Democratic primary for Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District still too close to call
The race for who will be the Democratic nominee for the 6th Congressional District race to unseat Republican U.S. Andy Barr was still too close to call late Tuesday.
While the Associated Press reported 99% of precincts’ ballot had been counted, neither the AP nor Decision Desk HQ, had called the race by 11:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Randy Cravens, a Richmond IT manager, was in the lead with 26% of the vote (9,305 votes), trailed closely by Lexington nurseryman Todd Kelly, who’d amassed just over 25%, or 9,104 votes.
In third place was Shauna Rudd, a Lexington social worker, who had earned 24% of primary votes.
The winner of the five-person Democratic primary contest for Kentucky’s U.S. 6th Congressional District will challenge Barr in the November election. The Lexington Republican, who first took office in 2013, is seeking his seventh term.
He also has been mentioned as a possible successor to U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell if he does not seek reelection in 2026.
Cravens is the only candidate to have previously run against Barr. In 2022, he ran as a write-in candidate against the congressman and received close to 9,000 votes.
The Democratic primary pool was more diverse this year than in 2022, when Geoff Young won the bid but never the party’s official support The Democratic Party instead encouraged their members to vote for Cravens as a write-in.
Young captured only 35% of the vote in the race against Barr.
Though more primary candidates threw their hat in the ring, fundraising this cycle has so far been light. Of the three candidates who filed federal campaign finance reports, they’ve collectively raised just over $101,000, according to the Federal Election Commission filing period that ended May 1.
Rudd, a Breathitt County native who now lives in Lexington, raised the most, at roughly $54,000, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Kelly, who opened Kelly Nursery off Leestown Road in 1998, has raised just over $45,000.
Cravens raised just over $2,500 ahead of the primary.
Don Pratt, a longtime Lexington social and political activist, and Jonathan Richardson, a social justice advocate, did not filed FEC reports. They both had pulled in 12% of the vote, respectively, by late Tuesday night.
This story was originally published May 21, 2024 at 11:17 PM.
