1st, 2nd, 3rd and 6th District U.S. House Candidates

This guide does not include information for candidates who are running unopposed.

Kentucky's 1st Congressional District

James Comer (R)

Incumbent James Comer, 51, was first elected to Congress in 2016 and previously served six terms as a state representative. He has also served as Kentucky's Commissioner of Agriculture.

Before entering politics, Comer graduated from Western Kentucky University, where he studied agriculture, and earned business experience by purchasing his own farm.

Comer currently serves as chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability and is a member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

Comer is married to TJ Comer. Together, they have three children.

Erin Marshall (D)

Erin Marshall, 29, is a single mom who was born and raised in Frankfort. She has previous experience in politics and worked for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign after graduating from Wake Forest University in 2016.

Marshall credits Drexel Davis, Jr., her former golf coach and former Kentucky State Treasurer and Secretary of State, as her mentor and inspiration for pursuing public service and politics.

According to her campaign website, Marshall’s platform consists of advocating for abortion rights and reproductive freedom. The overturn of Roe v. Wade in June 2022 is what inspired her to run for office.

Kentucky's 2nd Congressional District

Brett Guthrie (R)

Incumbent Brett Guthrie, 60, was first elected to Congress in 2008 . He began his political career in 1998, serving in the Kentucky Senate until he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Guthrie previously served as a Field Artillery Officer in the 101st Airborne Division. After serving in the military, he joined his father’s manufacturing business company, Trace Die Cast, based in Bowling Green.

Guthrie is chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee. He also serves as a deputy whip within the House Republican Conference for the 118th Congress.

Hank Linderman (D)

Hank Linderman was born in Florida and moved to Louisville in 1970 with his family. Linderman’s career consists of working as a musician and recording engineer, and he started dating his wife, Pam Hartlage, in 1978.

The couple then moved out west so Linderman could advance his music career and raised two children in Culver City, California. Later on, Linderman and his wife moved back to Kentucky and now live  in Grayson County.

Linderman’s platform consists of addressing social and economic inequality, including in health care, climate change, and education, and eliminating plastic use. He previously ran campaigns in the 2018, 2020 and 2022 House District 2 elections.

Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District

Mike Craven (R)

Mike Craven previously ran for Congress in 2018, 2020 and 2022 but lost in the primary election each time. He has worked with Ford Motor Company and has served with the United Crescent Hill Food Pantry and Habitat for Humanity, according to a candidate survey .

Morgan McGarvey (D)

Incumbent Morgan McGarvey , 44, has served in the U.S. House since 2023. McGarvey was previously a state senator for 10 years and served as the minority leader of the Senate Democratic Caucus for four of those years.

Currently, he is co-chair of the Congressional Bourbon Caucus and is on the House Veterans Affairs and Small Business Committees.

McGarvey met his wife at the University of Missouri, where he studied journalism. He also has a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law and resides in the Highlands of Louisville.

Kentucky's 6th Congressional District

Andy Barr (R)

Incumbent Andy Barr, 50, has represented the 6th district since 2013. He is a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee and is chairman of the Influential Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy Subcommittee. Additionally, he is in his second term on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and sits on the Indo-Pacific Subcommittee.

Issues important to Barr include keeping taxes low and fighting against “overly burdensome regulation,” according to his website.

He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Government and Philosophy from the University of Virginia and obtained his law degree from the University of Kentucky.

Barr lives with his wife and three children in Lexington.

Randy Cravens (D)

Randy Cravens was born in Paducah and currently lives in Richmond. His career experience includes working as a major incident manager in an information technology center.

Cravens previously ran as a write-in candidate for the 6th district seat in the 2022 General Election. In this year’s primary election, Cravens won with 26% of the vote, against four other candidates.

Issues important to Cravens include supporting public education, affordable housing and health care and reproductive freedom, according to his campaign website. If elected, Cravens would support expanding the Supreme Court and restoring abortion access.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 6th District U.S. House Candidates