David Ramey of Murray calls himself a "no buts Democrat."

"You hear people say, 'I'm a Democrat but,'" the Fifth District state House of Representatives candidate explained. "I'm a no-buts Democrat.

"I don't apologize for being a Democrat. The Democratic Party has a history of fighting for the working men and women of this country. And I'm proud to keep making that fight."

The western Kentuckian is challenging State Rep. Kenneth Imes, a Murray Republican who favors "right to work" and opposes the prevailing wage.

Ramey is anti-RTW and pro-PW. "My dad was in the Steelworkers and my grandfather was a UMWA coal miner.

"The number one issue in this country is income inequality. 'Right to work' means the right to work for less."

Passing RTW and abolishing the prevailing wage would widen the gap between the rich and working people, according to Ramey.

"Everything we are going to do legislatively has got to address the shrinking middle class," he said, adding that the middle class can't be expanded "by taking dollars away from working men and women.

"It's really simple. You grow the middle class by giving people the economic power to buy things."

Ramey owns an insurance agency in the Calloway County seat. "I'm a small business owner but I hear people say, 'You can't be a Democrat and a small business owner.'

"I tell them they're crazy. The number one concern of a small business owner is having people who can afford to buy my product."

He said RTW and PW repeal will take money away from people who could otherwise purchase what small business owners are selling.

"I want working people to be able to afford to buy homes and cars and boats and pay for the premiums for them."

Thus, he said a wage-shrinking RTW law is the last thing Kentucky needs. "General Motors is expanding in Bowling Green with a union workforce. Ford Motor Co. is expanding in Louisville with a union workforce."

He said passing RTW and deep-sixing PW would be like a coach "adopting a playbook that doesn't score points. We need to have a playbook that put points on the board."

Unions help economies score points, Ramey said. "I can't see where anybody in workforce development wouldn't want unions. Union labor is smarter; the higher wages pay for themselves in better quality.

"America history teaches us that union labor works. And the European countries with the strongest economies are the most heavily unionized."

The Fifth District encompasses Calloway County and part of Trigg County.

Candidates have until Jan. 26 to file for the May 17 Democratic and Republican primaries. Ramey and Imes are not expected to attract primary opposition.

Nov. 8 is election day.