For more than 30 years, Democratic Rep. Ruth Ann Palumbo has represented the Lexington area of Frankfort.
Now that she is out of office, three different Democrats are vying for her 76th Congressional District seat. Since there were no Republican candidates in November, the winner of the May 21 primary election will almost certainly decide Palumbo's successor.
That includes a former state Senate clerkship candidate, a Lexington Public Library executive, and a diving coach who is also the incumbent's son.
Anne Gay Donworth has played a major role in raising funds for library projects, such as Marksbury's new branch on Versailles Street. Josh Bachmann is a social worker who ran a bizarre campaign against former Sen. Ralph Alvarado two years ago. Jamie Palumbo is the diving coach at his four different public high schools in the area and is looking to replace his mother.
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All three say they will focus on public education and health care, but there are some differences in their approaches to gaining new power for Democrats in the 4/5 Republican-controlled Congress.
As of last week, when the last report was filed with the Kentucky Registrar of Elections, Palumbo had raised the most money, $94,000. Donworth brought in $58,000 and Bachman raised about $7,000.
House District 76 includes neighborhoods along Richmond Road such as Kenwick and Chevy Chase. It also reaches east into Hamburg and north into neighborhoods near Bryan Station High School.
Here's how candidates responded to a survey about their backgrounds, the future of the Democratic Party in Kentucky, the issues and more.
josh backman
What in your personal and professional background makes you best suited to serve?
As a medical social worker, I have seen firsthand the many issues that Kentuckians face on a daily basis. Whether you are an individual who is struggling to access affordable housing, struggling to get a prescription, or a victim of abuse or neglect, I have the ability to connect with your legislators. We have the knowledge to work together to develop effective policies. I have also interned with Kentucky Youth Advocates to help pass important legislation that positively impacts children. For more than a decade, I have advocated in Congress in Frankfort on bills impacting reproductive health, civil rights, and public safety. I also interned at a recovery center that worked with people with substance abuse issues.
Also, I grew up under the influence of my parents. My father was a factory worker and my mother was a public school teacher. They taught me the value of hard work and service to others.
What are your top three challenges for Frankfort next year?
I would like to focus on healthcare, particularly elderly care, reproductive rights, and mental health. Education has become a top priority by working to ensure public schools have the funding they need and increasing teacher salaries to alleviate teacher shortages. I will also work to make housing more available and affordable and look at ways to modernize the homestead deduction to make it more effective.
Democrats are faced with a choice in this election. Why would they choose you over your opponent?
I have had a front row seat to many of the issues that Kentuckians face on a daily basis. I interact with organizations created by the Legislature to alleviate problems facing Kentuckians, and I can use my unique perspective to make them more effective. I interned at Kentucky Youth Advocates and worked with Democratic and Republican legislators to pass legislation while working with organizations such as Planned Parenthood and the Kentucky Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.
I also bring with me the values that my parents taught me. My father was a union factory worker for his 38 years, and my mother is a former public school special education teacher and currently a small business owner.
Republicans currently control the flow of legislation in Frankfort. How can the Democratic Party become more realistic and change that reality?
Democrats need to focus on issues that matter to Kentuckians, like improving health care, education and housing, while working to bring good-paying jobs to the state. Kentuckians have shown they want lower taxes and a more efficient government. I think there is a huge opportunity to keep taxes low for most Kentuckians. I would love to work to eliminate the sales tax on diapers and modernize the residential property deduction. Democrats need to put aside their partisan differences and work with Republicans to better serve the people of our commonwealth.
Ann Gay Donworth
What in your personal and professional background makes you best suited to serve?
My professional experience spans the arts, medicine, agriculture, and education. I have participated in hundreds of initiatives aimed at improving communities at the local level, fighting for public libraries, public pensions, DEI initiatives, and more in Frankfort. I have gained great experience building strong relationships with city, state, and community leaders that shape our collective understanding of the issues facing Lexington and develop common sense public policy. It's done. As the only woman and only parent in this race, I am fighting not only for myself, but for my gender and the future of my children. I am ready to take the lead from day one in Frankfort to ensure Central Kentucky continues to have strong female leadership.
What are your top three challenges for Frankfort next year?
1. Protect public education: We must continue to invest in public education, including public schools, educators, early childhood education, skills, higher education, and public libraries. Education is essential to the future success of our commonwealth and democracy. Public education is an investment in our future.
2. Women's Rights: Women must be allowed to make their own health care decisions in consultation with their health care providers. I won't back down on extreme health policy. We deserve equal pay for equal work, but we also need help from the government in the form of childcare subsidies and family-first policies.
3. Common Sense Gun Safety: We need red flag laws, safe storage laws, universal background checks, and we need to remove weapons of war from our streets and schools. We stand up to a gun lobby that has gotten out of control to keep our families safe.
Democrats are faced with a choice in this election. Why would they choose you over your opponent?
All three of us share a similar platform and commitment to District 76. The main difference is the level of experience and record of results I bring to the office. A quick Google search of each candidate's name, without the sponsored search results, will tell you that I have been serving the people and being effective for a long time. Most recently, I listened to the community and used $8.3 million in private funding to help bring the new Marksbury Family Branch of the Lexington Public Library to fruition. I am a candidate who has consistently gotten things done, both in and out of the spotlight. At a time when women, public schools, and so many other causes important to our communities are under attack, it's more important than ever that we send women and parents to fight for our future.
Republicans currently control the flow of legislation in Frankfort. How can the Democratic Party become more realistic and change that reality?
While the House and Senate maps remain heavily gerrymandered by Republicans, Democrats and our issues continue to win at the ballot box across the state. More and more, we see that Kentuckians are with us on the key issues of the day and share our principles of prosperity. Its principles are centered on the idea that the best Kentucky is one in which all Kentuckians have a fair chance to reach their full potential. potential. It's also true that regardless of party affiliation, you can find common ground on issues, and many people's desire to eliminate hard-right extremism and dangerous, ideological, and wrong-headed views on public policy. are sharing.
jamie palumbo
What in your personal and professional background makes you best suited to serve?
I understand the needs of working families and the need to provide our employees with a living wage and adequate benefits. One grandmother lived with me. I regularly go to appointments, speak with health care providers, and see first-hand that we must do more for our seniors. As a leader in the diving community, I have been able to create policies that benefit many young people. Being in multiple school systems, I have developed relationships with teachers, staff, and administrators at several schools. I have close friends in the black community. It is essential that we do more to support their communities. My oldest brother committed suicide with a gun. Gun safety is personal to me. I have struggled with mental health and addiction, so those are issues that are important to me. I am LGBTQ+ and this Congress saw bills introduced that would allow for discrimination in housing, employment, and even health care.
What are your top three challenges for Frankfort next year?
Public Education: Having worked in multiple school systems, I see first-hand the dire need for public schools. I am adamantly opposed to school vouchers, charter schools, and anything else that takes funding and resources away from the public education system. I support increasing funding for public schools, not decreasing it. Teachers need raises and we must protect their pensions.
Health care: Ensure women's access to reproductive health care. Support access to contraception, in vitro fertilization, and family planning services. Expand access to breast and cervical cancer screening. Providing affordable care to the elderly. Removing barriers to health care access for minorities. Invest more in mental health resources for people with addiction and mental health issues. Invest more resources for victims of domestic violence.
Civil rights for all Kentuckians: Adopt criminal justice reform, eliminate racial and economic bias, and prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression.
Democrats are faced with a choice in this election. Why would they choose you over your opponent?
I am the most qualified candidate for the 76th Kentucky Congressional District. I am the only candidate who grew up in District 76, graduated from a public high school in the district, and currently works for the district. I am the only candidate working in our school system. I have been involved with numerous organizations and non-profits throughout my life. I am the only LGBTQ+ candidate, and after this session, there will be zero LGBTQ+ members in the Kentucky House of Representatives. Representation is important. I am the candidate who knows this district best and loves its residents the most. This neighborhood is family to me. I have received support from BIA-Central Kentucky, C-FAIR, Kentucky AFL-CIO, Kentuckians Against Domestic Violence and Pet Abuse, Kentucky Educators PAC, Kentucky Sierra Club, Victory Fund, and more. I have earned the honors of 2024 Mental Health Now Nominee and Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Nominee.
Republicans currently control the flow of legislation in Frankfort. How can the Democratic Party become more realistic and change that reality?
Build relationships. I've always had relationships with all types of people. I have built strong relationships with elected officials over the 34 years that her mother served. Additionally, I have already successfully worked with Kentucky legislators from both parties to advocate for and against proposed legislation. Some of the successful bills I sponsored in the 2024 session include: Incorporating Alzheimer's Association training into nurse training and requesting funding. I served on a committee on automated external defibrillators and funding in elementary schools. I lobbied for House Bill 258 to address animal cruelty. I appeared on committee and lobbied against the Baby Olivia bill and another bill banning drag shows (both failed). I lobbied against anti-DEI and anti-LGBTQ+ bills (all lost). I'm already accomplishing things.