Ten Democratic candidates vying for a variety of local and Congressional seats in 2026 spoke to some 125 supporters at a meet-and-greet dinner Monday evening at the JFK Center.
That included three seeking to succeed Republican Mitch McConnell, who is retiring after serving in the U.S. Senate since 1985.
Perhaps the highlight of the night was the rousing remarks by Colmon Elridge, chair of the Kentucky Democratic Party since 2020.
Elridge opened his remarks by emphasizing that the 2026 elections, while not featuring premier races such as for governor or president, are nonetheless vital.
“There are no off years,” he declared. “Every election matters. We have to contest every election and win every election.”
Elridge celebrated Democrats’ recent wins in races in New Jersey, Virginia, Georgia, Mississippi and elsewhere, which the party contends are rebukes of the policies of President Donald Trump.
He assailed the Trump administration for asking the Supreme Court to reject a judge’s ruling that it must pay full SNAP benefits for November amid the federal government shutdown and the possible end of a subsidy that could cause health insurance premiums to skyrocket for the nearly 24 million people enrolled in the Affordable Care Act Marketplace.
And Elridge took a swipe at Trump’s sudden move to demolish the East Wing of the White House to make way for a $300 million ballroom. “That is not service” to people, he said.
Instead, he said, “It’s all to serve the ego of one person.”
“Republicans will spend whatever it takes in the next election,” Elridge said. “The only thing we can do is (bring) more people power.
“There is a fire burning. We will not let that fire go out,” he said, bringing the audience to its feet.
“Your presence matters. Your participation matters. Your vote matters,” said Justin Wright, chair of the Henderson County Democratic Party, which hosted the event.
Here are highlights of remarks made by Democratic candidates:
U.S. Senate candidates
Workers right attorney and former Secret Service agent Logan Forsythe said he is running as an anti-McConnell candidate.
Forsythe said he grew up in Lyon County with his single mother, who he said worked 80 to 100 hours a week at mostly minimum wage jobs.
“Mitch McConnell voted over two dozen times to not raise the minimum wages,” he said. “You should be able to pay your bills.”
“Every time he had the opportunity to make that job better for her, he said no,” according to Forsythe.
Forced by injuries in a car accident to leave the Secret Service, he said that if elected, “I will ask myself what would Mitch McConnell do, and I will do the exact opposite.”
Joel Willett, a native of Valley Station outside Louisville, said he saw his working-class parents struggle financially and with opioid addictions, losing his father to an overdose in 2019.
With the help of “incredible grandparents and a great church family,” Willett said he was able to attain undergraduate and graduate degrees in college and serve in the FBI, CIA and White House Situation Room before leaving government in 2015 for the private sector.
He criticized what he sees as a “war” on America’s middle class, saying a $4 trillion tax cut through Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill will “put billions into the pockets” of the wealthy, including “the 10 billionaires in Trump’s cabinet.”
“I think there’s enough wealth in this country to ensure you can eat and see a doctor,” Willett said.
Former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath, who narrowly lost a Congressional race in 2018 and as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate lost by a wide margin to McConnell in 2020, decried what she called Trump’s “weaponization of the federal government against political opponents.”
And she lambasted the president’s planned ballroom project. “It’s dangerous,” McGrath said. “It’s not normal.”
McGrath blamed “a very cowardly Congress—men, mostly men—who have not the courage to stand up to this president who now hurts their states and their constituents.”
McConnell’s pending retirement “gives us a great opportunity in Kentucky to fill that open seat to benefit everyday Kentuckians,” she said.
U.S. House candidate
Drew Williams of Benton hopes to run against First District Republican incumbent Jamie Comer.
Once a primarily western Kentucky district, the First District today extends as far east as Frankfort “because that’s where (Comer) wants to live,” Williams said.
“It still feels like we’re not being heard,” he said.
Williams, who said he makes his living building boat docks and marinas primarily on Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake, is campaigning on what he calls “the three Cs”:
- Cost of living
- Congressional reform
- Constitutional rights and values
“We’ve got to rebuild the middle class by providing good public schools, health care and affordable housing,” Williams said.
Henderson City Commission candidates
Four candidates—only one an incumbent—spoke about their ambitions for what are nonpartisan seats.
Kristi Randolph, founder and executive director of the Chloe Randolph Foundation, said she wants a food commission of local officials and grocers to address food insecurity here,
She cited the need for affordable housing, economic growth and sustainability for small businesses as Interstate 69 is completed, safety and security and more.
Cooper Beck, founder of the Henderson Ky Pride Foundation, said local government “should make everyone feel they belong here.”
He advocated for rotating town halls around the city, fair pay for first responders, reliable street lights, smooth sidewalks, economic growth for the whole community, a youth advisory commission and more transparency concerning how taxes are spent.
Incumbent Robert Pruitt, a city commissioner for nearly 20 years, said local tax revenues “for years didn’t come past Washington Street” to benefit the lower-income East End. “Now they do,” he said.
Pruitt said he has advocated for “not raising property taxes 4% every year just because you can,” and declared, “If I didn’t make Henderson better, I don’t want your vote.”
Tre Perkins wants to see better public transportation to Henderson Community College, assistance for local businesses and more support for young people.
“Let’s open more businesses in the East End,” Perkins said. “Let’s bring back the perks we know and love.”
Magistrate candidates
Two incumbent magistrates spoke.
District Five Magistrate Bill Starks (also known by his former WSON on-air name of Bill Stephens) said he “was a registered Republican until Jan. 6 (of 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol). I could not in good conscience say that was a party I could be affiliated with.”
Starks lauded the county’s strong financial position. “I can remember a time when we couldn’t afford to maintain our roads and ditches,” he said. “We had to borrow or rent equipment. Now we have reserves.”
District Four Magistrate Butch Puttman, first appointed to the position in 2010, cited his years of union leadership and his community service. He has served on the Salvation Army Advisory Board for 15 years, including nine as chair, as well as the boards of The Gathering Place and the Henderson County Health Department, and received several awards for service.
Puttman, who called himself “a public servant, not a politician,” agreed that “financially, Henderson County (government) is very sound.”
