Ky 6th Congressional District Race: A look at the candidates
Republished from WEKU.
One of the races central Kentuckians will be voting on tomorrow is for the 6th Congressional District. GOP incumbent Andy Barr faces off against Democratic challenger Randy Cravens. WEKU spoke with the candidates and has this look at their priorities in this election.
Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District covers much of the central portion of the commonwealth. It includes the cities of Lexington, Richmond, Harrodsburg, Mount Sterling and Flemingsburg.
The seat is currently held by Republican Andy Barr. The former attorney first assumed office in 2013 and had a fairly easy time holding onto his seat with the 2018 race being his closest contest where he edged out his opponent by just over three points.
His opponent in tomorrow’s race is Democrat Randy Cravens. The IT manager is a newer face on the Kentucky political scene. He ran as a write-in candidate against Barr in 2022. This election, he won a crowded Democratic primary by just over 200 votes.
When it comes to this election, Barr said his priorities reflect those of his constituents, which he said match most GOP messaging across the country.
“Which includes the inflation crisis, the affordability crisis in this country, the wide open southern border that has led to a crime spree and the fentanyl overdose mortality crisis in our country, and, of course, the national security challenges that we face in Ukraine with Russia’s aggression against that country, and also the war in Gaza and in Lebanon and Israel.”
He said it is important for Congress to focus on Americans.
“So we need to restore deterrence on the national security front, we need to secure our southern border, and we need to address the affordability crisis, bring down inflation, and, really, frankly, unleash a better, more vibrant, more dynamic economy that the American people don’t have right now.”
Cravens is taking a slightly different approach. He said Congress needs to get back to work and do their job.
“We’ve taken the last two years basically off from having any progress made at the federal level, and there’s a lot of work that needs to be done. So my number one priority when I get to Washington will be to get the congressional process started and actually get bills passed into law. Issues with housing affordability, reproductive freedom, those hot button national issues that we hear so much about, but also those those issues are being compounded by the inaction in Congress.”
He adds that even if he does win, he knows it will still be difficult to achieve that goal.
“If I’m elected, I’m going to be facing a closely divided Congress, most likely, when I get to Washington, so it’s going to be very much in the same sort of vein that it is right now, and a lot falls with which party is in control of the House.”
At most levels of this election there is a strong division between the two major parties. Some claim, many from his former administration, that former President Donald Trump is a fascist, or shows fascist like qualities. WEKU asked Congressman Barr for his thoughts on this and what a Trump victory could mean for America. We did not receive a response by the time of this airing.
In an earlier interview, Barr did say the differences in Americans is what makes this country what it is.
“I will just say that our country has always had divisions. I mean, we’ve that’s what a free society produces, is political differences. And that’s the difference between, frankly, the United States and Beijing or Tehran or Moscow. You know, sometimes it’s, it’s, it’s easy to lament the political divisions or the polarization or the differences, but as we approach an election in a democracy, we actually need to celebrate those differences, because those differences are not tolerated in authoritarian countries.”
When asked about the comments about former President Trump, Randy Cravens provided a written statement that said-Quote-
“I take what former President Trump says at face value. I believe he intends to attempt to be a dictator from day one, and that he intends to circumvent many of our democratic norms and federal institutions. This would cause our economy to collapse and could potentially end the era of the United States as a trusted global partner and leader.”
Congressman Barr did not respond to questions about whether a victory by Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris would be a continuation of the Biden Administration.
In a previous interview, he did say he stands with the former president.
“Obviously, I support President Trump. I support my Republican colleagues, and I hope that Republicans win the House, the Senate and the White House, because we have an agenda and we and we need to fix a lot of problems that that need to be fixed, but at the end of the day, we need to celebrate that we live in a democracy.”
Cravens, when asked about a Harris victory, again in a written statement, he said- quote-
“I don’t believe a Harris administration would be a direct continuation of the Biden administration. This has been made clear by VP Harris in her plans set forth to expand benefits for low- and middle-income families, and in her skepticism of certain facets of current US foreign policy.”
Cravens said he wants to see civility come back to American politics.
“ We’ve gotten away from that, and there’s so many people in our area right now, especially the younger generation that have grown up in a time where they’ve never known that, and if we can lead our country back to that, so much can be accomplished. We can get past the partisan rhetoric and actually work towards formulating solutions for so many of the problems that we’re facing right now.”
Kentuckians will know tomorrow which of these two men will represent the central area of the commonwealth as voters head to the polls.
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Originally published by WEKU.
Republished with permission.
