Sen. Ralph Alvarado leaving office to lead Tennessee health department

As recently as late spring, Sen. Ralph Alvarado, R-Winchester, was mulling a run for governor in 2023.

Now he’s headed to Tennessee to lead their state health department, according to a press release Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s office released Tuesday.

Alvarado rose to statewide prominence when former Gov. Matt Bevin ditched his first-term lieutenant governor, Jenean Hampton, for Alvarado in his bid for a second term. That ticket, with Alvarado as Bevin’s running mate, fell just short to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman.

In 2014, Alvarado made Kentucky history when he became the first Hispanic person to be elected to the General Assembly. He has also led the Senate Health and Welfare Committee as chairman since 2019.

The senator from Winchester, who is a doctor by trade, starts his new role Jan. 16, according to the press release from Lee’s office.

“It’s an honor to join Governor Lee’s team to advance health and prosperity for every Tennessean,” Alvarado said in the release. “I appreciate this opportunity and look forward to serving individuals and families across the Volunteer State.”

Alvarado has been a vocal proponent of the GOP-backed trigger ban on abortion both in the Senate and in the Kentucky Medical Association. Tennessee currently has in place an abortion ban similar to Kentucky’s, with no exceptions for rape or incest.

In a press release sent out Tuesday, Alvarado said serving in the Senate was an honor, but the job in Tennessee afforded a chance to “have an even more significant impact on public policy.”

“In making the difficult decision to accept this offer, my focus remains on faith, family and public service. I’ve ultimately determined that taking the role of commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health is the right thing for my family and me. Ultimately, it is an excellent opportunity to lead,” Alvarado stated.

His departure would leave a vacancy for his Senate District 28, which includes parts of northern and eastern Fayette County, as well as the entirety of Bath, Clark, Menifee and Montgomery counties.

Technically, there is no vacancy until a senator resigns, and the time of his resignation will determine who calls for a special election and when it will be conducted. When vacancies occur outside of the General Assembly’s session, the governor has the power to call for a special election and set the date to fill the seat. When a senate vacancy takes place during session, the senate president has that power. The 2023 legislative session begins Jan. 3, a couple weeks before Alvarado starts his job in Tennessee.

The plan for now seems to be Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, will determine the details of Senate District 28’s special election, according to a statement from Stivers lauding Alvarado’s senate career.

“Senator Alvarado will remain the representative of Senate District 28 through the first week of the 2023 Legislative Session and up until he resigns or takes his oath of office in Tennessee’s executive branch. His presence is critical to the start of our 2023 session because historically, key legislation has been crafted and passed at this time,” Stivers wrote.

Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, said Alvarado’s replacement as Senate Health and Welfare Committe chairperson will be addressed at a later time.

“Senator Alvarado is not only one of our hardest working members, but he’s also a friend and I’m sad to see him go. Kentucky’s loss is Tennessee’s gain. It’s a great opportunity for him,” Thayer said.

Thayer called Alvarado’s departure “another unfortunate consequence” of Beshear’s win over Bevin in 2019.

“We thought we would lose Ralph then and he would be lieutenant governor, but that didn’t work out… Other opportunities presented themselves and you can’t blame him for the opportunity, but he will be greatly missed,” Thayer said.

The seat became notably more Republican-friendly after redistricting, a process largely controlled by Republicans who hold massive majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. The portion of Fayette County contained in the district shrunk significantly, and the reliably conservative Bath and Menifee counties were added as a result of the redistricting process.

Alvarado flipped the old district in 2014, defeating incumbent Democrat R. J. Palmer II by six percentage points. He defeated Democratic challenger Denise Gray, who won a Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council seat this year, by seven percentage points. Nobody filed in time to run on the ballot against Alvarado in 2022, but he defeated a Democratic write-in challenger by scoring 98% of the vote.

The new Senate District 28 went for former Republican president Donald Trump by a little over 20 percentage points in the 2020 presidential election, according to CNAlysis. Per Blue Arrow Maps, Gov. Beshear’s Democratic ticket beat Bevin in the new district by about six percentage points.

Nominees for both parties during the special election process are selected via nominating committees, which are comprised of members of county party committees in the counties contained within the district.

At least one Democrat has expressed interest in running for the position. Tommy Adams – a first-time House candidate who lost to incumbent Rep. Ryan Dotson, R-Winchester, by 14 points but significantly outran Democratic President Joe Biden’s results – indicated on Twitter he would pursue nomination to the seat.

On the Republican side, two current GOP House members live in Alvarado’s district: Dotson and Rep. David Hale, R-Wellington. Neither have yet respond to inquiries about the vacancy.