The race in the sixth congressional district pits a five-term U.S. representative against a perennial candidate in the central Kentucky area. There are also two write-in candidates on the ballot.
Andy Barr, a Lexington native, and lawyer, first went to Washington in 2013. He’s served there as part of the majority and minority. Geoff Young came to Lexington in 1982 from Massachusetts and worked for more than a decade in the state’s energy department. Young has run for Congress five times.
One of the most talked about issues in any congressional race currently is the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Barr said Russia launched an unprovoked invasion.
“The war crimes that they are committing against civilians as more and more evidence comes out we see that this is a brutal war of aggression against the free sovereign and independent people of Ukraine,” said Barr.
Barr said the U.S. policy, prior to the European conflict, presented inadequate deterrence and he adds it’s important to deter North Korea, Iran, and China. Barr doesn’t view Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s comments about nuclear weapons as a likely tactic.
Geoff Young has a different view of the Russian-Ukrainian war. He believes the United States should not be involved. Young said U.S. involvement only makes things worse by aiding Ukraine militarily.
“Stop sending them weapons. Send them humanitarian aid and help the people there rebuild their lives, get their lives back,” said Young.
Young noted continued U.S. involvement in supplying weapons and administering sanctions increases the chances of nuclear war breaking out.
When discussing domestic issues, one comes to the top for many voters; the state of the U.S. economy. Young again points to the Russia-Ukraine conflict saying continued sanctions could lead to a depression, not just a recession at home.
“Look at Europe right now. They’re about to have a tremendous energy shortage. They won’t even be able to keep themselves warm this winter. That’s totally because of these ignorant backfiring sanctions that the United States has been telling them to impose on Russia,” said Young.
Barr said the U.S. economy is already in a recession, calling it the worst economy in four decades.
“Everything cost more in America today. The cost of living is so far higher than it was just two years ago that the average American household has lost six thousand dollars in purchasing power,” said Barr.
Barr contends there was over-spending in coronavirus relief as backed by Democratic members of Congress. The GOP representative says a sell-off in the stock market means participation in the economy slows down.
The cost of health care is another perennial issue. Barr said insurance premium increases can be slowed with more competition. In pharmaceuticals, the central Kentucky Republican noted price capping is not the answer. He added that would, in turn, result in less research and development.
“Stifling innovation is not the right approach for controlling prescription costs. What is the right approach is bio similars. What is the right approach is patent reform. What is the right approach is more competition”
Geoff Young is a believer in single-payer health care. He says it’s about removing the middlemen and women in the system that make health care costs in the U.S. higher than in any other civilized country.
“You would not have the profit motive in hospitals. Full profit insurance companies would decline almost to nothing,” said Young
In addition to Andy Barr and Geoff Young, two other write-in candidates are on the sixth district congressional ballot. They are Randy Cravens of Richmond and Maxwell Keith Froedge.
