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Kentucky's 5th Congressional District election, 2026 (May 19 Republican primary)

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← 2024
Kentucky's 5th Congressional District
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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 5th 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

A Republican Party primary takes place on May 19, 2026, in Kentucky's 5th 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 only registered party members can participate.[1]

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

This page focuses on Kentucky's 5th Congressional District Republican primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Democratic primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list of candidates is unofficial. The filing deadline for this election has passed, and Ballotpedia is working to update this page with the official candidate list. This note will be removed once the official candidate list has been added.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 5

The following candidates are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 5 on May 19, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Hal Rogers
Hal Rogers
Image of Benjamin Hurley
Benjamin Hurley Candidate Connection
Image of Brandon Monhollen
Brandon Monhollen
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Jerry Shelton
Image of Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith
Image of Jacob Trimble
Jacob Trimble

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = 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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

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.

Benjamin Hurley

Image of Benjamin Hurley

WebsiteFacebookX

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Submitted Biography:  "My name is Ben Hurley. I was born in Pikeville and raised in Phelps, Kentucky, and I’ve seen the struggles that Eastern Kentucky families have faced my entire life. I’m running for Congress because I believe our region deserves better, better jobs, stronger infrastructure, quality healthcare, and opportunities for our children to succeed. I served six years in the United States Army as an Infantryman with the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment. That experience taught me discipline, leadership, and the value of hard work, lessons I carry with me every day. I’m not a career politician, I’m a reformer, a steady hand, and a fighter for working families. I’m ready to take the grit and determination of our Appalachian heritage to Washington and make sure the voices of Eastern Kentucky are heard."

Key Messages

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

I want an infrastructure boom for Eastern Kentuckians that live in KY-5. Eastern Kentucky is falling apart and is continuing to get worse. Without direct action small towns like Phelps or Elkhorn will continue to shrink and eventually become ghost towns.

The coal industry has recessed over the last decade making the average joe unemployed. Jobs are few and far between and have caused many people to move away from Appalachia. I want to bring a variety of jobs for the working class. For too long majority of Eastern Kentuckians have lived in poverty, I want to change that.

Healthcare access has always been hard for Eastern Kentuckians. Whether its cost, distance or time delays from emergency services, this has impacted many Eastern Kentuckians lives negatively and needs to change.

Jacob Trimble

Image of Jacob Trimble

WebsiteFacebookX

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Submitted Biography:  "Jacob Trimble is a U.S. Navy veteran, healthcare worker, and lifelong Kentuckian running for the United States Senate. Raised in a working-class family and committed to service, Jacob served 7.5 years in the Navy before returning home to work in healthcare. He’s not a career politician—he’s a conservative leader focused on faith, freedom, and fighting for Kentucky’s working families."

Key Messages

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

Economic Growth: Advocates bringing jobs back to America, especially in manufacturing, coal, energy, and agriculture. Supports policies that reduce inflation and protect working families

Anti-Bureaucracy: Seeks to reduce federal overreach and bureaucratic inefficiency in Washington.

I am deeply committed to upholding the U.S. Constitution — especially the First and Second Amendments, which protect our most fundamental freedoms. The right to free speech, free exercise of religion, and the ability to peacefully assemble are cornerstones of our democracy. Equally vital is the Second Amendment, guaranteeing law-abiding citizens the right to keep and bear arms. I will fight tirelessly against any efforts to undermine these rights. In Washington, we need leaders who respect the Constitution, defend individual liberties, and stand firm against government overreach.

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
Hal Rogers Republican Party $376,701 $272,493 $1,075,459 As of September 30, 2025
Benjamin Hurley Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Brandon Monhollen Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Jerry Shelton Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Kevin Smith Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Jacob Trimble 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

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

  • District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
  • Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2026 U.S. House elections in the state.
  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
  • State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.


Below is the district map in place for this election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

2023_01_03_ky_congressional_District_05.jpg
See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026
Information about competitiveness will be added here as it becomes available.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is R+32. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 32 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Kentucky's 5th the 2nd most Republican district nationally.[2]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.

2024 presidential results in Kentucky's 5th Congressional District
Kamala Harris Democratic PartyDonald Trump Republican Party
17.0%81.0%

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Kentucky, 2024

Kentucky presidential election results (1900-2024)

  • 16 Democratic wins
  • 16 Republican wins
Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Winning Party D D D D D D R R D D D D D D R R D R R D R R R D D R R R R R R R
See also: Party control of Kentucky state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Kentucky's congressional delegation as of October 2025.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Kentucky
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 0 1 1
Republican 2 5 7
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 6 8

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Kentucky's top four state executive offices as of October 2025.

State executive officials in Kentucky, October 2025
OfficeOfficeholder
GovernorDemocratic Party Andy Beshear
Lieutenant GovernorDemocratic Party Jacqueline Coleman
Secretary of StateRepublican Party Michael Adams
Attorney GeneralRepublican Party Russell Coleman

State legislature

Kentucky State Senate

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 5
     Republican Party 32
     Other 0
     Vacancies 1
Total 38

Kentucky House of Representatives

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 20
     Republican Party 80
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 100

Trifecta control

Kentucky Party Control: 1992-2025
Eight years of Democratic trifectas  •  Three years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Governor D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R D D D D D D D D R R R R D D D D D D
Senate D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
House D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Kentucky in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Kentucky, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2026
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Kentucky U.S. House Ballot-qualified party 2 500 1/9/2026 Source
Kentucky U.S. House Unaffiliated 400 500 6/2/2026 Source

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Kentucky General Assembly, "Ky. Rev. Stat. § 116.055," accessed October 20, 2025
  2. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025


Kentucky's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Mitch McConnell (R)
Rand Paul (R)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
Andy Barr (R)
Republican Party (7)
Democratic Party (1)


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