David Kloiber: I’m the Democrat in KY-6 who can reach across aisle to others
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- David Kloiber is running as a Democrat in the May 19 primary for the 6th District.
- Kloiber would tie federal research funding to fair drug prices and PBM bypass.
- He supports federal tax credits or lower rates for employers who pay living wages.
Former Lexington-Fayette Urban County Councilman David Kloiber is running as a Democrat for Central Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District.
Unlike some in the May 19 Democratic primary, Kloiber says, he doesn’t want to spend time beating up on President Donald Trump or MAGA voters or talking about how he’ll undo the Trump administration’s corruption if he’s elected.
Face the facts, he said in a recent interview: Democrats and Republicans each hold just under 44% of the 6th District’s registered voters, with independents and third-party voters comprising the rest. The 6th District backed Republican Trump for president but Democrat Andy Beshear for governor.
If Democrats want to flip this seat in November, when incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Barr runs for the U.S. Senate, they should pick a nominee who can connect with everyone, Kloiber said.
“Those talking points fall flat with people across the aisle,” said Kloiber, 43, an unsuccessful 2022 Lexington mayoral candidate who today runs his family’s nonprofit Kloiber Foundation and its business-investment firm Kloiber Management Services.
“We’ve seen that people will vote for a person, not a party, in this district. They’re not voting for partisan messaging, and of the four serious (Democratic) candidates out there, my messaging isn’t partisan,” he said.
“I’ll get you the health care you already paid for. I’m going to get you paid more at your job, and your employer is going to be happy to do it, and we’re going to make it more affordable than ever to put a roof over your family’s head. Those are things people resonate with, and as we go into November, we have to pick up votes across the aisle.”
Kloiber on the issues:
- Healthcare: Tie public healthcare funding to lower drug prices, Kloiber says. Pharmaceutical companies that get federal research money should be forced to negotiate for fair prices at the time funding is awarded. Also, drug makers should be able to bypass pharmacy benefit managers that inflate costs through murky rebate systems.
- Living wage: Businesses should receive federal tax credits or lower tax rates for paying employees a living wage, above the minimum wage, as well as providing health insurance, paid family leave and contributions to retirement plans, Kloiber says. Companies that do this also should get preference in federal contracts. “It’s kind of like a reverse Reaganomics,” he said. “Instead of giving people the tax benefit before they do a thing, we say, ‘Do the thing, and then we give you that benefit.’”
- Housing costs: Developers should get lower capital gains tax rates for investing in housing that meets affordability criteria, including rental homes and housing near employment centers, he says. The federal government should offer support for “high-impact” affordable, mixed-income housing projects through Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and loans from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
- Guardrails to the executive branch: This one is aimed at Trump, but also past presidents, Klobier says. Congress has fallen into the habit of allowing presidents to attack countries, impose sanctions, raise tariffs and take other aggressive actions without permission or oversight from the legislative branch. “We are seeing in real time what happens when we just have gentlemen’s agreements about what people should or should not do.” Congress must reassert itself as a constitutional check on the presidency, he says.
- Money in politics: Kloiber says he is drafting a proposal to create something like college athletes’ Name, Image and Likeness licensing for political candidates. Every candidate would register their NIL as a commodity with the Federal Election Commission. If outside groups want to spend money for or against that candidate, they would register with the FEC, disclose their donors and pay a licensing fee to the candidate for using their NIL. “You can say what you want. You absolutely can. And if you want to talk about an issue, as Citizens United originally was intended, you can spend all the money you want talking about any issues you want. But when you get into the realm of supporting an individual candidate, using their likeness, their mottoes, their slogans, now you’re now in the realm of campaign finance.”
Who is supporting Kloiber’s bid?
“I’ve got my family, my friends, co-workers and business partners,” he said. “However, I have not pressured any of my public figure friends. I do not have any — I’ll be straight up with you, I do not have any notable endorsements in that crowd.”
Kloiber’s campaign is largely self-financed. Of the $200,666 in receipts his campaign had reported as of March 31, the majority of money — $127,000 — was loans from himself, according to his disclosure reports.
Why Kloiber says he’s the best Democrat to flip the 6th District blue:
“I have the best message and best chance to win in November because what I’m saying and how I’m talking resonates with people across the aisle,” he said. “My messages take liberal ideas and present them to people in a way they can agree with. I’m the only candidate that cannot be dismissed as just one of those Democrats.”
“Anytime you tell a person they were wrong, they’re going to stop listening to you,” he continued.
“The point being, if you say Trump is corrupt and people shouldn’t have voted for him, then you’ve immediately turned off a good portion of the voter base. But if you say there are things we need to fix, and we need to make sure that things are done the right way, that doesn’t turn people off the same way. But you’re talking about the same issue with the same outcomes.”
Name: David Kloiber
Age: 43
City of residence: Lexington
Previous politics/government experience: Lexington mayoral candidate, 2022; District 6 councilman, Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council, 2020-2022
Professional background: president, the nonprofit Kloiber Foundation; manager, for-profit Kloiber Management Services, a business-investment firm
Learn more: Kloiber for Congress. Also find him on Facebook and Instagram.
