In other news, a state lawmaker seeking a seat on Capitol Hill in Washington calls himself a, quote, grass roots guy and labels his prime opponent as, quote, an elitist.

State Representative Ryan Dotson is one of five Republicans competing in the GOP primary in the sixth Congressional District, held now by Andy Barr, who's vacating that seat to run for the U.S.

Senate.

And part two of my interview with Dotson.

He boasts of his conservative bona fides and defense, President Trump and recent immigration raids that have turned deadly.

There are, for now, that the candidate filing deadline has passed.

We know that there are four other candidates officially who were in the GOP primary.

What do you think differentiates you from them in particular?

Former state Senator Ralph Alvarado, who has been on the Kentucky ballot before as a state senator and as a lieutenant governor when it comes to name recognition, do you think he's the one you've got to beat?

The race will be really between him and I. And just to be quite honest.

But the differencing, factors are there and people see us in different lights.

He has more of an elitist, following, and I'm more of a grassroots guy.

And they'll say that that that'll be reflective on our reporting.

And, and so there's a huge difference.

He left here and went to Tennessee, and, I stayed.

Only time I've left Kentucky is when I served my served in the military in the U.S.

Army.

When you think about your Republican policy bona fides, though, do they stack up pretty evenly and aligned?

I mean, he's spoken at the Republican National Convention.

I mean, he's done a lot.

So you kind of, plump up his bona fides.

Do you see any kind of policy differences between you?

And there's a lot.

Now, he and I will agree on 90% of policy, but there's a 10% difference, probably.

And that's what people are going to judge people for.

And there are things that, that he and I differ on.

You know, when it comes to Covid, I was very adamant about keeping your body autonomy.

And he was very adamant about taking the vaccine and taking the Covid shot.

I was not.

And so I fought it for my position on the Health Service Committee in the House, because people were getting fired from their jobs, nurses were getting fired from the hospitals, and I was doing everything I can to help protect those that just didn't feel like the Covid shot was for them.

So he and I differ on that issue.

We differ on several other issues and that'll come out during the campaign.

But those there are some differences that people will take note of.

So if you do come out of the primary, you will face one of seven Democrats who are vying to get that seat.

Are you confident that you can best whoever advances from the Democratic primary, even if President Trump's popularity declines, or some would say continues to decline on a nationwide basis?

And if there's even tougher scrutiny of his administration and his policies.

I believe that whoever wins this Republican primary will actually win this seat.

When you look at all the higher name profile people, they stayed away from the race.

You know, there are people with much higher name recognition that didn't want to touch the race, because I've even been told by a high ranking Democrat said, listen, I'd look to get in in that race and we just didn't think it was viable for us to win.

So that that's within the camp of the Democratic Party.

So we know where we are and we have to win this Republican primary.

And whoever wins this, I think, will come out.

Do you think maybe some of the national media who, spy on all these kind of political contests and who've said that the sixth district could be in play?

Do you think that's overplayed?

It's overplayed and it's to draw attention here, and it's for raising money, is for fundraising purposes.

No doubt.

There's a lot of fear mongering even within the Republican Party.

What you need to choose this candidate because this candidate can win the general, this candidate can win the primary, but this one can win the general.

So there's a lot of fear mongering taking place, trying to get people to shift alliances because they want to play up that general election.

Yeah.

Given your background as a pastor, many people are saying that character does matter when it comes to who was in elected office.

Who represents us and puts a face on who we say we want is a leader.

There are many people who criticize how President Donald Trump comports himself the language he uses.

How does that matter to you that, the leader of the free world may not always show as much grace as some people give him?

Well, you look at the fire he's been under.

I mean, it was a political witch hunt, from the Democrats from day one.

Impeachment after impeachment, his first term in office.

He has went through a lot.

He's had to endure a lot.

So I understand the sense of the frustration that he's had to deal with.

What matters to me the most is the policy.

What matters to me is, is he really, truly American first?

And he is.

And he's proven that this man has given up, if given his wealth and the opportunities that he has, most people would be sitting on a beach somewhere enjoying the rest of their life.

But this man is fighting for America.

He don't have to do this.

And so I believe that in itself is why people gravitate to him.

They see him as a true leader.

And so going back to what you stated, you know, there is a lot of frustration that he's had to deal with and a lot of probably a lot of sleepless nights because of all the political witch hunts that has been going on in his personal life for many years.

As we are talking, as we know, just watching the headlines.

There are a lot of tensions and demonstrations are escalating over the Ice raids.

And when we think about some of the issues that might drive the six district race, do you think that what's happening outside of Kentucky has any bearing on how you advance during this political contest?

I think, ice is a good thing, because when you look at, the financial implications of all the illegal immigrants, from health care to jobs, driving up housing costs, deporting illegal aliens is is really the right thing to do.

And so, I'm in full support of that.

So I think going forward, there's going to be more of it and we'll see where we are.

When I get to Congress, we'll see what type of results.

Data is very important.

We want to see the data.

We want to see, how many that we've deported and how it's affecting us financially.

So I think going forward, we just have to gauge it year by year and see where we are.

But I'm in full support of it.

And, you know, I just think that going forward, when you look at Joe Biden's administration, he had 87,000.

Our estate agents coming after tax payers, American taxpayers.

Now we've got 20,000 Ice agents going after illegal aliens who abused and fraudulently taken taxpayer money.

There's a difference.

And I want to be and I want to champion, for the American people.

Do you approve or disapprove of the deadly force that's being used by Ice agents, even against Americans who are legitimate, born here?

Americans?

Well, what we've seen, especially in Minnesota.

I hate that anyone's lost their life.

But at the same time, this lady used her vehicle as a weapon to run over an Ice agent.

So the thing is, it's unfortunate, of course, but I think that sometimes those things do happen, and it's unfortunate, but, I stand with ice and, you know, going forward, I think that people when you look at Minnesota overall and you have a failed governor, as Tim Walz is, the people are conditioned there to be disrespectful.

If the law pulls you over and asks for your driver's license and registration, simply give them your driver's license and registration.

Comply with the law.

And I think as simple as that.

But people are are abusive to the law and and always will back the blue.

And so I think when you get pulled over or you've been asked to stop at a road stop, then just simply comply.

It's not that big a deal.

Do what you're asked to do and then move on with your life.

You can see part one of my interview with State Representative Ryan Dotson from last night online on demand at CT.

Org slash Kentucky edition.

From now until the May election, we'll bring you some more interviews with some key candidates running in some competitive federal races this spring.