KY House District 76: Palumbo, Donworth & Buckman running in Democratic primary

For more than 30 years, Democratic Rep. Ruth Ann Palumbo has represented her Lexington district in Frankfort.

Now that she’s leaving office, three different Democrats are vying for her House District 76 seat. The winner of the May 21 primary will almost certainly determine Palumbo’s successor, as no Republicans filed to run in November.

They include a former write-in candidate for state Senate, a Lexington Public Library executive and a diving coach who is also the incumbent’s son.

Anne Gay Donworth has played a major role in fundraising for library projects, including the new Marksbury branch on Versailles Road. Josh Buckman is a social worker who ran a quixotic campaign against former Senator Ralph Alvarado two years ago. Jamie Palumbo is a dive coach for four different public high schools in the area who’s looking to replace his mother.

Sign up for our Bluegrass Politics Newsletter

A must-read newsletter for political junkies across the Bluegrass State with reporting and analysis from the Lexington Herald-Leader. Never miss a story! Sign up for our Bluegrass Politics newsletter to connect with our reporting team and get behind-the-scenes insights, plus previews of the biggest stories.

All three say they’ll focus on public education and healthcare but differ somewhat on their approaches to gaining new Democratic power in a legislature dominated by four-fifths GOP majorities.

As of last week when their last reports to the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance were filed, Palumbo had raised $94,000, the most of the bunch though roughly $24,000 came from his own coffers. Donworth had brought in $75,000 and Buckman raised around $7,000.

House District 76 includes neighborhoods along Richmond Road like Kenwick and Chevy Chase; it also reaches East into Hamburg and North to neighborhoods near Bryan Station High School.

Here’s how the candidates responded to a survey on their backgrounds, the future of the Democratic party in Kentucky, the issues and more.

Josh Buckman

What about your personal and professional background makes you most qualified to serve?

As a medical social worker, I get a firsthand view of many of the problems Kentuckians face on a daily basis. Whether it be people struggling to obtain affordable housing, obtaining prescriptions or individuals who are victims of abuse and neglect, I have the knowledge to work with legislators to craft effective policy. I have also interned with Kentucky Youth Advocates to pass important legislation that positively impacts children. I have advocated before the legislature in Frankfort for more than a decade on bills that impact reproductive care, civil rights and public safety. I have also interned in a recovery center working with individuals with substance abuse issues.

Also, growing up I was influenced by my parents. My father was a factory worker and my mother was a public school teacher. They taught me the values of hard work and serving others.

What would be your top three issues in Frankfort in the next term?

I would focus on health care, particularly eldercare, reproductive rights and mental health. Education is a high priority by working to ensure public schools are getting the funds they need and working to increase teacher pay in order to reduce the teacher shortage. I would also work to make housing more available and affordable and look into ways to modernize the homestead exemption to make it more effective.

Democrats have a choice to make in this election. Why should they pick you instead of your opponents?

I get a front row seat to many of the problems Kentuckians face on a daily basis. I interact with organizations the legislature has set up to alleviate the problems Kentuckians face, and I can use that unique perspective to make them more efficient. I have worked with Democratic and Republican legislators to pass bills while interning at Kentucky Youth Advocates and advocating with organizations like Planned Parenthood and the Kentucky chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

I also will bring the values my parents taught me. My father was a union factory worker for 38 years and my mom is a former public school special education teacher and current small business owner.

Currently, Republicans control the flow of legislation in Frankfort. How can the Democratic Party become more relevant and change that reality?

Democrats need to focus on issues that are important to Kentuckians such as improving healthcare, education, and housing all while working to bring good paying jobs to the state. Kentuckians have shown that they want their taxes lower and the government to be made more efficient. I think there are great opportunities to keep taxes low for most Kentuckians. I would love to work to eliminate the sales tax on diapers and modernize the homestead exemption. Democratic legislators need to put aside party differences and work with republicans to better serve the citizens of the Commonwealth.

Anne Gay Donworth

What about your personal and professional background makes you most qualified to serve?

My breadth of professional experience ranges from the arts, healthcare, agriculture and education. I have been involved with hundreds of initiatives designed to uplift our community at the local level while also fighting in Frankfort for public libraries, public pensions, DEI initiatives and more. I have built strong relationships with city, state and community leaders which have formed my overall understanding of the issues facing Lexington and given me great experience building common sense public policy. As the only woman and only parent in this race, I am fighting not only for myself but for my gender and our children’s future. I will be ready to lead from Day 1 in Frankfort to ensure that Central Kentucky continues to have strong female leadership.

What would be your top three issues in Frankfort in the next term?

1. Protecting public education: we must continue to invest in public education, including public schools, educators, early childhood education, trade skills, higher education and public libraries. Education is vital for the future success of our commonwealth and our democracy. Public education is an investment in our future!

2. Women’s rights: women must be allowed to make our own healthcare decisions in consultation with our healthcare providers. I will not take a backseat when it comes to extreme healthcare policies. We should receive equal pay for equal work, but we also need help from our government in the form of childcare subsidies and family-first policies.

3. Common sense gun safety : We need red flag laws, safe storage laws, universal background checks and to remove weapons of war from our streets and schools. I’ll stand up to the out of control gun lobby to keep our families safe.

Democrats have a choice to make in this election. Why should they pick you instead of your opponents?

All three of us share similar platforms and a commitment to the 76th District. The primary difference is in the level of experience and record of results that I bring to the office. A simple Google search of each candidate’s name, past any sponsored results, will demonstrate that I have been working for the people for a long time and doing so effectively. Most recently, I have listened to the community and helped to bring the new Marksbury Family Branch of the Lexington Public Library to fruition with $8.3M in private funding. I am the candidate that has consistently gotten things done, both in and out of the spotlight. At a time when women, public schools and so many other causes important to our community are under attack, it is more important than ever that we send a woman and a parent to fight for our future.

Currently, Republicans control the flow of legislation in Frankfort. How can the Democratic Party become more relevant and change that reality?

While the House and Senate maps remain heavily gerrymandered by Republicans, Democrats and our issues continue to win at the statewide ballot box. More and more, we find that on the main issues of the day, Kentuckians are with us and share a prosperity doctrine, one focused on the idea that the best version of Kentucky is one in which all Kentuckians have a fair chance at reaching their full potential. It’s also true that we can find issues of common ground, regardless of party affiliation, and many share the desire to oust the hard right extremists and their dangerous, ideological and wrong-headed approach to public policy.

Jamie Palumbo

What about your personal and professional background makes you most qualified to serve?

I know the needs of working families and to provide living wages for employees and good benefits. One grandmother lived with me; I went to appointments and talked to medical providers regularly, to be able to see firsthand that we must do more for our seniors. As a leader in the dive community, I have been able to create policy that benefits many of our youth. Being in multiple school systems, I have built relationships with teachers, staff and administrators in several schools. I have best friends in the Black community; it is imperative that we do more to help their community. My oldest brother committed suicide with a gun; gun safety is personal to me. I’ve struggled with mental health and addiction, so those are issues dear to me. I am LGBTQ+ and saw legislation introduced this session to allow discrimination in housing, employment and even in receiving medical care.

What would be your top three issues in Frankfort in the next term?

Public education: Being in multiple school systems I see firsthand the dire needs of our public-schools. I am adamantly opposed to school vouchers, charter schools and anything else that takes away funding and resources away from our public education systems. I will support increasing public school funding, not reducing it. Teachers need raises and we must protect their pensions.

Health care: Guarantee access to reproductive health care for women; support access to contraception, IVF and family planning services; expand access to breast and cervical cancer screenings; provide affordable care for our seniors; remove barriers to healthcare access for minorities; invest in more mental health resources for those with addiction and mental health challenges; invest in more resources for victims of domestic abuse.

Civil rights for all Kentuckians: Adopting criminal justice reforms, eliminate racial and economic bias, prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.

Democrats have a choice to make in this election. Why should they pick you instead of your opponents?

I am the most qualified candidate for the 76th Kentucky House District. I am the only candidate that grew up in the 76th district, graduated from the public high school in the district and currently works in the district. I am the only candidate that works in our school systems. I have been involved with numerous organizations and nonprofits throughout my life. I am the only LGBTQ+ candidate, and after this session there will be zero LGBTQ+ members in the Kentucky House. Representation matters. I am the candidate that knows the district the best and loves our residents the most. The district is family to me. I’ve been endorsed by: BIA- Central KY, C-FAIR, KY AFL-CIO, Kentucky Citizens Against Domestic Violence and Pet Abuse, Kentucky Educators PAC, Kentucky Sierra Club, Victory Fund, and more. I have earned the 2024 Mental Health Now Candidate and Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate distinction.

Currently, Republicans control the flow of legislation in Frankfort. How can the Democratic Party become more relevant and change that reality?

Building relationships. I’ve always had relationships with all types of people. I have established strong relationships with elected officials over the 34 years that my mother has served. I also have been working with members of the Kentucky legislature in both parties already, advocating successfully for and against legislation that has been introduced. Legislation that was successful that I advocated for in the 2024 session includes: for the Alzheimer’s Association for training to be included in nurses training and request funding; I sat in committee for automated external defibrillators in elementary schools and funding; I lobbied for House Bill 258, which addresses animal cruelty. I sat in committee and lobbied against the Baby Olivia bill and another banning drag shows (both were defeated); I lobbied against the anti-DEI and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation (all were defeated). I am already getting things accomplished.