Drew Williams on challenging James Comer and his vision for KY-01 ahead of 2026 US midterms: ‘My constituent is my only special interest’

Drew Williams spoke to HT.com about his decision to run against Republican James Comer Jr. and shared his vision for Western Kentucky.

John “Drew” Williams is running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Kentucky’s 1st Congressional District, with the midterm election scheduled for November 3. Williams secured the Democratic nomination after being the only candidate to file for the ballot, resulting in the cancellation of the primary election in May and his automatic advancement as the party’s nominee.

John “Drew” Williams is running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Kentucky’s 1st Congressional District. (Instagram @williamsforky1)

Williams, 34, has been a lifelong Kentucky resident. Born in Paducah, a city in McCracken County, he was raised in Benton City of Marshall County. He is married and has a son.

The Democrat spoke exclusively to HT.com about his decision to run against Republican James Comer, who has held the office since 2016, and shared his vision for Western Kentucky.

Drew Williams' decision to challenge James Comer

Williams is fully aware of the firm grip his opponent holds on Kentucky politics. As he put it, “He's (James Comer) entrenched in Kentucky politics.”

However, the Democrat had made up his mind to contest the midterm elections well in advance. “I knew that usually we waste the last minute, just throw somebody into the ring. And so I got out a year and a half ahead of time. I started in May, 2025,” Williams told HT.com, explaining when he began preparing for the race.

The Paducah-born candidate placed much of his confidence in the community he believes he has built over the years.

An additional factor that pushed Williams to contest for the congressional district was his experience and observations from 2020, when he managed a U.S. House campaign for the same position.

“I was a campaign manager for about eight months for this position. And so I'd seen the district. I saw how little energy we get from, like, the state and national party because it's so red,” he said.

Williams’ campaign strategy and outcomes

His campaign website outlines several key issues he advocates for and plans to work on, including the American Housing Promise, health insurance reform, tax policy, childcare networks, and data center regulation.

Williams’ campaign had raised over $200,000 by the end of September, and he had travelled 145,000 miles in his car since May 2025. The Democrat also said his campaign had held 180 public events by the end of September during that period.

“By the time people started thinking about it, like I'd already been to all my counties, 35 counties. It's like five hours, six hours cross. And so I really had already done the majority of the work that most people don't do over the whole campaign,” Williams described the efforts he has put into his campaign.

However, Williams also described his campaign as one that has largely stayed under the radar. “It’s an under-the-radar campaign in a lot of ways because no one's like asking the public how they feel. It's a lot like what I see on the ground.”

Williams’ sole focus and principles

The Benton native spoke about his principles, describing himself as a “liberty style of econocrat.”

He further explained the term, “I tell people that I'm fighting for more liberty in their lives or money in their pockets and a visible opportunity, the American dream for those who like work towards it. And a lot of people can resonate with liberty and money and the American dream being my core principles.”

Williams elaborated that, as he runs for Kentucky’s 1st Congressional District, his only priority is to serve his constituents. “I hope that the conversations that we're able to put forward feel like they're done in good faith and that my constituent is my only special interest. I don't have any other special interests,” he said.

Williams outlines vision for accountability

The Democratic candidate shared his vision for the constituency and outlined the kind of system he would like to establish if elected to office.

“I would like to set up a system where we pretty much demand town halls, debates with community members or organizations, expert roundtables where we're getting people of a specific group typing that's affected by an issue to have a live stream of their complaints or how I'm running things,” Williams elaborated.

He concluded with a brief message to voters, saying, “I want to be your statesperson. I hate politicians as much as the next person. So I want to be your statesperson. I want to be your representative and your voice.”