KENTUCKY — Voters in Northern Kentucky will decide on multiple important races Tuesday — including the election of their U.S. representative.
Incumbent Thomas Massie easily won the Republican primary for Kentucky's 4th congressional district this May, and will face off against Democratic candidate Matthew Lehman and Independent Ethan Osborne.
Here's what you need to know about all of the candidates:
Thomas Massie
Republican candidate Thomas Massie has been in Congress since 2012, when he won both a special and regular election to fill former Rep. Geoff Davis' open seat.
Nicknamed "Mr. No," Massie often makes headlines for often voting against things in the House that have bipartisan support — such as a coronavirus aid package or a resolution supporting Sweden and Finland joining NATO.
The libertarian-minded lawmaker was previously described as a "third rate Grandstander" and "disaster for America" by former President Donald Trump, who later endorsed him in the May primary.
Massie is an abortion rights opponent who has spoken at length about his support of the Second Amendment. He has voted against every omnibus appropriations bill Congress has passed as he said addressing national debt is one of his biggest platform positions.
Matthew Lehman
Newport resident Matthew Lehman co-founded the biotechnology company Koligo Therapeutics in 2016 in hopes of treating pancreatitis patients without opioids. He was the company's CEO until it was sold to a larger company. Now, his campaign said Lehman consults within the health care and thoroughbred industries.
His work in the health care field led to one of his biggest campaign platforms: fighting Kentucky's opioid epidemic. Lehman said Rep. Massie has "done nothing for Northern Kentucky ... voting no on nearly every bill to treat those suffering from drug addiction to support the communities affected."
Because of his past experience, Lehman's platform positions also include a push to protect citizens' health privacies. He has spoken about protecting the right to self-protection but said "common sense regulation" can reduce gun violence. Lehman called Massie's opinion on the Second Amendment "out of touch, extreme and violent."
Ethan Osborne
Independent candidate Ethan Osborne was born and raised in Covington and received a bachelor's degree from Northern Kentucky University.
He joined the U.S. Marine Corps, where he was later honorably discharged. He said he is a single father, an arborist and wildland firefighter and a community and union organizer with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations.
As someone who describes himself as having "ended up on the wrong side of the law" following depression and alcoholism, Osborne's campaign platform includes criminal justice reform. He is an abortion rights supporter whose campaign website includes his positions in support of universal health care and basic income.
For information on all top Kentucky races, click here.
