robert Wells Jr. are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4 on May 19, 2026.

		Candidate
		Thomas Massie
		Nicole Lee Ethington
	Submit photo	Robert Wells Jr.

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
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Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Nicole Lee Ethington

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "Niki Lee Ethington is a registered nurse, wife, mother, and lifelong Kentuckian who has dedicated her life to serving others. She has worked across the country, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing critical care in NICUs, long-term care facilities, behavioral health, and more. A lifelong Kentuckian, Niki has lived on a farm in Spencer County for over 20 years and understands the struggles facing working families in Kentucky’s 4th District. Frustrated with out-of-touch politicians, Niki is stepping up to fight for Kentucky values in Washington. She is running for U.S. Congress (KY-4) as a Republican to put America First, secure the border, protect parental rights, and defend Kentucky jobs from government overreach. Her campaign motto is “Kentucky First. America Always.” From saving lives to saving Kentucky, Niki is ready to take her bold, conservative leadership to Washington and stand with President Trump to restore American greatness"

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Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

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I will fight to put Kentucky families, workers, and small businesses first—not the Washington establishment. I will stand up against government overreach, defend Kentucky jobs, and ensure our economy thrives by promoting energy independence, lowering taxes, and supporting local industries.

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America has a border crisis that threatens our national security, economy, and families. I will fight to finish the wall, stop illegal immigration, and end taxpayer-funded benefits for non-citizens. Protecting our communities starts with enforcing the law and standing up for the safety of American families.

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I will protect parental rights, fight for the unborn, and defend women and girls in sports. Our constitutional rights—including free speech, gun rights, and religious liberty—are under attack, and I will never back down in defending faith, family, and freedom in Kentucky’s 4th District.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Kentucky

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.

Campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Thomas Massie	Republican Party	$1,031,357	$200,621	$1,737,747	As of June 30, 2025
Nicole Lee Ethington	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Robert Wells Jr.	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." ** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election. *** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

District analysis

This section will contain facts and figures related to this district's elections when those are available.

Ballot access

This section will contain information on ballot access related to this state's elections when it is available.

See also

• Kentucky's 4th Congressional District election, 2026 (May 19 Democratic primary)
• Kentucky's 4th Congressional District election, 2026
• United States House elections in Kentucky, 2026 (May 19 Democratic primaries)
• United States House elections in Kentucky, 2026 (May 19 Republican primaries)
• United States House Democratic Party primaries, 2026
• United States House Republican Party primaries, 2026
• United States House of Representatives elections, 2026
• U.S. House battlegrounds, 2026

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

[show]

Kentucky's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Mitch McConnell (R)

Rand Paul (R)

Representatives

District 1

James Comer (R)

District 2

Brett Guthrie (R)

District 3

Morgan McGarvey (D)

District 4

Thomas Massie (R)

District 5

Hal Rogers (R)

District 6

Andy Barr (R)

Republican Party (7)

Democratic Party (1)

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