2 more candidates join race for central Kentucky Congressional seat

FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) — Two new candidates are joining the growing field for Congress in central Kentucky, and now Democrats and Republicans have a new name to chew on.

“For me, this is all about public service and continuing the career that I’ve had of service to others,” Zach Dembo said.

“They see the alignment that we have with the white House, potentially, and then also the opportunity to be able to get things done,” Ralph Alvarado said.

On the Republican side, former state senator Ralph Alvarado is known for representing Winchester for 8 years in Frankfort and joining Matt Bevin as his running mate in 2019. For the last two years, he has led Tennessee’s health department.

“To be in demand in two locations and be able to cover those two locations, I think is a strength myself,” Alvarado said. “People know me. I’m a known quantity, a known entity here in Kentucky. They know my alignment with the president. I think a lot of our primary voters, in particular, want to see someone who’s going to carry on the president’s agenda. And again, the concern from people at large when they’re watching the news every day is, ‘Is the economy going to get better?’”

Alvarado told FOX 56 he plans to focus his message on the economy, immigration, and health policy. He now joins a three-way race with state lawmakers Ryan Dotson and Deanna Gordon.

On the Democrat side, Navy veteran and former federal prosecutor Zach Dembo was energized to join the race over his view that the Justice Department is being politicized and wants to push back on spending cuts on services like Medicaid. He’s spent 11 years in federal service and, most recently, was a policy advisor for Gov. Andy Beshear.

 “At a time right now where the role of the federal government is central to what this administration is doing and how it’s hurting the federal government’s ability to help central Kentuckians, I felt that my experience in federal government is what qualified me to be in Congress,” Dembo said.

He also joins a three-way race with former Lexington councilman David Kloiber and former state lawmaker Cherlynn Stevenson.