With a little more than 40 days until the general election, Kentucky House Democrats and Republicans both vie to hold onto the seats that they have or gain new ground in the state’s few remaining purple districts.
Among the complex political dynamics of northern Kentucky — with its generally blue-leaning Cincinnati suburbs, the growing upstart “liberty” faction of the GOP and more ideologically mainstream Republicans — the last House Democrat in northern Kentucky decided not to run for reelection this year. Minority Whip Rep. Rachel Roberts from Newport said it was the right choice for her family to not run to represent her portion of Campbell County again.
Campbell County, considered to be part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area, voted by an 18.6% margin for Donald Trump in 2020. However, the county also voted for Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear in both 2019 and 2023. It’s currently split between Roberts and two state House Republicans. Roberts’ district is more liberal than the county as a whole; while 54% of the county voted for Beshear, he got 63% in her district.
Now, Democratic nominee Matthew Lehman and Republican Terry Hatton are competing for the seat. Here’s what you need to know about the two candidates.
Matthew Lehman
Having entered the race from an uncontested primary, Lehman already has a fundraising advantage over his opponent. The Democrat has appeared on the ballot before; in 2022, he ran as a challenger to Republican Rep. Thomas Massie for U.S. House District 4. He lost to the longtime incumbent by a 34-point margin, or more than 87,500 votes. Lehman said running to represent a smaller group of people – 45,000 versus 750,000 — has made campaigning a lot more about individual interactions.
“In some ways, I find running for the statehouse more enjoyable. It's a lot more personal contact, a lot more church festivals and bingo halls and fall festivals,” Lehman said in an interview with Kentucky Public Radio. “You're a lot closer to your potential constituents.”
Lehman said his priority is to represent “working Kentuckians,” in part by defending existing labor protections, like maintaining existing child labor laws and lunch break provisions — both of which were targeted in legislation from Republican lawmakers this year.
Lehman has raised roughly $45,000 for his general election war chest, significantly more than Hatton’s roughly $5,400 thus far. And a significant portion of that money came from labor union political action committees.
“I find our legislature more and more divorced from what regular, everyday Kentuckians really care about. And I want to be a strong voice for that,” Lehman said.
Lehman said he would fight to protect in vitro fertilization, or IVF, in state laws. Bills filed by both a Republican and a Democrat attempted to do the same this year, but failed to progress. After the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos should be considered children, advocates in several states, especially those with abortion bans that treat embryos as unborn children, feared the same could be applied to them.
He said he would join Democrats pushing for teacher pay raises while opposing Amendment 2, a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the legislature to spend state dollars on schooling outside of public education.
Lehman also said he would fight for issues specific to his district such as a lack of affordable housing and public transportation.
“Almost nobody talks about it in Frankfort, but it's a real problem in this district, and people are having a real hard time getting to the store, getting to their polling place,” Lehman said. “Those are, I would even say, nonpartisan or bipartisan types of issues. So I do think I can find common ground with the majority party.”
Lehman also locked down an endorsement from Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who said in a statement Lehman is “a champion for Kentucky families.”
Terry Hatton
After initially agreeing to an interview, Hatton did not return several phone calls and emails attempting to schedule one. However, Hatton did answer a Kentucky Public Radio survey in which he said his biggest priorities in Frankfort would be to “reduce the state income tax,” which he said would help combat the pressures of inflation.
Hatton is a U.S. Army veteran, and according to state records, Hatton owns a business with his wife called VSP Management, a private security company. Hatton said it’s experience that helps him understand “the challenges faced by local entrepreneurs.”
Hatton has raised significantly less funding than his opponent as of the most recent filing deadline for the general election, but he faced a primary challenge that appeared to eat a significant portion of his funds. Hatton announced a fundraiser for late September that he said would be hosted by Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams.
As opposed to Lehman, Hatton has not reported any contributions from PACs. Despite no money coming in from Republican executive committees or PACs, a few notable names did show up in Hatton’s candidate filings — Adams, Sen. Shelley Funke Frommeyer and Sen. John Schickel all personally donated to support his campaign.
According to Hatton’s campaign website, he also supports “parental rights in education, ensuring that parents have a voice in their children's schooling and the ability to make decisions that align with their values and beliefs.”
State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
