Dembo campaign ad highlights Alvarado ties to Matt Bevin as Kentucky congressional race tightens

A political advertisement featuring cardboard cutouts has become a focus of attention in Central Kentucky’s race for the U.S. House, after Democratic candidate Zach Dembo aired a message meant to tie his Republican opponent, Ralph Alvarado, to former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, according to LEX18. The ad is part of a broader effort by Dembo’s campaign to frame the contest as a referendum on state-level leadership and its effects on Kentucky communities.

LEX18 reported that the spot draws attention to Bevin by visually connecting Alvarado to Bevin through the ad’s production elements, including the use of cutout-style imagery. The report described the creative approach as a way to increase the ad’s visibility and reinforce the campaign’s central theme. It was not immediately clear from the report whether the ad’s claims are tied to a single vote or policy item, or whether they are presented more broadly as association.

The ad arrives as both campaigns continue to compete for undecided voters and to define the stakes of the race. For Dembo, the strategy is to place Bevin’s political legacy in the foreground and suggest continuity between state politics under Bevin and Alvarado’s political record or positioning. The LEX18 report characterized the effort as part of the “heats up” phase of the campaign, when contrasts between candidates become sharper and more targeted.

Republican Ralph Alvarado, Dembo’s opponent in the race, is portrayed in Dembo’s advertising as having ties to Bevin, according to the LEX18 account. Alvarado’s campaign did not provide supporting detail in the LEX18 summary beyond the broader contest framing, and the report did not set out specific legal or formal findings regarding the ad’s assertions.

The use of cardboard cutouts and other attention-getting visuals also highlights a common feature of late-stage campaign messaging, where candidates look for memorable imagery that can spread locally and be cited in news coverage. The LEX18 report indicated the ad’s approach is designed to make the connection to Bevin stand out, rather than relying solely on conventional talking points.

The next step for voters and for the campaigns is likely to be continued scrutiny of the ad’s underlying claims as Election Day nears. If the allegations of association are challenged, the resolution could take place through campaign responses, public debate, and potentially fact-checking or regulatory complaint processes depending on what specific statements are disputed and where the ad is distributed.