Congressman John Yarmuth of Louisville has announced he will run for re-election in 2018. Yarmuth is the lone Democrat among Kentucky’s U.S. representatives and senators and has held his seat since 2007.
In a statement, Yarmuth said that he was invigorated by those speaking out against President Donald Trump.
“The current Administration has shown dangerous incompetence in pursuit of a reckless ideology, and the Congressional majority has, by and large, been complicit,” Yarmuth said. “Impassioned individuals of all stripes, here in Louisville and in communities nationwide, have been a true inspiration, speaking out at a volume we haven’t heard in generations.”
Yarmuth was re-elected to his seat for a sixth consecutive term in November, defeating Republican Harold Bratcher by about 90,000 votes.
He currently serves as the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee and has been a vocal advocate against efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
He also helped organize the Congressional sit-in last summer, in which Democrats disrupted proceedings for 26 hours in support of gun control legislation.
Yarmuth defeated Republican Rep. Anne Northup when he first won the seat in 2006 and in a rematch between the candidates in 2008.
Republicans took control of the House after gaining 63 seats in the 2010 elections.
Yarmuth has been the sole Democrat in Kentucky’s congressional delegation since former Rep. Ben Chandler was ousted by current Rep. Andy Barr in 2012.
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