Democratic Rep. Morgan McGarvey’s brief congressional staffing career began with a nine-hour-plus drive from former Rep. Ben Chandler’s special election night celebration in Richmond, Ky. It was Feb. 17, 2004, and Chandler had said: “If I get elected, we’re going to have somebody in the office in Washington the next morning answering phones,” McGarvey recalled.
It was McGarvey’s second attempt to get Chandler, a Democrat, elected to office, the first being Chandler’s run for governor. But the experience felt worth it, as a contribution to Kentucky’s future, but also because McGarvey “had a great boss,” he says.
McGarvey went on to earn his law degree from the University of Kentucky and worked in private practice before launching a political career. He also got his start in elected office at the state level, serving in the Kentucky Senate for a decade before running for Kentucky’s 3rd Congressional District in 2022. He easily defeated his Republican opponent and succeeded the retiring Democratic Rep. John Yarmuth, who represented the Louisville-anchored district for eight terms. He counts his predecessor among the resources he can consult.
