‘No threat’: Comer looks for another big win ahead of expected run for Kentucky governor
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Erin Marshall, a 29-year-old single mom from Frankfort, rooted her challenge to four-term U.S. Rep. James Comer on her own unexpected pregnancy and the Republican threat to women’s reproductive rights.
“He’s an anti-abortion Republican who once took his girlfriend to get an abortion,” Marshall charged in her only campaign video released last March.
Comer’s campaign called the accusation “recycled false smears and garbage allegations from decades ago” and Marshall was never able to drive that message to a wide audience.
By the end of September, she had only $64,000 in her campaign bank account compared to Comer’s $3.4 million.
“My average road trip in district is 1,003 miles. We are going everywhere and being as visible as possible with our mission,” Marshall said.
In the last two cycles, Comer has crushed his Democratic opponents by a 75% to 25% margin, solidifying Kentucky’s 1st congressional district as a safe GOP seat no matter the political environment.
“James Comer’s district is among the most Republican in the nation, so he faces no threat from a general election opponent,” said Jacob Rubashkin, an analyst with Inside Elections.
“His only vulnerabilities would come in a primary, but Comer’s role as chairman of the House Oversight Committee gives him lots of opportunities to shore up backing among his base supporters.”
Comer’s tenure as Oversight chairman has lifted his national profile, made him a mainstay on conservative television programming and a target for national Democrats.
His pursuit investigating President Joe Biden and his family has faced backlash from critics who say he’s exaggerated or misrepresented evidence of alleged corruption. Even though he believed Biden should be impeached, the Republican House majority never pushed for a vote.
Marshall has criticized Comer’s investigations as a “partisan waste of tax dollars.”
“Rep. Comer doesn’t want to work for Kentucky — he wants to work for Donald Trump and the MAGA agenda,” she posted.
Earlier this month, Comer told Fox News he wants FEMA Director Deanne Criswell to testify in mid-November about the federal government’s response to Hurricane Helene and possibly Hurricane Milton.
It’s that type of power that’s elevated his status in Washington, where he’ll continue as chairman of the high-profile committee in his next term if Republicans hold onto the House.
But 2026 could be Comer’s last term in the House if he chooses to wage a run for governor, after Andy Beshear will have completed his two terms in 2027.
Caroline Cash, Comer’s chief of staff and political aide, has said the congressman “gets lots of encouragement back home in Kentucky to run for governor in 2027.”
Kentucky’s Unopposed
Two of Kentucky’s Republicans are among the 24 House incumbents running completely unopposed this year.
Neither Rep. Thomas Massie or Rep. Hal Rogers drew a Democratic opponent this cycle, a trend driven by hyper-partisanship and the shrinking of competitive districts.
Matt Lehman, a Democrat who lost to Massie in the 4th Congressional District by 34 points in 2022, originally filed for a rematch, but later decided to switch to a state legislative race instead.
Rogers, the 86-year-old dean of the U.S. House, won his last race in the 5th Congressional District by a staggering 64 percentage points, scaring away any Democrats from walking the plank in 2024.
Without even having to track results on Nov. 5, Rogers is assured a 23rd term and Massie will clinch a seventh term.
One Democratic group, Contest Every Race, is attempting to recruit more candidates across the country for offices at every level.
“Too many races go uncontested — especially those where the only candidate is an election-denying conspiracy theorist,” said Lauren Gepford, the executive director of Contest Every Race. “Through our partnerships with local and state groups and endorsement of our ‘Democracy Defenders’ candidates, we aim to protect local communities from the toxic influence of MAGA extremists – while building the bench of Democrats running for local office.”
In the 3rd Congressional District, Democratic Rep. Morgan McGarvey faces Republican challenger Mike Craven.
In the 2nd Congressional District, Rep. Brett Guthrie faces Democrat Hank Linderman. Guthrie bested Linderman in 2022 with nearly 72% of the vote.
This story was originally published October 21, 2024 at 5:00 AM with the headline "‘No threat’: Comer looks for another big win ahead of expected run for Kentucky governor."
