Kentucky's 6th Congressional District election, 2024

	2026 → ← 2022
Kentucky's 6th Congressional District
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election
Election details
	Filing deadline: January 5, 2024
	Primary: May 21, 2024; General: November 5, 2024
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: Safe Republican; 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, 2024
See also
	Kentucky's 6th Congressional District; 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th; Kentucky elections, 2024; U.S. Congress elections, 2024; U.S. Senate elections, 2024; U.S. House elections, 2024; Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House racesArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House racesFlorida 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 racesOhio 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 racesTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House racesVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House racesSubmit

Kentucky 2024 elections

U.S. House • State Senate • State House • Special state legislative • Supreme court • Appellate courts • State ballot measures • Local ballot measures • School boards • Municipal • All other local • How to run for office

All U.S. House districts, including the 6th Congressional District of Kentucky, held elections in 2024. The general election was November 5, 2024. The primary was May 21, 2024. The filing deadline was January 5, 2024.

This race was one of 75 races in 2024 that was a rematch of the 2022 election. In 2024, Democrats won 39 of these matches, while Republicans won 36 of them. Democrats won 38 of those districts in 2022, and Republicans won 37.

The outcome of this race affected the partisan balance of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 119th Congress. All 435 House districts were up for election.

At the time of the election, Republicans held a 220-212 majority with three vacancies.^[1] As a result of the election, Republicans retained control of the U.S. House, winning 220 seats to Democrats' 215.^[2] To read more about the 2024 U.S. House elections, click here.

In the 2022 election in this district, the Republican candidate won 62.7%-33.6%. Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Donald Trump (R) would have defeated Joe Biden (D) 54.5%-43.5%.^[3]

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House Kentucky District 6

Incumbent Andy Barr defeated Randy Cravens in the general election for U.S. House Kentucky District 6 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Andy Barr (R)	63.4	220,883
	Randy Cravens (D)	36.6	127,536

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 348,419
= 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 U.S. House Kentucky District 6

Randy Cravens defeated Todd Kelly, Shauna Rudd, Jonathan Richardson, and Don B. Pratt in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 6 on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Randy Cravens	26.0	9,305
		Todd Kelly	25.4	9,104
		Shauna Rudd	24.1	8,627
		Jonathan Richardson	12.4	4,433
	Submit photo	Don B. Pratt	12.1	4,335

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 35,804
= 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.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Andy Barr advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 6.

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.

Randy Cravens

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography: "I am a husband, a dad, and a Kentuckian. I am running as a candidate in this election to offer voters a choice between another two years of stagnation and gridlock in Washington, and true progress for our Commonwealth and the nation. I am running not only because our rights, our dignity, and our privacy have been taken away, but because the futures of our children and grandchildren have been mortgaged away by this Congress for the sole purpose of a vain fight to retain political power. I am running because we must immediately take action to address a world on fire, in which we face existential crises both in nature and in geopolitics. The next Congress will be called upon to take consequential votes, the outcomes of which we may never live to see, but votes which will ensure the viability of our nation and our planet to enable future generations to continue on in pursuit of the peace that we desire today."

Key Messages

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

I will protect the right of women to be free from government intrusion into their medical choices. I will fight to protect IVF federally for hopeful parents, and will vote to restore Roe vs. Wade as the law of the land for abortion.

I will protect the rights of our LGBTQ+ community, to ensure that they are able to live lives in happiness, equality and with the right to enjoy a civil marriage.

I will work to address the crisis in housing affordability by establishing federal incentives for the development of affordable housing, including the expansion of funding and eligibility for FHA, VA, and USDA Rural Housing Service mortgages. I will support legislation to allow federal buyer/builder support via either low-interest direct lending or mortgage rate buydown grants for indirect lending.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Kentucky District 6 in 2024.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Kentucky

Election information in Kentucky: Nov. 5, 2024, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

In-person: Oct. 7, 2024
By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 7, 2024
Online: Oct. 7, 2024

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

No

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

In-person: N/A
By mail: N/A by N/A
Online: Oct. 22, 2024

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

In-person: Nov. 5, 2024
By mail: Received by Nov. 5, 2024

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Oct. 31, 2024 to Nov. 2, 2024

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

6:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. (EST/CST)

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Expand all | Collapse all

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/RandyCravens2024.jpg

Randy Cravens (D)

I will protect the right of women to be free from government intrusion into their medical choices. I will fight to protect IVF federally for hopeful parents, and will vote to restore Roe vs. Wade as the law of the land for abortion.

I will protect the rights of our LGBTQ+ community, to ensure that they are able to live lives in happiness, equality and with the right to enjoy a civil marriage.

I will work to address the crisis in housing affordability by establishing federal incentives for the development of affordable housing, including the expansion of funding and eligibility for FHA, VA, and USDA Rural Housing Service mortgages. I will support legislation to allow federal buyer/builder support via either low-interest direct lending or mortgage rate buydown grants for indirect lending.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Randy Cravens (D)

To quote Jack Stanton, from the movie Primary Colors:

"I'm against doing nothing while people are suffering. I'm against going against any idea that might help because it isn't my idea."

There are a lot of our fellow Kentuckians who are suffering. Many suffer because of loss: loss of hope, loss of work, loss of health, loss of opportunity.

Government cannot fix everything, but when it is properly funded, and when it is made of Congresspeople who actually care, government CAN help. Government represents ALL of the people, and we are ALL in this together. Nobody is immune from loss or suffering.

I am passionate about any area of public policy that will serve our people, and provide light in darkness.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Randy Cravens (D)

Humility and humanity.

An elected official must be cognizant of the immense responsibility placed upon them by the hundreds of thousands of citizens that they represent. They must recognize that they are OF the people, not ABOVE the people.

Elected officials also must serve with humanity, and an understanding of circumstances which they may have never had to navigate. They must be good and decent, and able to understand the services and protections needed and desired by communities that they have never inhabited.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Randy Cravens (D)

The core responsibility for someone elected to this office is to serve and legislate as though there are no national news channels to talk to. You must be able to communicate with legislators from across the country, and reach consensus for the greater good of our Commonwealth and our nation, not for the next soundbite.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Randy Cravens (D)

I want to be able to tell my children and grandchildren that in a time of unprecedented stagnation and severe division in our country, when we were facing crisis on multiple fronts, that I stepped up and did my best to lead our Commonwealth and our country into a new age of peace and prosperity. I want my legacy to be one that I may not live to see; a planet with clean air, a viable future, and a Kentucky that they can be proud to continue to call home.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Randy Cravens (D)

No. In fact, I believe that experience in government and politics can serve to be detrimental for our constituents. The longer a Congressperson serves in office, the more siloed they can become in its structure, and the more that true decision making can be placed in a walled garden, inaccessible for most new Members.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Randy Cravens (D)

As a nation we are navigating a world dominated by three superpowers in China, Russia and the United States. China and Russia are led by old men chasing dying dreams of grandeur for their nations. Those ambitions are contrary to what I want the ambitions of the United States to be, and risk an even further progression of the geopolitical instability which we are currently experiencing.

We must walk this diplomatic tightrope in a unified manner on all levels of government, and with clarity of the stakes and reality of the situation, unclouded by the influence of foreign propaganda.

We also are facing a precipitous and existential threat in the form of climate change. Climate change is real, and it has been manmade to this point, but with the thawing that is underway, it will result in a potentially calamitous further release of naturally sequestered carbon and methane into our environment throwing the planet's viability into severe question.

We must summon the willingness to invest, in money, technology, and American labor and ingenuity in a massive effort to not only decarbonize our power generation, but to cap orphaned wells, to convert baseload power generation to renewable and nuclear technologies, and to develop and deploy Direct Air Capture and sequestration of airborne methane and CO2.

Finally, we must come to a point of national reconciliation, and remember that what unites us in the American story is far more substantial than what divides us. We cannot meet the challenges of our day and age, nor address the challenges of the future, if we cannot talk face to face over a cup of coffee, or sit next to each other at a high school football game without getting into an argument.

We must all lead by example, and show humanity and dignity to all others, even and especially those who may be completely different than ourselves.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Randy Cravens (D)

Yes, with a maximum of three consecutive terms, for a total of six years of service.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

Randy Cravens (D)

I am a proponent of term limits for federal office, as I believe reasonable term limits allow experienced leadership and governance, while allowing fresh ideas and viewpoints to regularly cycle into federal offices.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Randy Cravens (D)

In the short term, it may not be possible on an overall basis in the Congress, due to the obstructionist tendencies present in Washington, though it is always desirable.

We must seek to serve all of our constituents in Washington, and the more Congresspeople that are sent to Washington with a mandate from their people to compromise, the more available and practical compromise will be.

But the compromise that we seek must be a two-way street. It cannot solely be obstruction under a thin veneer of a desire for compromise.

The Constitution says that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. What role would this power play in your priorities if elected?

Randy Cravens (D)

If the House is in Democratic hands, it provides us with the power to set the agenda to actually fix our country, to provide those services needed by our constituents, and to bring our ideas and legislation back to our Districts to ensure that our constituents can advise of their support with their Senators.

How should the U.S. House use its investigative powers?

Randy Cravens (D)

In a limited manner, on issues and infractions germane to the federal government, its members, and associated legislation. The investigative powers of the House should never be wielded for partisan theatrics. Our nation has had enough of the investigative sideshows of late.

Campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Andy Barr	Republican Party	$4,973,207	$3,320,901	$3,693,078	As of December 31, 2024
Randy Cravens	Democratic Party	$31,687	$20,655	$14,204	As of December 31, 2024
Todd Kelly	Democratic Party	$59,681	$51,379	$0	As of May 31, 2024
Don B. Pratt	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Jonathan Richardson	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Shauna Rudd	Democratic Party	$32,964	$33,664	$0	As of November 3, 2024
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2024. 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.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.^[4]
Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.^[5]^[6]^[7]

Race ratings: Kentucky's 6th Congressional District election, 2024
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 5, 2024	October 29, 2024	October 22, 2024	October 15, 2024
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Kentucky in the 2024 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Kentucky, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2024
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Kentucky	U.S. House	Ballot-qualified party	2	$500.00	1/5/2024	Source
Kentucky	U.S. House	Unaffiliated	400	$500.00	6/4/2024	Source

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 2024 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.

District map

Competitiveness
Presidential elections

State party control

Below was the map in use at the time of the election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2024

This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in Kentucky.

Kentucky U.S. House competitiveness, 2014-2024
Office	Districts/ offices	Seats	Open seats	Candidates	Possible primaries	Contested Democratic primaries	Contested Republican primaries	% of contested primaries	Incumbents in contested primaries	% of incumbents in contested primaries
2024	6	6	0	23	12	3	3	50.0%	3	50.0%
2022	6	6	1	31	12	3	5	66.7%	4	80.0%
2020	6	6	0	21	12	2	5	58.3%	4	66.7%
2018	6	6	0	28	12	5	3	66.7%	2	33.3%
2016	6	6	1	18	12	1	4	41.7%	2	40.0%
2014	6	6	0	16	12	4	0	33.3%	1	16.7%

Post-filing deadline analysis

The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in Kentucky in 2024. Information below was calculated on 2/5/2024, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

Twenty-three candidates filed to run for Kentucky’s six U.S. House districts, including 11 Democrats and 12 Republicans. That’s 3.8 candidates per district, lower than the 5.2 candidates who ran in 2022, but higher than the 3.5 who ran in 2020.

No seats were open in 2024, meaning all incumbents ran for re-election. There was one House seat open in 2022 and another one in 2016, the only two election cycles this decade in which House seats were open.

Six candidates filed to run for Kentucky’s sixth congressional district, the most candidates who ran for a district in 2024. The candidates who ran included Republican incumbent Andy Barr and six Democrats.

Six primaries—three Democratic and three Republican—were contested, the fewest since 2016. Eight primaries were contested in 2022, and seven were in 2020.

Three incumbents—one Democrat and two Republicans—faced primary challengers. That’s fewer than 2022 and 2020, when four incumbents faced challengers, but more than 2018 and 2016, when two incumbents did.

The 4th and 5th districts were guaranteed to Republicans because no Democrats ran. Republican candidates filed to run in every district, meaning none were guaranteed to Democrats.

Partisan Voter Index

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

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+9. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 9 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Kentucky's 6th the 160th most Republican district nationally.^[8]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2020 presidential election would have been in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

2020 presidential results in Kentucky's 6th based on 2024 district lines
Joe Biden	Donald Trump
43.5%	54.5%

Inside Elections Baselines

See also: Inside Elections

Inside Elections' Baseline is a figure that analyzes all federal and statewide election results from the district over the past four election cycles. The results are combined in an index estimating the strength of a typical Democratic or Republican candidate in the congressional district.^[9] The table below displays the Baseline data for this district.

Inside Elections Baseline for 2024
Democratic Baseline	Republican Baseline	Difference
44.7	53.6	R+8.9

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Kentucky, 2020

Kentucky presidential election results (1900-2020)

16 Democratic wins
15 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
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

See also: Party control of Kentucky state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Kentucky's congressional delegation as of May 2024.

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 May 2024.

State executive officials in Kentucky, May 2024
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Andy Beshear
Lieutenant Governor	Jacqueline Coleman
Secretary of State	Michael Adams
Attorney General	Russell Coleman

State legislature

Kentucky State Senate

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	7
	Republican Party	31
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		38

Kentucky House of Representatives

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	20
	Republican Party	78
	Other	0
	Vacancies	2
Total		100

Trifecta control

The table below shows the state's trifecta status from 1992 until the 2024 election.

Kentucky Party Control: 1992-2024
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
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
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
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

District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2018.