By Anne Halliwell

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McConnell: Republican Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1984. He became the Republican leader in 2006.

He is the 15th Senate member to hold that position.

McConnell has served as the Republican Leader for the 110th-112th Congresses and the Majority Whip in the 108th and 109th Congress.

He is currently a member of the Appropriations, Agriculture and Rules Senate committees.

In the 2008 general election, McConnell received almost one million votes, the highest number ever received in a Kentucky statewide race.

Before beginning his career in the Senate, McConnell served as judge-executive in Jefferson County for about eight years before beginning his first Senate term.

McConnell graduated from the University of Louisville College of Arts and Sciences and the UK College of Law.

He is married to Elaine L. Chao, former Secretary of Labor, United Way of America president and director of the Peace Corps. They have three daughters.

Grimes: Democratic Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes is Kentucky’s only female constitutional officer, according to her Kentucky.gov biography.

Grimes left her law practice to serve the Kentucky government full-time in 2011.

Grimes has previously served as a precinct officer for the 75th Legislative District and a member in the 2008 Democratic National Convention Rules Committee. She was the president of the Fayette County Bar Association’s Women Lawyers’ Association for two years.

The Fayette County Bar Association also recognized her as an Outstanding Young Lawyer in 2010.

Grimes also volunteers at the Salvation Army and Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital and is on the God’s Pantry Food Bank board of directors.

Grimes previously worked for the National Kidney Foundation’s healthcare initiatives.

She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Rhodes College in Tennessee and a law degree from the American College of Law in Washington, D.C.

Grimes is married to Andrew Grimes.

Gray: Current Lexington Mayor Jim Gray was elected in 2010 after 36 years in the private sector that culminated in a position as CEO of Gray Construction. After his father died in 1972, Gray moved home during his freshman year of college and worked in the family business, according to his official campaign website bio.

In 2006, Gray was elected vice-mayor. He chaired the Governor’s Commission on Quality and Efficiency in 1993 and 1994.

Gray has also chaired the funding campaign to build the Frankfort Kentucky History Center.

He has, with Gray Construction, supported organizations like Fayette County Public Schools and LexArts.

He completed his degree at Vanderbilt University. Gray was also appointed a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University in 1996, according to his Kentucky.gov biography. He has served on the Berea College board and the KET Fund for Excellence.

Beatty: Former Lexington police chief Anthany Beatty has spent 35 years in local government positions, according to his official campaign website biography.

Beatty is the current assistant vice president for Public Safety at UK.

Beatty’s time as chief of police from 2001 to 2007 led to awards and recognition for the Lexington Division of Police, according to his bio, and the 2005 naming of Lexington as one of the five safest cities in the U.S. by Mercer Human Resources Consulting.

He received the Lexington Division of Police Flight 5191 Exemplary Service Recognition, according to his campaign Facebook page.

Beatty graduated from Eastern Kentucky University and Kentucky State University. He is in the KSU Outstanding Alumni Hall of Fame.

Beatty is married to Eunice A. Beatty, a retired college professor and administrator. They have two sons.

Ellinger Jr.: Chuck Ellinger Jr. served his third four-year term as an at-large council member and is seeking the 3rd District Council Seat.

Ellinger is the chair of the Budget and Finance Committee and the General Government Council Link, according to his campaign Facebook page. He serves on the Social Services and Community and the Planning and Public Works Committees.

Ellinger is also part of the Economic Development Committee of the Whole and the Economic Development Investment Board.

Previously, Ellinger was a member of the National League of Cities’ Public Safety Crime Prevention Policy Committee, as well as the Housing and Support Services, Town and Gown and Greenspace Commissions.

He belongs to the Salvation Army Advisory Committee, Lexington-Fayette Urban County Airport Board and Fayette County Bar Associations.

Ellinger graduated from Rollins College with a degree in Political Science and UK Law School. He is a UK Fellow.

Gibbs: 3rd District Council candidate Jake Gibbs serves on the board of directors for the Kentucky Association of Teachers of History, according to his campaign website biography.

He was a member of the UK Faculty Senate from 2004 to 2006 and the Kentucky Community College Senate from 1990 to 1994.

Gibbs has served as the Bluegrass Community and Technical College ombudsman since 2009.

He previously bought Lexington restaurant Alfalfa with a group of partners.

Gibbs is the leading expert on Haldeman-Julius Little Blue Books and has been working on a descriptive bibliography of the series since 2007. He was a member of the Friends of the Library Board of Directors from 2007 to 2010.

Gibbs received history and philosophy degrees from the State University of New York at Brockport and graduated from UK with Master’s Degrees in history and library science. He has taught history and logic at the Bluegrass Community and Technical College.

He is married to Anita Courtney, a nutrition advocate. They have two daughters.

Barr: Republican 6th district candidate Andy Barr was first elected to Congress in 2012.He helped introduce the Veterans Access to Care Act in 2014, according to his website biography.

As co-chair of the Congressional Horse Caucus, Barr introduced the Aged Distilled Spirits Competitiveness Act. He is also a member of the Congressional Coal Caucus.

Barr graduated from Leadership Lexington in 2007 and has served on the Board of Directors for the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden and Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky. Barr graduated from the University of Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in government and philosophy and earned a law degree from UK.

He is married to Carol Barr. They have two daughters.

Jensen: Elisabeth Jensen, the Democratic 6th District Candidate, is the president and executive director of The Race for Education, a non-profit she co-founded in 2002.

Jensen started after school program Starting Gate, offered in Fayette and Bourbon Counties, in 2009.

Jensen is a former executive with Walt Disney Consumer Products and Gitano Group. She co-owns real estate company Jensen Properties, according to her campaign Facebook page. She represents special-needs children Governor’s State Advisory for Exceptional Children. She is also a member of the Kentucky Children’s Hospital’s Circle of Blue.

Jensen lives in Lexington with her son, Will Jensen.