Kentucky's 4th Congressional District election, 2026
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← 2024
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| Kentucky's 4th 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. |
| Race ratings |
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 |
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 |
All U.S. House districts, including the 4th Congressional District of Kentucky, are holding elections in 2026. The general election is November 3, 2026. The primary is May 19, 2026. The filing deadline was January 9, 2026. For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:
- Kentucky's 4th Congressional District election, 2026 (May 19 Democratic primary)
- Kentucky's 4th Congressional District election, 2026 (May 19 Republican primary)
Candidates and election results
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 4
Jesse Brewer and Melissa Strange are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4 on May 19, 2026.
Candidate | ||
Jesse Brewer ![]() | ||
Melissa Strange ![]() | ||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Monica Dean (D)
- Elizabeth Mason-Hill (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4
Incumbent Thomas Massie and Ed Gallrein are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4 on May 19, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Thomas Massie | ||
| Ed Gallrein | ||
= 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Candidate profiles
There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here.
2026 battleground election
Ballotpedia identified the May 19 Republican primary for Kentucky's 4th Congressional District as a battleground election. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.
Two candidates are running in the Republican primary for Kentucky's 4th Congressional District on May 19, 2026: incumbent Rep. Thomas Massie (R) and Ed Gallrein (R).
As of Jan. 23, 2026, this is one of two congressional races in which President Donald Trump (R) endorsed a challenger to a Republican incumbent. After Massie said he would vote against the short-term government funding bill in March 2025, Trump posted on Truth Social that “HE SHOULD BE PRIMARIED, and I will lead the charge against him.”[1]
In response, Massie posted on X, “Someone thinks they can control my voting card by threatening my re-election. Guess what? Doesn’t work on me. Three times I’ve had a challenger who tried to be more MAGA than me. None busted 25% because my constituents prefer transparency and principles over blind allegiance.”[2] Trump endorsed Gallrein on Oct. 17, 2025.[3]
According to the University of Kentucky's Stephen Voss, "A lot of Republican voters in Massie's district are going to be willing to consider an alternative to Massie because of Donald Trump's spats with Massie. But just because you're not fully happy with your member of Congress doesn't mean you end up willing to vote for someone else."[4]
Massie was first elected to represent Kentucky's 4th Congressional District in a 2012 special election. He previously served as the Lewis County Judge Executive from 2010 to 2012. Massie's professional experience includes working as a farmer and business owner.[5]
Massie said, "Fourth district voters appreciate having an independent conservative voice who works for them, and I look forward to continuing my fight for transparency, constitutional rights, secure borders, a true America-first foreign policy, and fiscal responsibility."[6]
Gallrein is a farmer and business owner.[7] He also served in the U.S. Navy from 1984 to 2014.[7] In 2024, Gallrein ran to represent District 7 in the Kentucky Senate. He lost to Aaron Reed 39.3% to 38.3% in the Republican primary.
Gallrein said, "This district is Trump Country. The president doesn't need obstacles in Congress — he needs backup. I'll defeat Thomas Massie, stand shoulder to shoulder with President Trump, and deliver the America First results Kentuckians voted for."[6]
As of Jan. 13, 2026, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter and Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rated the general election as Solid Republican. Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball rated the general election as Safe Republican.
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Kentucky
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. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.
Campaign finance
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Massie | Republican Party | $2,451,860 | $1,170,141 | $2,188,729 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Jesse Brewer | Democratic Party | $9,351 | $9,051 | $97 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Melissa Strange | Democratic Party | $21,079 | $9,353 | $11,726 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Ed Gallrein | Republican Party | $1,235,489 | $302,224 | $933,265 | As of December 31, 2025 |
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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." |
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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.[8]
- 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.[9][10][11]
| Race ratings: Kentucky's 4th Congressional District election, 2026 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| 2/10/2026 | 2/3/2026 | 1/27/2026 | 1/20/2026 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | |||||
| Decision Desk HQ and The Hill | Pending | Pending | Pending | Pending | |||||
| 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 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 |
District history
The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2020.
General election
General election for U.S. House Kentucky District 4
Incumbent Thomas Massie (R) defeated Benjamin Middendorf (Independent) in the general election for U.S. House Kentucky District 4 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Thomas Massie (R) | 99.6 | 278,386 |
| Benjamin Middendorf (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.4 | 1,131 | ||
| Total votes: 279,517 | ||||
= 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. | ||||
Democratic primary
The Democratic primary scheduled for May 21, 2024, was canceled.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Matthew Lehman (D)
Republican primary
Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4
Incumbent Thomas Massie (R) defeated Michael McGinnis (R) and Eric Deters (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4 on May 21, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Thomas Massie | 75.9 | 39,929 |
| | Michael McGinnis ![]() | 12.6 | 6,604 | |
| | Eric Deters | 11.5 | 6,060 | |
| Total votes: 52,593 | ||||
= 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. | ||||
General election
General election for U.S. House Kentucky District 4
Incumbent Thomas Massie (R) defeated Matthew Lehman (D) and Ethan Osborne (Independent) in the general election for U.S. House Kentucky District 4 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Thomas Massie (R) | 65.0 | 167,541 |
| | Matthew Lehman (D) ![]() | 31.0 | 79,977 | |
| | Ethan Osborne (Independent) ![]() | 3.9 | 10,111 | |
| Total votes: 257,629 | ||||
= 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. | ||||
Democratic primary
The Democratic primary scheduled for May 17, 2022, was canceled. Matthew Lehman (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4 without appearing on the ballot.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Republican primary
Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4
Incumbent Thomas Massie (R) defeated Claire Wirth (R), Alyssa Dara McDowell (R), and George Washington (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4 on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Thomas Massie | 75.2 | 50,301 |
| | Claire Wirth ![]() | 15.7 | 10,521 | |
| Alyssa Dara McDowell | 5.2 | 3,446 | ||
| George Washington | 3.9 | 2,606 | ||
| Total votes: 66,874 | ||||
= 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. | ||||
General election
General election for U.S. House Kentucky District 4
Incumbent Thomas Massie (R) defeated Alexandra Owensby (D) in the general election for U.S. House Kentucky District 4 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Thomas Massie (R) | 67.1 | 256,613 |
| | Alexandra Owensby (D) ![]() | 32.9 | 125,896 | |
| Total votes: 382,509 | ||||
= 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. | ||||
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4
Alexandra Owensby (D) defeated Shannon Fabert (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4 on June 23, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Alexandra Owensby ![]() | 58.4 | 41,531 |
| | Shannon Fabert ![]() | 41.6 | 29,557 | |
| Total votes: 71,088 | ||||
= 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
Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4
Incumbent Thomas Massie (R) defeated Todd McMurtry (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Kentucky District 4 on June 23, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Thomas Massie | 81.0 | 68,591 |
| | Todd McMurtry | 19.0 | 16,092 | |
| Total votes: 84,683 | ||||
= 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. | ||||
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.

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+18. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 18 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Kentucky's 4th the 50th most Republican district nationally.[12]
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.
| Kamala Harris | Donald Trump |
|---|---|
| 31.0% | 67.0% |
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 |
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.
| Office | Officeholder |
|---|---|
| Governor | |
| Lieutenant Governor | |
| Secretary of State | |
| Attorney General |
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 |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Truth Social, "@realDonaldTrump on March 10, 2025," accessed January 23, 2026
- ↑ X, "@RepThomasMassie on March 10, 2025," accessed January 23, 2026
- ↑ Truth Social, "@realDonaldTrump on October 17, 2025," accessed on January 19, 2026
- ↑ Louisville Courier Journal, "As Trump pushes to unseat Massie, why have no challengers entered the race?" accessed September 23, 2025
- ↑ Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, "Thomas Massie," accessed January 19, 2026
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lexington Herald Leader, "Who is Ed Gallrein? Trump-endorsed candidate launches run against Thomas Massie," October 21, 2025
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 LinkedIn, "Ed Gallrein," accessed January 19, 2026
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025
