Ralph Alvarado


Ralph A. Alvarado, is an American physician and Republican politician. He serves as member of the Kentucky Senate from the 28th District, being first elected in 2014. He is the first Hispanic person elected to the Kentucky General Assembly; his father is from Costa Rica and his mother is from Argentina.
Alvarado was born in San Francisco and raised in Pacifica and San Jose, California. He graduated from Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose in 1988. He graduated from Loma Linda University in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and completed an MD from the same university in 1994. He completed his residency at the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center.
He spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention on the third night of the Convention.
He sponsored a 2017 medical malpractice bill that was later struck down by the Kentucky Supreme Court for obstructing access to the courts.
On January 25, 2019, Alvarado was chosen by Governor Matt Bevin to be his running mate in the 2019 Kentucky gubernatorial election. The Bevin-Alvarado ticket lost the general election on November 5 to the Democratic ticket of Andy Beshear and Jacqueline Coleman.