Meet the Candidates: The Victors of the Kentucky and Oregon Congressional Primaries

Share/Save Share this

Kentucky, Oregon and Arkansas had their congressional primaries on Tuesday and, as usual, Congresspedia's Wiki the Vote project is on the case with which candidates made the cut for the November ballot.

Well, Arkansas sort of had congressional primaries - as best we can tell, every member of its incumbent congressional delegation faced no challenge from within their own party or from the other major party, so each will face only Green and Libertarian challengers in the fall. Oregon and Kentucky, which both have a Republican senator up for reelection and at least one House member retiring, had vigorous primaries.

Each candidate and incumbent has a profile within Congresspedia's Wiki the Vote project, which you can find at the Oregon, Arkansas and Kentucky portals, or through the full listing of the primary victors below. We need your help to find out more about these candidates, so if you know something about them please add it to their profile. (You can always contact one of the staff editors for help.)

Kentucky

  • Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) is up for re-election this year, and Democratic voters in Kentucky nominated Bruce Lunsford, an entrepreneur who founded a Fortune 500 company.
  • In the 1st district, incumbent Rep. Ed Whitfield (R) is running against Heather Ryan (D), a naval veteran and former civil servant.
  • In the 2nd district, incumbent Rep. Ron Lewis (R) has announced he won’t seek reelection. The Republican candidate attempting to hold the seat for the GOP is Brett Guthrie, a vice-president for Trace Die Cast, an aluminum-cast supply company. The Democrats nominated Kentucky state Senator David Boswell.
  • In the 3rd district, Republican Anne Northup will attempt to retake the seat she lost to incumbent Rep. John Yarmuth (D).
  • In the 4th district, Rep. Geoff Davis (R) will face Democratic challenger Michael Kelley, a physician.
  • In the 5th district, incumbent Harold "Hal" Rogers, a Republican, has no Democratic opponent but faces an independent challenge from Jim Holbert, an EMS helicopter pilot.
  • In the 6th district, Rep. Ben Chandler (D) is awaiting Jon Larson, a Republican who recently served as Kentucky’s attorney general.

Oregon

  • Sen. Gordon Smith (R) is being challenged by Democrat Jeff Merkley, the speaker of the House in Oregon’s state legislature.
  • In the 1st district, incumbent Rep. David Wu (D) faces Republican Joel Haugen, a small business owner.
  • In the 2nd district, incumbent Rep. Greg Walden, a Republican, will square-off against Noah Lemas, who founded and later sold two sporting goods stores.
  • In the 3rd district, Democratic incumbent Rep. Earl Blumenauer will face Delia Lopez (R), a real-estate investment developer.
  • In the 4th district, incumbent Rep. Peter DeFazio (D) is unopposed.
  • In the 5th district, Rep. Darlene Hooley (D) is not seeking re-election. Republican voters nominated Mike Erickson, who founded AFMS Logistics Management Group, while the Democratic candidate will be Kurt Schrader, a former Oregon state senator.