Zach Dembo

Zach Dembo met his wife, Lindsey, on his first day at the Justice Department.¹ They now live in Lexington with rescue dog Sugar and two cats, Dierks and Chester.² He grew up in Lexington, the son of two physicians, with Kentucky family roots stretching back to farmers in the eighteenth century.²

After Stanford, Dembo taught eighth grade English in the Mississippi Delta through Teach For America before attending the University of Michigan Law School.² He spent more than four years on active duty as a Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps officer, then joined the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division in 2017.² Governor Andy Beshear appointed him a policy adviser in 2020; he later became legislative director before returning to federal prosecution in Lexington.³

He helped prosecute Eric Nantell, a prison sergeant convicted of civil rights and obstruction offenses and sentenced to seven years in 2024.⁴⁵ The case involved failing to stop the beating of a restrained inmate and then lying to investigators.⁴ Dembo left the Justice Department in 2025.⁶

His platform promises to oppose tariffs, restore healthcare assistance, support a minimum wage of at least $15 and protect reproductive rights.⁷ He also calls for banning congressional stock trading and requiring greater local input on data centers.⁷ He faces Republican Ralph Alvarado on November 3 for the Lexington area seat Andy Barr is leaving to run for Senate.³