Mayor Jim Gray announced on Tuesday that he has filed to run for the United States Senate, looking to unseat current Republican U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Rand Paul.
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Mayor Jim Gray
Mayor Jim Gray
Gray, who will run as a Democrat, emphasized the need to end the “gridlock” in Washington in the announcement of his Senate bid, and stated that “Senator Paul has put his own ambition ahead of Kentuckians.”
Gray also emphasized his experience both as president and CEO of his family’s construction company, Gray Construction, and as mayor of Lexington, crediting the city’s gains in employment and business creation to the ability of elected leaders to work across party lines.
On the statewide level, however, Kentucky’s Republican party won solidly in many races during the most recent 2015 elections, led by Republican governor Matt Bevin’s victory over Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former state attorney general Jack Conway. The surge has created doubt about the chances for a successful Democratic challenge to Paul’s Senate seat.
Gray, a native of Glasgow, Ky., was elected as Lexington’s first openly gay mayor in 2010, and re-elected in 2014. Prior to that, he served as the city’s vice mayor from 2006 to 2010.
Gray’s current term, which ends in 2018, would not be affected unless he were to win the U.S. Senate election. Gray is also eligible to run for a third term as Lexington’s mayor in 2018.
More information on Gray’s Senate campaign is available at www.grayforkentucky.com.