Matt Lehman is running for Congress in Kentucky’s Fourth District, the seat currently held by Republican Thomas Massie.
Lehman, 44, is a Northern Kentucky native who lives with his family in Newport.
The Democrat was CEO and co-founder of Koligo Therapeutics, which developed treatments for pancreatitis without opioids, according to an announcement.
“Kentucky deserves a representative who focuses on job creation, affordable health care, education and fighting the opioid epidemic, instead of picking fights on social media,” Lehman said. “I want to let every voter know there’s a better choice this November.”
Massie is known as a prolific Twitter and Facebook user who frequently antagonizes other national politicians and personalities, and often uses the hashtag #SassyWithMassie in doing so. He has easily won election every year since 2012, never receiving less than 62% of the vote in the Fourth District, which includes all of Northern Kentucky, but also other Kentucky counties to the southeast and southwest along the Ohio River.
Lehman currently consults in the health care and thoroughbred industries preparing for new legislative initiatives, his campaign announcement said.
“I have no doubt that Thomas Massie will dust off an old playbook to paint me as an extremist out of touch with Kentucky,” Lehman said. “But we know a hypocrite by his actions: a zealot who sends Christmas cards with his children holding assault weapons; an anti-government radical who fought against helping children in Kentucky devastated by the opioid crisis; a man who votes against replacing the Brent Spence Bridge before it falls into the Ohio River; and a ‘third-rate grandstander,’ according to President Trump, after Massie held up coronavirus relief because he ‘just wants the publicity.
“Enough is enough. It’s time to elect a congressman who represents Kentucky values, who lives in the heart of our district, and who has brought investment and jobs to the Commonwealth. I’m going to work tirelessly to earn the votes to make this happen.”
Lehman is the sole Democrat in the race. He is a graduate of Covington Catholic High School, the University of Louisville, and Columbia University.
-Staff report
Photo provided