The kentucky delegation

congressional officials …

Kentucky is an all-male but electorally stable congressional delegation.

Of the eight class members, four are lawyers, one is a medical doctor, and two have Master’s degrees. 

The average tenure for the delegation is a respectable eight terms, assuming everyone completes their service through the end of 2026. The longest-serving member is Dean of the House, who has been in Congress for 23 terms.

None of the Kentucky delegation is a freshman.  Seven are Republicans, and one is a Democrat. Mitch McConnell has announced that he will not seek re-election in 2026.

When you look at these profiles, we have given each a letter grade for their effort this Congress, based on various factors, which you will find in What Is Thomas Looking For? These letter grades are probably pretty familiar to you if you have ever been a school student (we hope the answer to that is we all have!)

If you see a meager score for a particular member, it will probably be due to one or two key factors: ethics challenges or anti-democratic behavior.

• Republicans have been hit hard on their lack of push back on former and now current President Trump and their support of election denying in the 2020 presidential campaign. The unanswered soaring deficit on their watch, the dismantling of allied relationships around the globe, and opposition to funding anti-authoritarian initiatives. The denial of climate change weighs heavily on us as well. We make no secret that transparency and Government in the Sunshine are important to us, and we further argue that some have been awful stewards of this category. For example, one of the eight Kentucky delegation members voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results the same evening as Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol.

• Democrats have been hit hard for their lack of progress on key matters because they do control the United States Senate and have a razor-close margin in the U.S. House of Representatives. They have not been, in our opinion, innovative or necessarily insistent on finding rational, reasonable solutions to the problems plaguing the American public today. We want to see more and better.

• Both have been dinged for being too partisan and not collaborative where evident. In our opinion, being too doctrinaire longest-serving member is an obstructionist to good government in the 21st century, which several members of the Kentucky delegation represent, does not get one a good grade from Thomas.

We also indicate what we believe might be the outcome of these Members’ 2026 elections today. The overwhelming majority of House members were re-elected in 2024.

Our prospect ratings fall into three categories:

• Safe Bet - which means what it means. These members of Congress are running strong and look to be overwhelming prospects for re-election at this time. However, we reserve the right to re-categorize their chances if necessary.

• It’s A Race - means this race is too close to call, and we can not reasonably predict who will win this seat.

• Nudging - means the seat is leaning one way or another for this candidate. We have just a small number of current members of Congress in this category. Stay tuned!

So, would you like to meet these fascinating Kentuckians? If so, keep reading on!

what is thomas looking for?

Thomas does not see any of the Kentucky seats being vulnerable in 2024 but because of strife there are several races we are watching out of curiosity:

• KYS1 - Mitch McConnell’s seat (Incumbent R - Open seat)

• KY04 - Thomas Massie’s seat (Incumbent R)

the senators

United States Senator & former minority leader mitch mcconnell (r)

U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell is the former Minority Leader and the longest such serving Senate party leader in history which also included a stint as Majority Leader from 2015 to 2021. A graduate of the University of Louisville with a law degree from the University of Kentucky, McConnell serves on the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee; the Appropriations Committee; and the Rules and Administration Committee, which he chairs. Married and the father of three, McConnell is completing his seventh term in the Senate and will retire in 2027.

Thomas Take: Not running for re-election in 2026

Thomas Rank: C

Website

United states senator rand paul (R)

Kentucky’s junior senator is serving his third term.  A surgeon by profession before his service in the Senate, Paul chairs the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee; and serves on the Foreign Relations Committee; the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee; and the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. Senator Paul earned his undergraduate degree from Baylor University and his medical degree from Duke University. He is married and the father of three.

Thomas Take: Not up for re-election in 2024.

Thomas Rank: C

Website

the representatives