LEXINGTON, Ky. — Six candidates seeking to replace U.S. Rep. Andy Barr in Kentucky's 6th Congressional District participated in debates Monday night on KET, with Republicans and Democrats each largely coalescing around core positions while showing tactical disagreements on key policy questions.

The two Republican candidates on stage — State Rep. Ryan Dotson and retired pharmaceutical executive Greg Plucinski — agreed on election integrity and congressional term limits. Both opposed characterizing the Trump administration's military action against Iran as a "war," citing the need for Congress to approve declarations of war before America takes military action. On the 2020 presidential election, however, claims of widespread voter fraud have been repeatedly debunked, yet Dotson said he believed the election was "rigged," while Plucinski dismissed that assertion outright.

Democrat candidates — former federal prosecutor Zach Dembo, former Lexington councilman David Kloiber, businesswoman Erin Petrey and former state Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson — largely agreed on opposing military action in Iran and supporting a minimum wage increase, but fractured on healthcare policy. Dembo backed a public option while remaining skeptical about Medicare for all, citing concerns about Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. overseeing a government-sponsored plan. The other three Democrats said they supported Medicare for all, with Petrey drawing on personal experience with high healthcare costs while battling Crohn's disease.

The race is for Kentucky's 6th, rated R+7 on the Cook Partisan Voter Index, making it the 165th most Republican district nationally. Barr announced in April 2025 that he would run for U.S. Senate rather than another term in the House, with the seat open since incumbent Sen. Mitch McConnell announced he would not seek re-election.

One major Republican candidate, Ralph Alvarado, a former state senator who resigned in 2023 to become commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Health, skipped the debate. His campaign manager said Alvarado had a scheduling conflict and noted that voters had other opportunities to hear from candidates. Alvarado, who entered the race in July 2025, raised $376,986 in his first quarterly report, outraising the leading Democratic contender by $160,000.

The May 19 primary will determine which candidates advance to face each other in the November general election. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee named Kentucky's 6th among 35 Republican-held districts they are targeting in 2026.