Citing health reasons, Paducah attorney Tom Osborne has dropped out of the race to succeed retiring 1st District Congressman Ed Whitfield.
Osborne’s move makes it all but certain that Hopkinsville Army veteran Sam Gaskins will receive the Democratic nomination, as the only remaining party candidate in May’s primary.
Gaskins is a former tobacco farmer and construction worker, now medically-retired from the Army. Gaskins says he’s a moderate and agrees with his Republican counterparts that the Environmental Protection Agency has overreached with recent regulations to curb carbon pollution. He also supports Kentucky's growing hemp industry.
“I just want people to know that there’s somebody out there that’s willing to fight for the people in the middle," Gaskins said. "I’m not far-left. I’m not far-right. I’m like everybody else, throughout the United States. We’re all stuck in the middle listening to everybody else yell.”
Gaskins, like many political candidates, says his number one issue is jobs.
“And it’s not just in farming or coal, it’s everywhere," Gaskins said. "Manufacturing to construction workers – we all got hit pretty hard and I’m going to work to actually bring jobs here to the 1st District.”
James Comer, Michael Pape, Jason Batts and Miles Caughey are running for the Republican nomination. Kentucky’s primary election is May 17.
