Kemper files for Congress against Republican Andy Barr
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Barr will face a different Democratic challenger in November from the one who ran in 2014, but the strategy appears to be the same.
Nancy Jo Kemper, a United Church of Christ minister and the former director of the Kentucky Council of Churches, filed paperwork Thursday to run for Congress as a Democrat in Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District.
The 73-year-old former director of the Kentucky Council of Churches criticized Barr for repeatedly opposing increases in the federal minimum wage and voting to repeal the federal Affordable Care Act, saying his votes have “not helped Kentuckians get and keep the health insurance that they need.”
It’s a familiar line of attack against Barr in a district that has flipped between Democrats and Republicans twice since 1999, but it hasn’t had much success. In 2014, Democratic nominee Elisabeth Jensen was among the few Kentucky Democrats to embrace President Barack Obama’s signature health care law, running ads criticizing Barr for opposing it. Barr defeated Jensen by 19 percentage points in the general election.
But Kemper was encouraged by the 2015 governor’s race. Although Democratic nominee Jack Conway lost to Republican Matt Bevin statewide, Conway won the 6th Congressional District by 2,500 votes.
“I think there is a clear path forward for a good candidate who gets out and meets the people … and clearly is not in the pockets of the big financial institutions and insurance companies who have contributed to congressman Barr’s campaign in the past,” she said.
Two other Democrats, Geoff Young and Michael Coblenz, have filed for the seat. Young ran for the district in 2014 but lost to Jensen in the Democratic primary. Coblenz announced his candidacy for the 2014 race but did not officially file. Coblenz also lost the Democratic primary for a state House of Representatives seat in 2010.
Barr is in his second term in Congress after ousting incumbent Democratic Rep. Ben Chandler in 2012. Barr spokesman Rick VanMeter said Barr will focus on his job, including prioritizing national security in light of “increasing threats from ISIS, Iran, North Korea and Russia.”
“There will be time for politics next Fall after the Democrats choose their nominee,” he said.
