U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers talk to reporters at the 2026 SOAR Summit in Corbin. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley)
Incumbent congressmen who were seeking reelection in Kentucky have been reelected to another term.
Republicans U.S. Reps. James Comer, Brett Guthrie and Hal Rogers won their elections Tuesday in the 1st, 2nd and 5th districts respectively. Democratic U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey in the 3rd district also got another term. They all faced challengers from the opposing party.
Republican U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie lost his primary in the 4th Congressional District earlier this year to Ed Gallrein, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump. Gallrein won the general election, getting his first term in Congress.
Incumbent 5th District Congressman Hal Rogers crushed his Democratic opponent Ned Pillersdorf with a 44 point margin when the Associated Press called the race at 7 p.m.
Rogers, the longest serving House member at 88 who is also known as the Dean of the House, has served Eastern and South Kentucky since 1981. He is known for bringing projects and funding to one of the poorest regions of Appalachia.
“It is a tremendous honor to earn the continued confidence of the people of Southern and Eastern Kentucky. I will continue to listen to my constituents and fight for the conservative values that make this nation so great,” Rogers said in a statement. “Our work together has never slowed down. In fact, we are working hard every single day to create a brighter future in Kentucky’s Appalachian region. Southern and Eastern Kentucky is a special place to call home and I’ll continue to give my all for the people I serve whether I’m here or echoing their voice in Washington.”
Democrat Ned Pillersdorf of Prestonsburg, hoped to make issues out of a lack of affordability and changes to Medicaid and SNAP that will hurt many families in Eastern Kentucky. But name recognition and incumbency apparently won out.
U.S Rep. Morgan McGarvey of the 3rd District in Jefferson County beat Republican Maria Teresa Rodriguez by a 52 point margin.
In his victory speech, delivered before a crowd of some 200 gathered at the Galt House in downtown Louisville, Democratic U.S. Rep Morgan McGarvey said the results are the result of failed policies out of Washington D.C.
“I want to be really clear-eyed for a second about what this means,” he said. “This is a big night, but this is not about party. This is certainly not about me. This is about us. This is about decency over division. This is about compassion over cruelty. It’s about cohesion over corruption.”
He said “this election is about not looking back to those times” when the country was segregated and other “hard times” in the United States’ history.
“This is about gas being over $4 a gallon and diesel being over $6.50 a gallon right here in Kentucky because our president chose to go to an unjust war with Iran, putting our troops at risk and our country less safe,” McGarvey said. “And of course, he’s driving our costs up while he and his friends do nothing but get richer. This is about stopping the corruption we see coming right out of the White House. But I will tell you, as dark as it seems today, we have been through hard times in this country before. We’ve been through worse.”
U.S. Rep. James Comer also won easily over challenger John “Drew” Williams in the 1st District. Comer is expected to announce a run for Kentucky governor in the new year. Comer, who was first elected to Congress in 2016, and has served as the powerful chairman of the House Oversight Committee, made a name for himself as an ardent Trump defender.
The 1st District stretches from far west Kentucky up to Franklin County. Comer also served in the Kentucky House of Representatives and as Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner.
Courtesy of Kentucky Lantern
