Kentucky's 6th District: Alvarado distances himself from Trump on Iran war, tariffs in debate with Dembo

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The candidates for Central Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District held their only debate of the campaign Thursday night, and the surprise of the evening was Republican Ralph Alvarado putting some daylight between himself and Republican President Donald Trump.

Facing what’s expected to be a close contest Nov. 3 with Democrat Zach Dembo, Alvarado said he thinks the Iran war needs to end.

Alvarado also favors the repeal of Trump tariffs that are hurting Kentucky industries, like bourbon.

Until Thursday, Alvarado — who proudly accepted Trump’s endorsement earlier this year — had kept his public statements supportive of Trump on the Iran war and the U.S. trade war, which relies on steep tariffs.

But Trump’s approval ratings hit record lows this week, with only one-third of Americans supporting his job performance. Voters are particularly upset about energy prices and inflation on Trump’s watch.

Pressed on the continuing Iran war during the hourlong televised debate at the FOX 56 studios in Lexington, Alvarado said he would “break” with Trump on this issue.

“I think we need to end the war in Iran, is what we need to do right now,” Alvarado said. “And I’m not sure what his (Trump’s) position is, if it’s changed, but I think after it started, I think it’s time for us to end it. It’s run its course, and we need to be able to clear away from that right now.”

Trump has said he’s temporarily pausing attacks on Iran until after the midterm elections, although Iran and its regional allies are still engaged in hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz and elsewhere in the region.

A surprised-looking Dembo said this was an entirely new position for his GOP opponent.

“He has never once been out against the Iran war,” Dembo said. “The only statement he ever put out against it was on Feb. 28, saying he fully applauded it.”

Likewise, asked if he supports Trump’s tariffs when retaliation costs Kentucky more jobs and sales than the tariffs create, Alvarado said no, he would vote in Congress to remove such tariffs.

“I want the ag industry to be successful, the bourbon industry to be successful,” Alvarado said. “One of the things we got to do, again, is we can’t have increased taxes on businesses.”

Dembo has been on record throughout the campaign opposing the Iran war and Trump’s tariffs.

On Thursday, Dembo said there are examples of when targeted tariffs can make sense to protect Kentucky businesses — such as the Corning Inc. plant in Harrodsburg that produces iPhone glass — but Trump has been throwing large tariffs around haphazardly.

“The reason we’re paying $1,000 more per household and the cost is through the roof is because Congress hasn’t been doing their job,” Dembo said.

“That power is already in the Constitution, Article One, Section Eight,” Dembo said. “If they just exercise that power, they can make sure the tariffs that make sense go through, and the rest of them jacking up costs on us in Central Kentucky don’t.”

The debate moderators were FOX 56 journalists Andrea Walker and Will Kenneally.

Defending their records

Dembo, 40, is a former federal prosecutor in Lexington. Alvarado, 56, is a Winchester doctor and former state senator.

The men defended their professional records Thursday on subjects that have arisen in attack ads.

Dembo said he had no regrets about his job at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he often prosecuted law enforcement officers for the criminal violations of people’s civil rights. In one attack ad, a former Kentucky State Police officer who was acquitted at trial said Dembo rushed to judgment in his alleged excessive force case.

Dembo said he had a better than 95% conviction rate over the years.

“We carefully evaluate every single person’s defenses, and it’s not even up to me,” he said. “It’s up to the FBI. In this case, the Kentucky State Police, who also investigated the case, the grand jury and ultimately a judge. All of those found there was sufficient evidence for this case to reach trial.”

Alvarado was asked about his time in the Kentucky Senate, when he sponsored laws to protect nursing homes from medical malpractice lawsuits at the same time he was the medical director at substandard nursing homes with serious quality of care problems.

Alvarado said that wasn’t a fair criticism, because he was recruited to turn around troubled nursing homes, and his legislation was meant to protect the healthcare industry as a whole, not just nursing homes.

“We’re one of only seven states that didn’t have any kind of medical tort reform, and so we were trying to find a way to get rid of frivolous lawsuits," Alvarado said.

Cost of living

Several of the questions drilled in on inflation and the cost of living.

Asked to identify items in their household grocery shopping that cost more these days, Dembo said: “We all know ground beef is through the roof. I’m seeing it $7, $8 a pound. On the one hand, cattle farmers should be able to make a living, but I don’t think the solution is to undercut them by (Trump) bringing in hundreds of thousands of tons of cheap foreign beef. It’s stopping these tariffs that are adding $1,000 to every Central Kentucky household’s budget, including for ground beef.”

Alvarado said he couldn’t think of any examples offhand because his wife does the grocery shopping.

“I mean, I’m a physician. Usually, if I go to the Walmart and go down and do some shopping, people will pull me aside, want me to look in their kids’ ears and do examinations, so I don’t do a lot of shopping,” Alvarado said.

Alvarado criticized Dembo several times for allegedly being an “environmental extremist” who wants to raise Kentuckians’ taxes, charges that Dembo denied.

“There he goes again. Environmental extremist,” Dembo said. “I don’t know where he’s getting this from my career.”

“I was an eighth-grade English teacher,” Dembo said. “I was a Navy veteran. I was a federal prosecutor. I don’t support the Green New Deal. What I am in favor of is making sure that big corporations, including AI data centers, aren’t allowed in to ruin farmland, to pollute water and pollute air. And part of the reason they’re able to do that is because of the tax break that my opponent was in favor of that they’re taking advantage of.”

Alvarado said Dembo is on record wanting to raise Americans’ taxes because he opposes Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a massive piece of legislation that reduced taxes for different groups and cut various types of federal spending.

Dembo said he agreed with the bill’s tax relief for tipped workers and seniors but doesn’t like its massive cuts to Medicaid and food stamps that will hurt vulnerable Kentuckians in coming years.

“Career politicians like my opponent like to fold in lots of things into one bill, and so there were things in the bill that I like, like no taxes on tips, like no taxes on overtime, like no taxes on Social Security,” Dembo said.

“If those were standalone measures, I would be in favor,” Dembo said. “But I will never vote to shutter our rural hospitals. I will never vote to kick folks off the food benefits they were receiving, and I will never vote to be a toady for the ultra-wealthy and the millionaires and billionaires to give them tax breaks when they’re already doing fine.”

Alvarado responded: “Unfortunately, I think my opponent doesn’t understand how government works. It’s nice to say, ‘I like portions of a bill.’ You can’t pick out sections of a bill and see a vote. You’re either for it or you’re against it. He said he was against it.”