Ned Pillersdorf announces Democratic run for Hal Rogers’ EKY congressional seat
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Ned Pillersdorf launched a Democratic bid to challenge Rep. Hal Rogers in KY-5.
- Pillersdorf criticized Rogers' support of cuts to Medicaid and SNAP benefits.
- Pillersdorf pledged strong campaign funding and a focus on economic issues.
A Democratic challenger for longtime Republican Rep. Hal Rogers’ Eastern Kentucky congressional district has emerged.
Ned Pillersdorf, a Prestonsburg attorney known for his high-profile legal work and advocacy, announced his campaign for Kentucky’s 5th Congressional District in a release posted on social media Monday.
The release focused on entitlement programs like Medicaid and SNAP, on which the district is uniquely dependent and Pillersdorf’s legal career, asking people who have benefited from his legal work to be in Prestonsburg on July 4 for his launch event.
“No one in the last 40 years has done more for Eastern Kentucky and its people,” the release said.
Pillersdorf, in an interview with the Herald-Leader, said that Rogers’ vote in favor of the “Big, Beautiful Bill” supported by President Donald Trump, which featured significant cuts to spending on Medicaid and SNAP, was the deciding factor in his decision to run as a Democrat.
“Early on, Rogers did some good things when he was a moderate Republican. He is no longer a moderate Republican. He has joined the chainsaw gang,” Pillersdorf said.
“If this was Beverly Hills, sure. But we’re the Appalachian hills. We’ve got too many people that are Medicaid-dependent.”
Rogers’ advanced age was also made an issue in the post announcing Pillersdorf’s run.
The 23-term congressman is 87, not 89 as Pillersdorf’s post stated. Pillersdorf is 70.
Still, 87 makes Rogers the oldest member of the 435-person U.S. House, and the race will come as age continues to be a hot topic in politics. The fallout over former President Joe Biden’s deterioration continues to reverberate through Washington, and the Democratic party in particular.
Additionally, three members of Congress, all Democrats in their 70s, have died so far this year.
Biden is currently 82 years old. Rogers, at 87, would be 89 if he wins reelection to start his 24th term in Congress.
In an interview with the Herald-Leader, Pillersdorf said Rogers’ “chronological age” wasn’t as much of a problem as his “outdated views.”
“I have no idea what kind of shape he’s in, I’ve never met him. It’s not so much his chronological age but the age of his views — taking us back to trickle-down economics will not work here in this district,” Pillersdorf said.
In his 44 years of service to his Eastern and Southern Kentucky district, Rogers has gained a reputation for playing close attention to appropriations that could help his home district. It’s earned him the nickname “Prince of Pork.”
Rogers’ office did not offer comment on Pillersdorf’s campaign as of Tuesday morning.
The congressman, who has won nearly every one of his 23 election cycles in landslide fashion, previously told the Herald-Leader he has “every intention of running for reelection.”
Could Pillersdorf threaten Rogers?
Pillersdorf famously led an effort to recruit lawyers to represent people who faced losing Social Security disability benefits as a result of the biggest disability scam in U.S. history, the long-running, massive fraud perpetrated by Eric C. Conn. That earned him a national award from the American Bar Association.
He also litigated on behalf of coal miners who went on strike at Harlan County’s Blackjewel mine site in 2019.
Pillersdorf’s wife is Janet Stumbo, a former justice on the Kentucky Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.
Pillersdorf said he is leaning on his background and his laser-focused message on entitlements to campaign.
He told the Herald-Leader he does not want to focus on social issues like abortion and LGBTQ rights that have helped drive many rural Democrats to support Republicans. Just last month, Eastern Kentucky state Sen. Robin Webb switched parties from Democrat to Republican, citing the party’s “alienation” of rural voters.
Pillersdorf said he believed Roe v. Wade, the ruling that held for nearly 50 years allowing abortions to be performed in the United States up to the point of fetal viability, was correctly decided.
Pillersdorf mentioned seeing long lines at a food bank in West Liberty and questioned whether the people there cared more about social issues versus the economic ones he’s focusing on.
“I don’t think those people in those cars really care about transgender athletes. I think they care about getting the food on their table,” Pillersdorf said.
The new candidate also said he would be “well-financed” in his run, mentioning the possibility of spending his own money on the race.
“I’ll be well-financed. We’re doing aggressive financing and I have my own checkbook. I’m going to spend whatever it takes,” Pillersdorf said.
Andy Westberry, spokesperson for the Republican Party of Kentucky, framed Pillersdorf’s run as a fool’s errand.
“If someone in Eastern Kentucky wants to advocate for putting far-left radicals like Jasmine Crockett and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the majority, be our guest,” Westberry wrote.
