Lexington Mayor Jim Gray announced today that he will challenge Rep. Andy Barr in Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District.
Gray, former president and CEO of Gray Construction, is currently serving his second term as Lexington’s mayor and said he will not seek a third term.
“I’m running for Congress because too many people are working harder but not getting ahead,” Gray said in a statement announcing his candidacy. “From growing up in a middle class family, to building a successful business, I’ve been lucky enough to live the American Dream. But today, the American Dream is threatened, it’s in trouble.”
Gray cited rising healthcare and education costs, coupled with slow wage growth, as factors.
“And Washington is too broken to solve these problems because of partisan politicians like Andy Barr who vote the way their party tells them, not the way that’s best for Kentucky,” Gray said. “We need more leaders in Congress who are willing to bring people together to solve problems and protect the American Dream for all hardworking Kentuckians. That’s what I’ve done as mayor, and that’s what I’ll do in Congress.”
Gray plans to spend this week visiting all 19 counties in Kentucky’s Sixth District—which includes the cities of Lexington, Richmond and Frankfort—to hear voters’ concerns and suggestions.
Primary elections are scheduled for May 22, 2018, while the general election is November 6, 2018.