By Feoshia Henderson
KyPost.com
Though many voters might not be aware of the contest, incumbent Rep. Geoff Davis faces a challenge on Tuesday for his 4th Congressional District seat from Oldham County doctor Michael Kelley.
Davis, R-Hebron, is seeking his third term in Congress. He has a huge fund-raising advantage over his opponent. He’s raised $2.03 million, spent $1.5 million, with $582,170 on hand and an $85,000 debt, according to his most recent campaign finance report filed with the Federal Election Commission. Kelley has raised $19,887, spent $11,195 and has $8,690 on hand, with a reported $3,000 debt.
Scant attention has been paid to this district compared with the past two contests when Davis beat former Cincinnati newsman Nick Clooney in 2004, and in 2006 when Davis held off a challenge by former Democratic Congressman Ken Lucas. In contrast to this year, both of Davis’ opponents then were well funded and had major involvement from Democratic Party leaders.
Davis, 50, is a West Point Graduate who studies national security and international affairs. He’s a former Army Ranger and senior parachutist. He first ran for the 4th District against Lucas, then the incumbent, but lost with 47.5 percent of the vote to Lucas’ 51.1. When Lucas stepped down, Davis ran again, winning a competitive race against Clooney in 2004. He is married with six children.
Davis' campaign didn’t respond to several requests for comments for this article.
Kelley, 42, is a full-time family practice doctor. In 1997 he graduated from East Carolina University's combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics program and did his residency in Greenville, N.C. He moved back to Kentucky and joined a private practice in Crestwood. He is married with four children.
Among his top issues are providing better health care, ending the war in Iraq and energy independence.
“As a doctor, every day I see where the money is wasted. I believe I can be an important part of shaping a health care system that maintains individual choice, and maintains or improves quality, while at the same time cutting costs to bring care within reach for all Americans,” he said.
He is definitive on Iraq.
“We need to get our Army out of Iraq. By ending our occupation of Iraq we will stop losing American lives, stop squandering American treasure, and start to rebuild our tarnished image in the region,” Kelley said.
The 24-county 4th Congressional District includes Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties at its northern tip, and stretches from Oldham County to the west, Boyd County to the east and down into Scott County.
The district has the state’s highest number of registered voters, according to the Kentucky Board of Elections. It has 263,917 registered Democrats, 195,339 registered Republicans and 44,768 registered “other.”
The district is leans conservative with Democrats tending to do better in the eastern portion of the district.
