Matt Bevin's ex-running mate Ralph Alvarado announces bid to replace Andy Barr in Congress
Ralph Alvarado, a former state senator and ex-Gov. Matt Bevin's running mate in his unsuccessful 2019 reelection campaign, announced July 17 that he plans to run to represent Kentucky's 6th Congressional District in the next election.
In a social media post announcing the move, Alvarado called himself "Day One MAGA" with priorities to "close the border," "crush the woke left," "bring jobs home" and "save America."
The seat will be on the ballot in the May 2026 primary. Election Day that fall is set for Nov. 3.
Alvarado served in the state Senate from 2015 into 2023, when he was hired as Tennessee's health commissioner by Gov. Bill Lee, who touted Alvarado's background in hospital management and experience as chair of the Kentucky Senate Health and Welfare Committee. Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, praised the Winchester Republican at the time as "among the most effective legislators in the Kentucky General Assembly."
Alvarado stepped down from his position running Tennessee's Department of Health on July 11, state leaders announced.
Alvarado made history as the first Hispanic person elected to the Kentucky General Assembly when he won his seat in 2014. While he was raised in California, his mother is from Argentina and his father is from Costa Rica. He was chosen by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump to speak at the 2016 Republican National Convention, drawing praise afterward from U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell as an "impressive leader" with "a bright future in the Republican Party."
Other Republicans in the 2026 congressional race include state Rep. Ryan Dotson, also of Winchester, and state Rep. Deanna Gordon, of Richmond, who confirmed she's running on July 9. State Sen. Amanda Mays Bledsoe, who represents Lexington, had been considered a potential contender but has said she does not plan to run.
Democrats in the race include former state Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson of Lexington and former Lexington city council member David Kloiber. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has identified the district as one of 35 across the county that it hopes to flip in 2026.
Barr is vacating the seat in order to run for the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by McConnell. He's running in the Republican primary against former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and Lexington businessman Nate Morris. Democratic state Rep. Pamela Stevenson is also running.
Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@courier-journal.com.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Ralph Alvarado enters Kentucky race to replace Andy Barr in Congress
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A single facility in the US capable of processing and refining nodules would cost several billion dollars, and could take up to a decade to reach full production, in part due to the complexities of handling an entirely new feedstock, according to Niels Verbaan, director of metallurgy technical services for Swiss testing and certification company SGS. The US tax and spending bill enacted on July 4 allocates $5.5 billion to the Department of Defense for investments in critical minerals supply chains. But the US has suffered a precipitous decline in metallurgical expertise since the 1980s when universities began to eliminate related degree programs. 'We are decades behind now, and it's going to be very hard to catch up,' says Corby Anderson, a professor of metallurgical and materials engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. New immigration restrictions will also make it harder to recruit engineering talent from overseas. China has invested heavily in the industry and is now in a position to retrofit existing facilities to process nodules or build dedicated new plants. The country processes 74% of the world's cobalt ore, according to a 2024 report from the Wilson Center, a nonpartisan think tank, while 97% of global nickel ore processing capacity lies outside of North America. China also maintains more than 80% of the capacity for refining those metals into advanced EV battery materials. There's few existing facilities outside of China capable of handling nodules, even if a US seabed miner receives permission to use them and the owners are willing to revamp operations, according to industry executives. 'These processing plants are not just sitting there idle begging for feed, they're all in use today,' says Trytten. The 'blue whale' in the room TMC has found one overseas metals processor willing to make the switch. 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