Kentucky's 6th Congressional District election, 2026 (May 19 Democratic primary)

← 2024
Kentucky's 6th 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: Likely 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 6th 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 Democratic Party primary takes place on May 19, 2026, in Kentucky's 6th Congressional District to determine which Democratic 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.

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

This page focuses on Kentucky's 6th Congressional District Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:

• Kentucky's 6th Congressional District election, 2026 (May 19 Republican primary)
• Kentucky's 6th Congressional District election, 2026

Candidates and election results

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 6

The following candidates are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 6 on May 19, 2026.

		Candidate
		Jimmy Ausbrooks
		Harvey Carroll Jr.
		Zach Dembo
	Submit photo	Corey Edwards
		David Kloiber
		Erin Petrey
		Cherlynn Stevenson

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= 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.

Jimmy Ausbrooks

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Submitted Biography:  "I am a proud native of Kentucky, born and raised in the rural community of Simpson County. I am a licensed professional counselor. I earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from Western Kentucky University and a Master of Education degree in Counseling and Human Development from Lindsey Wilson College. I am a member of the Kentucky Counseling Association. In 2022, I was my party’s candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives for the 1st Congressional District. I currently reside and work in Lexington, Kentucky. I am a dedicated proponent of diversity and equality. I chose to run for office to serve as both a voice and a witness; I believe that for too long, many voices have been suppressed, and a lack of true transparency exists among our federal officials. I aim to restore the integrity and trust that has been lost in Washington. I believe I am the most qualified candidate for this moment. My experience, empathy, faith, and professionalism as a mental health counselor are essential qualities needed in the U.S. Congress. I was primarily raised by my grandparents, whose limited education—only second and third grade—nevertheless equipped me with some of the most enduring and valuable principles I adhere to today. These include the commitment to execute any task to the best of one's ability, and to ensure that one's words are as trustworthy as one's intentions. These are commitments I would challenge many politicians to claim they genuinely uphold."

---

Key Messages

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

---

Mental health represents a significant national crisis, evidenced by the pervasive issues of substance abuse and the unsettling prevalence of anxiety, depression, and emotional instability observed across the country. If this crisis is not proactively addressed, its severity will undoubtedly persist. The mental health crisis exerts a devastating toll on both individuals and families, sparing no segment of the population. Currently, factors such as age, gender, political affiliation, or socioeconomic status offer no immunity. Given the lack of widespread leadership championing mental health, I intend to engage with stakeholders across the political spectrum to advance access to and education concerning mental health services.

---

I support a universal healthcare system, regardless of the name we give it. I believe that Kentuckians and in fact all Americans have the right to the best healthcare at the most affordable prices if not free of cost. I believe that as a nation we should have equal access to healthcare, essential services, and prescription care. A unified national system would not only improve individual health outcomes and longevity but would also eliminate the massive administrative waste and complexity inherent in the current patchwork of private insurance plans, ultimately saving money for families, businesses, and the government alike. It is time for the United States to join other major industrialized nation in guaranteeing healthcare for all.

---

Immigration: I advocate for inclusion and support adapting our nation's founding principles to allow all who aspire to come here to pursue the American Dream. Our current dysfunctional immigration system requires immediate solutions. Extending pathways for opportunity is key to securing national prosperity. I would immediately advocate for defunding ICE and restructuring DHS. This aims not to open borders indiscriminately, but to establish orderly entry processes and pathways for current residents to gain citizenship. Addressing this requires bipartisan dialogue among stakeholders, including those seeking refuge, focusing on the comprehensive situation free from political conjecture that has historically fueled systemic failures.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Kentucky

Election information in Kentucky: May 19, 2026, election.

What is the voter registration deadline?

• In-person: April 20, 2026
• By mail: Postmarked by April 20, 2026
• Online: April 20, 2026

Is 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: May 5, 2026

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

• In-person: May 19, 2026
• By mail: Received by May 19, 2026

Is early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What are the early voting start and end dates?

May 14, 2026 to May 16, 2026

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

N/A

When are polls open on Election Day?

6:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. (ET/CT)

Campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Jimmy Ausbrooks	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Harvey Carroll Jr.	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Zach Dembo	Democratic Party	$552,182	$208,900	$343,282	As of December 31, 2025
Corey Edwards	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
David Kloiber	Democratic Party	$195,955	$51,340	$144,615	As of December 31, 2025
Erin Petrey	Democratic Party	$174,307	$53,721	$120,586	As of December 31, 2025
Cherlynn Stevenson	Democratic Party	$453,005	$328,062	$125,118	As of December 31, 2025
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," . 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.

• District map
• Competitiveness
• Presidential elections
• State party control

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

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+7. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 7 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Kentucky's 6th the 165th most Republican district nationally.

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 6th Congressional District

Kamala Harris	Donald Trump
42.0%	57.0%

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

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 January 2026
	Democratic Party	6
	Republican Party	32
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		38

Kentucky House of Representatives

Party		As of January 2026
	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

• Kentucky's 6th Congressional District election, 2026 (May 19 Republican primary)
• Kentucky's 6th 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)

2025-2026 Elections to the United States Congress

Senate by State

Alabama • Alaska • Arkansas • Colorado • Delaware • Florida (special) • Georgia • Idaho • Illinois • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Montana • Nebraska • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • North Carolina • Ohio (special) • Oklahoma • Oregon • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Virginia • West Virginia • Wyoming

---

House by State

Alabama • Alaska • American Samoa • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Guam • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Northern Mariana Islands • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • U.S. Virgin Islands • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming

---

Election information

Ballot access for major and minor party candidates • List of candidates running for election • List of congressional challengers • Retiring senators • Retiring representatives

---

Super PACs/Organizations

American Bridge 21st Century • American Crossroads • American Unity PAC • Campaign for Primary Accountability • Club for Growth Action • Congressional Leadership Fund • Cooperative of American Physicians IE Committee• Crossroads Generation • Ending Spending Action Fund • Endorse Liberty • Fair Share Action • FreedomWorks for America • Government Integrity Fund • House Majority PAC • Independence USA Fund • League of Conservation Voters • Liberty for All PAC • Majority PAC • National Association of Realtors • NEA Advocacy Fund • Now or Never PAC • Planned Parenthood Votes • Ready for Hillary • Republicans for a Prosperous America • Restore America's Voice PAC • SEIU Pea-Federal • Women Vote!

Ballotpedia

About

Overview • What people are saying • Support Ballotpedia • Contact • Contribute • Job opportunities

---

Executive: Leslie Graves, Founder and CEO • Gwen Beattie, Chief Operating Officer

Communications: Alison Graves, Director of Communications • Carley Allensworth • Abigail Campbell • Sarah Groat • Nathaniel Harwood • Dillon Redmond
External Relations: Geoff Pallay, Director of External Relations • Ken Carbullido, Vice President of Election Product and Technology Strategy • Ashley Fleming • Thomas Mardik • Hannah Nelson
Operations: Meghann Olshefski, Director of Operations • Amanda Herbert • Mandy Morris • Caroline Presnell • Kelly Rindfleisch
Tech: Matt Latourelle, Director of Technology Operations • Ryan Burch • Kirsten Corrao • Beth Dellea • Travis Eden • Tate Kamish • Margaret Kearney • Eric Lotto • Joseph Sanchez • Mary Susmitha

Contributors: Scott Rasmussen

---

Editorial Content

Josh Altic, Director of Content • Daniel Anderson, Associate Director of Elections & Data • Cory Eucalitto, Associate Director of Features • Ryan Byrne, Managing Editor of Ballot Measures • Mandy McConnell, Managing Editor of News • Doug Kronaizl, Managing Editor of Local Expansion • Abbey Smith, Managing Editor of Elections • Janie Valentine, Managing Editor of Law • Joel Williams, Managing Editor of Events • Joseph Greaney, Managing Editor of Policy • Andrew Bahl • Jaclyn Beran • Marielle Bricker • Joseph Brusgard • Emma Burlingame • Kelly Coyle • Jon Dunn • Victoria Edwards • Thomas Ellis • Nicole Fisher • Thomas Grobben • Brianna Hosea • Molly Kehoe • Tyler King • Glorie Martinez • Norm Leahy, Senior Editor • Nathan Maxwell • Jimmy McAllister • Brandon McCauley • Andrew McNair • Ellie Mikus • Mackenzie Murphy • Kaley Platek • Samantha Post • Adam Powell • Annelise Reinwald • Spencer Richardson • Victoria Rose • Briana Ryan • Myj Saintyl • Maddy Salucka • Emma Soukup • Alexis Thacker • Mina Vogel • Samuel Wonacott • Trenton Woodcox