GOP Reps. Barr and Guthrie seek House chairs with their Kentucky reelection bids

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Republican U.S. Reps. Andy Barr and Brett Guthrie are in the running for two committee chair positions that would boost their clout in Congress. First up, though, are their reelection bids to the House Tuesday in Kentucky.

Barr is being challenged by Democrat Randy Cravens in the 6th District, which takes in portions of central and east-central Kentucky. Guthrie is running against Democrat Hank Linderman in the 2nd District, which covers western and central sections of the state.

Their reelection campaigns have coincided with their ongoing bids in Washington to lead two House committees. Barr is vying to chair the House Financial Services Committee. Guthrie is competing to lead the Energy and Commerce Committee.

All six members of the state’s U.S. House delegation — five Republicans and one Democrat — are running for new two-year terms Tuesday. No statewide political offices were up for election this year.

Guthrie and Barr now hold subcommittee chairmanships, which the veteran congressmen hope will be springboards to landing jobs running the full committees. Barr’s congressional career began in 2013 after he defeated a Democratic incumbent. Guthrie was first elected to Congress in 2008.

The Financial Services Committee has broad jurisdiction over the financial sector. The Energy and Commerce Committee wields power over energy, health care, telecommunications and consumer product safety policies.

Their bids for the chair positions will hinge on whether Republicans maintain their majority in the closely divided House. Chairs will be decided before the next Congress convenes in 2025.

Elsewhere, Republican U.S. Rep. James Comer is seeking reelection in the sprawling 1st District, which stretches from the Mississippi River to portions of central Kentucky. Comer is challenged by Democrat Erin Marshall. As chairperson of the House Oversight Committee, Comer was at the center of House GOP investigations of Democratic President Joe Biden that delved into the Biden family’s business dealings.

U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey, the lone Democrat in Kentucky’s congressional delegation, is running for a second term in the Louisville-area 3rd District. His challenger is Republican Mike Craven. Louisville, the state’s largest city, is one of the few remaining Democratic strongholds left in Kentucky.

Republican U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, a congressional mainstay for decades, is unopposed in the 5th District, which covers parts of southern and eastern Kentucky. Rogers has represented the district since 1981. He is a former House Appropriations Committee chairman and still wields influence as a member of the committee.

Republican U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie has a clear path toward another term in the 4th District, which covers northern Kentucky. The libertarian-leaning Massie has gained a reputation as a maverick for his willingness to defy his party’s top leaders at times since entering Congress in late 2012.