Boone County voters will choose among three candidates for Kentucky's 4th Congressional District on Nov. 3, a race reshaped by one of the most expensive primary battles in U.S. history.
Republican Ed Gallrein, Democrat Melissa Strange and Libertarian Jeremy Todd are all on the ballot, according to the Boone County Clerk's sample ballot. The district covers 21 counties and more than 775,000 residents across northern Kentucky.
Voter registration closes Monday, Oct. 5. Online registration must be completed by 4 p.m. that day. Early in-person voting runs Oct. 29 through Oct. 31.
Ed Gallrein (R)
Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL captain who served from 1984 to 2014, defeated longtime Rep. Thomas Massie in the May 19 Republican primary, 55% to 45%. The race drew more than $30 million in spending, making it the most expensive House primary in U.S. history, WLWT reported.
President Donald Trump, who endorsed Gallrein in October 2025, campaigned for him at a rally in Hebron in March. A fifth-generation farmer from Shelbyville, Gallrein holds bachelor's and master's degrees in agriculture from Murray State University. He first ran for office in 2024, narrowly losing a state Senate primary.
After his May 19 primary win, Gallrein told supporters his focus is "advancing the president's and the party's agenda to put America first and Kentucky always." No detailed policy platform beyond that alignment has been made public.
Melissa Strange (D)
Strange, a supply chain director from Erlanger, won the Democratic primary May 19 with 72% of the vote. She has nearly 30 years of experience in food manufacturing and holds degrees from Northern Kentucky University and Thomas More University.
Her campaign centers on affordability, health care and public education. Only one Democrat has held the seat since 1967: Ken Lucas, who served from 1999 to 2005.
Strange told the Cincinnati Enquirer on Sept. 30 that Massie's defeat opens a path. "… I think there are far more persuadable voters out there than there probably would have been if I had been facing Mr. Massie," she said.
Jeremy Todd (L)
Todd, 39, of Independence entered the race after Massie's primary loss. He collected more than 750 signatures in 12 days to secure ballot access, well above the 400 required by state law, Link NKY reported.
His platform includes cutting government spending, opposing foreign lobbying influence and bringing U.S. troops home. Todd told the Cincinnati Enquirer he entered the race because "what we just saw happen in that primary cannot be allowed to become a blueprint across the nation."
The landscape
The district leans heavily Republican. As of April, it had 311,005 registered Republican voters and 205,370 registered Democrats, according to the Kentucky Secretary of State's Office. The Cook Political Report and Inside Elections both rated the general election Solid Republican as of May 19. A canceled Republican dinner in Independence on Sept. 18 prompted some party members to say voters remain "unenergized" after the divisive primary, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
