Now.

In other news, the candidates for Kentucky's sixth congressional district appeared on stage together for the first time in this general election cycle.

Republican Ralph Alvarado and Democrat Zach Dumbo participated in a candidate forum in Lexington to share their positions on a broad swath of issues.

Our Clayton Dalton has more.

And tonight's election coverage 2026.

In just under four months, voters of Kentucky's sixth district will elect a new congressman for the first time in over a decade.

The district sitting congressman, Andy Barr, is now the Republican nominee to replace US Senator Mitch McConnell.

Republican doctor Ralph Alvarado, a physician and former state senator, and Democrat Zach Debo, a Navy veteran and former federal prosecutor, made their pitches to a packed ballroom of members from Commerce Lexington, a business growth organization in the region.

And I'm the only candidate in this race who's actually worked in and around business decision making in a way that directly connects policy to real world outcomes.

And that matters because when you go to Washington, you don't get a learning curve.

You're expected to deliver from day one.

And Kentucky can't afford a representative who has to figure out how the economy works once they arrive in Congress.

We need someone who already knows.

Central Kentucky deserves an independent voice, no matter who's in the white House.

Central Kentucky deserves someone standing up for us not to be a rubber stamp for any administration.

And Central Kentucky, most of all, deserves a fighter to bring common sense back to D.C.

because let me tell you all, there are a lot of problems in D.C.. With AI and hyperscale data centers dominating conversations in city halls across the state.

The candidates were asked what role Congress should play in regulating this new technology.

I mean, we have a situation where technology is changing faster than government's ability to keep up with it or for us to understand it.

And you see issues with these data centers popping up where there's not transparency, there's not local input, and there's a lot of understandable fear.

And so what I would say is I believe that we need government to be protecting constituents from corporations who want to put something in a place without their input, without transparency.

And so I completely understand if a place wants a data center, then I think the government should be able to help them.

If constituents don't, we need to make sure that it's not being put somewhere where the constituents don't want it.

And most of all, no matter what increased rate costs and utilities can't be passed on, environmental costs can't be borne by the place that they're located, and fertile farmland can't be ruined.

As a result.

I assume that's coming whether we want it in America or not.

If we don't do it, the Chinese will.

So AI is coming.

It's a matter.

Right now, the Americans are ahead of everybody else in the world when it comes to artificial intelligence.

Do you want to continue to be the leaders, or do we want to forfeit that to another country?

I would argue we need to continue to be the leaders and still continue to to be able to provide innovation and kind of advance innovation in that regard.

Now, when it comes to whether or not you allow a data center in your community, that really is a local decision.

So I don't believe in the federal government being able to tell a community that you have to do this in your community.

We need that.

I think nationally we need data centers.

But the question becomes where they go.

So I think local communities can make that decision.

It's up to local citizens, local officials, that they don't want one.

They shouldn't have to put one up.

A policy topic that came up repeatedly during the forum was President Trump's use of tariffs.

And while tariffs can be an important tool, they should be used strategically, not as an end in themselves.

We have to be mindful of the impact that tariffs can have on our manufacturers, farmers, distillers and other Kentucky exporters that rely on global supply chains as well.

The goal should always be to change unfair behavior and strengthen America's position, not to create unintended consequences on our own businesses moving forward.

While Alvarado did not explicitly share his thoughts on Trump's tariffs, Jimbo called them disastrous.

There have been so many shifts in the tariffs that seem to have no rhyme or reason, and they're certainly not America first.

If we truly are going to have a hands off, predictable America First strategy, Congress has got to oppose this administration's reckless trade positions that are doing nothing but hurting consumers.

Kentucky industries and Kentucky farmers.

On immigration, the candidates found common ground, particularly on their criticism of the Biden administration and their shared belief that undocumented people who commit crimes should be prosecuted.

But they didn't agree on everything.

And the first responsibility of the federal government is to secure the border and restore confidence in our immigration system.

And we can't have an immigration system where people who follow the law are put behind those who don't follow the law.

Our legal immigration system should become more merit based.

I think this country used to have its its immigration based on that.

America should continue welcoming talented people who want to contribute, innovate, start businesses, and strengthen our economy.

As a federal prosecutor and the only person on this stage who has prosecuted people here illegally who committed serious crimes, I know how important it is that we're targeting criminals who are here illegally because I did that.

But for folks who are law abiding, they deserve a pathway to citizenship.

They are already fulfilling the American dream.

We've been asking of them.

And the fact that Congress has not gotten that done, I think, is malfeasance at best.

Both candidates said Washington doesn't have all the answers, and vowed to keep the issues facing central Kentuckians at the center of their campaigns.

For Kentucky Edition, I'm Clayton Dalton.

Many thanks, Clayton.

Kentucky's general election day is Tuesday, November 3rd, and you can count on Wkyt to deliver information about the election up to then.