Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is campaigning and spending to help former aide Zach Dembo win the open 6th District House seat against Republican Ralph Alvarado, turning the Republican-friendly race into a test of Beshear’s political reach ahead of the midterms.
Beshear’s PAC is spending about $250,000 on TV ads; he has headlined a fundraiser for Dembo, with two more planned, filmed two ads with him and helped secure state party investment. After Beshear personally lobbied House Democratic leaders, the DCCC added Dembo to its Red to Blue program last month. A Trump-linked super PAC is spending $840,000 on district ads, according to AdImpact.
Trump carried the district by 15 percentage points in 2024, while Beshear won it by about 20 points in his 2023 reelection. Republican incumbent Andy Barr is running for Senate, leaving the seat open; a win could give Beshear, a potential 2028 contender, an achievement to tout in the fight for control of Congress. Beshear’s PAC’s first ad accused Alvarado of standing with former Gov. Matt Bevin when Bevin pardoned a man convicted of raping a child. Alvarado’s campaign said he condemned the pardons at the time, though Louisville Public Media reported it found no evidence of that.
