Erin Petrey: I’m the KY-6 Democrat who’s a genuine, unapologetic progressive
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Erin Petrey says she is the only progressive running in KY-6.
- Petrey supports Medicare for All, negotiating lower drug prices and abolishing ICE.
- Petrey has publicly called Israel's actions against Palestinians “genocide.”
Erin Petrey is running in the May 19 Democratic primary for Central Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District, and — unlike some of her rivals, she says — she does not describe herself as a moderate who could pivot to the right in a general election.
“I'm the only progressive who's running in this race,” Petrey, 38, said in an interview on April 24.
“Some people say, ‘Oh no, I'm progressive.’ But they're like, ‘Oh, it's because I support a woman's right to choose and LGBTQ issues.’ And I’m like, ‘Listen, those are price of entry these days. If you weren’t supporting LGBTQ issues and being pro-choice, then you’re not Democrat. It doesn’t make you a progressive,’” she said.
Petrey is a businesswoman who recently moved back to Lexington from Washington, D.C., where she has spent much of her career so far.
She says she’s the only Democrat in the 6th District race to publicly criticize Israel for “carrying out genocide against the Palestinian people” and not worry how her donors will respond.
In a 6th District candidate forum on KET in April, Petrey was the one person to say outright that she wants to abolish the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for its violent — sometimes lethal — handling of immigration crackdowns. Other Democratic candidates spoke of the need for ICE reforms.
“I represent the new generation of the party, not the old iteration of the party that continues to do the same thing over and over again and continues to fail and wonders why we continue to lose seats across the country,” Petrey told the Herald-Leader.
“I’m openly critical of the Democratic Party because I want them to push and actually be effective again and earn back the trust of working people,” she said. “I’m the only one who actually leads with policies, and not just with washed up politicians — you know, supporting them, being endorsed by them. I’m not playing the traditional political game.”
Petrey on the issues:
- Medicare for all: Primary care medicine should be free and accessible to all Americans under a universal Medicare program, Petrey says. Two-thirds of Americans support Medicare for all, she adds. Petrey says the Medicare and Medicaid programs should use their enormous clout to negotiate drug prices down, and she also wants to eliminate unnecessary overhead costs from third parties, like pharmacy benefit managers. “Listen, I have Crohn’s disease,” she said. “If I don’t have good health insurance, I will die. It almost killed me a few years ago, and even with exceptionally good private insurance, I still struggled to get the care I needed.”
- Living wage: In states like Kentucky that haven’t raised the $7.25/hour minimum wage, a person can work a full-time job and make barely over $15,000 a year. This is why 10% of the U.S. workforce relies on food stamps, Petrey says, and it’s unacceptable. There should be a federal minimum wage that gives anyone working a full-time job enough money for housing, food and other essentials, she says.
- Affordable housing: Petrey says she wants federal restrictions on private equity firms buying homes in order to rent them or flip them for a profit, reducing the affordable housing available for everyone else. As a lifelong renter herself, she says, she also supports a national renter’s bill of rights “to stop abuse by slumlords, ensure affordability, and prevent evictions from destroying second chances at living with dignity.”
- Education funding: Petrey says she wants more federal investment for K-12 schoolteacher pay, a national Pre-K for All program, Title I schools for low-achieving kids in high-poverty areas, and free and reduced school lunch programs.
- Energy security: President Donald Trump’s sweeping reversals on U.S. renewable energy policies — favoring fossil fuels over wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, nuclear and battery storage — is a mistake that Congress must address, Petrey says. Metallurgical coal can fuel the steel mills needed to build solar panels, wind turbines and nuclear reactors, she says. “We’re in the midst of an energy crisis, and no one is talking about it. They like to talk about things at the gas pump, saying, ‘Oh, well, this war in Iran,’ because Trump is an easy person to beat up on. But this has been a long-standing issue that we have just been ignoring for a long time.”
Who is supporting Petrey’s bid?
Gill Holland, a 2019 Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor; Take BAC Congress! (supports term limits)
Why Petrey thinks she’s the best Democrat to flip the 6th District blue:
Petrey says she’s a blunt, outspoken progressive whom voters can relate to.
“The reason why that is the most electable is because people are tired of the centrist, moderate sort, the tactic that centrist and moderate Democrats are the only ones who can win in red areas, because we are seeing races across the country buck that assumption,” Petrey said.
Also, Petrey says, her years as an executive in the private sector taught her to be frugal with her money. Of the $213,324 her campaign had raised as of March 31 — including $55,000 in loans from herself — she still had $121,946 cash on hand for the final weeks of the primary campaign, according to her disclosure report.
That was a larger reserve than all of her Democratic rivals except for former federal prosecutor Zach Dembo.
“I don’t spend money and expend resources because people tell me I should. I do it based on what I know is right and what I know is most valuable, and that is an exceptional indication of how I will be a good steward of taxpayer money,” she said.
“Because people look at a progressive, and they think, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re just going to spend tax money like crazy.’ And I’m like, ‘Actually, no, I want to spend tax money efficiently and effectively, so that it gets the best returns for all the people, not to give welfare to corporations and to cut taxes for billionaires.’ I want to make sure that we are investing our tax money into things that actually give a high return on investment for society.”
Name: Erin Petrey
Age: 38
City of residence: Lexington
Previous politics/government experience: Special assistant to ambassador, Embassy of Libya; graduate intern for then-U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler, R-Ky.
Professional background: Sustainability specialist, Amazon Data Services; director of customer and community engagement, Inspiration Mobility; program manager for capital projects, Envira; lead program manager, McMullan International; bourbon blogger
Learn more: Erin Petrey for Congress. Also find her on Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.
