A Republican Louisville businessman who has been engaged in the community for decades is considering a run for the open 3rd Congressional District in 2022.
Stuart Ray, the 59-year old founder and CEO of The Peregrine Company, a scrap metal management service and transportation company, is seriously considering a bid for the Louisville Congressional seat that has been held since 2007 by U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, a Democrat.
Ray has a history of working across the aisle and is concerned about trends he sees coming from Washington D.C.
“One of the main reasons a lot of people want to put a reasonably-minded Republican in the office is to get our country back on track,” Ray told Kentucky Fried Politics on Monday. “Inflation is coming like a freight train, spending is out of control, and our economy within the city and the 3rd District of Louisville is not growing. We still need to add really meaningful employment and jobs within the confines of the 3rd District including in the west side of Louisville and there have to be improvements made there.”
Ray is no stranger to politics or Frankfort, Kentucky. He was appointed in 2010 as a Commission member to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. And he has donated to both Democrats and Republicans, including to Democratic Louisville Mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg.
To win the Louisville-based district, Ray would need considerable Democratic support. There are already two Democrats who have announced campaigns for the Democratic primary in May of 2022 to replace Yarmuth.
