U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Bowling Green, filed for re-election Monday and is now facing a second Democratic challenger after running unopposed in 2016.

As he runs for the seat he has held since 2008, Guthrie said he’s focused on “putting forth what I want to do and what the people expect me to do.”

Democrat Brian Pedigo of Glasgow filed to run for the seat Nov. 20 and was joined Nov. 21 by Owensboro’s Grant Short.

Like his fellow legislators, Guthrie has been focused on federal tax reform in recent weeks.

Republican Senate leaders have been working this week to build GOP support for the $1.5 trillion tax plan, which would eventually have to be reconciled with a House plan previously passed.

While he acknowledges it was a disappointment for Republicans to not have repealed and replaced the Affordable Care Act, Guthrie is optimistic Congress can pass a meaningful tax reform bill “because it’s the right thing to do and good for the economy,” he said.

While some critics have contended that the proposed tax laws would primarily benefit upper-income taxpayers, Guthrie said “it truly is a middle class tax break” that would benefit the majority of Kentuckians.

As for proposed cuts to corporate tax rates and deductions for business purchases – “if people want to complain that (the tax bill) makes U.S. businesses more competitive, that’s a criticism I am willing to accept,” Guthrie said.

Analysis of the tax proposals shows they would ballon the national deficit, but Guthrie said tax reform can actually help fight the deficit by spurring economic growth. He said the country can’t simply grow economically out of the deficit, and some entitlement reform will be needed.

Guthrie also touted his ability to work across the political aisle on legislation.

“I’ve proven I can get things done,” he said.

Both Democratic challengers have one previous unsuccessful run for public office.

Short filed to run for the U.S. Senate in 2016 and finished fifth behind eventual nominee Jim Grey in the Democratic primary. He said he filed to run when there was no one else in that race and eventually dropped out to focus on running the Owensboro office of the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign.

He is a lifelong Kentuckian who runs his own business that lobbies on behalf of activist change, he said.

Short said he envisions a campaign that can bring some of Sanders’ ideas to fruition, and was spurred to run in part because of Guthrie’s attacks on the ACA.

“I definitely think some of the problems of the ACA are in fact some of the gaps it leaves,” he said.

Short said it struck him the wrong way to see Guthrie celebrating a vote for the straight repeal of the ACA, which he said is not only a source of many jobs in the commonwealth but also a lifeline for many Kentuckians.

“It was a travesty (to) kick the can down the road” without a replacement, he said, adding that it’s frustrating to see people using online crowdfunding “to try to raise funds for chemotherapy.”

Short also said “Republicans have failed to get even basic things done” in Washington, despite controlling Congress and the presidency.

Pedigo unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Republican Ron Lewis for the 2nd District congressional seat in 2000. The Glasgow native previously said several factors spurred his decision to re-enter politics.

“There is so much partisan politics these days,” Pedigo said, adding that although he is a Democrat, he grew up in a household with both Republicans and Democrats.

“I try to see the strong points of both sides,” he said.

Pedigo said he was also drawn to run after he heard Guthrie talk about being an architect of the Republican health care plan, which Pedigo said is “atrocious and disgusting in how it treats poor people.”

Pedigo works at Amneal Pharmaceuticals in Glasgow.

While both Democrats have just started their campaigns, it seems likely that Guthrie will have a hefty funding advantage over his two announced opponents. The Federal Election Commission database shows no filing yet for Pedigo and Short with $101 cash on hand, while Guthrie has more than $2 million on hand for his re-election effort.

The filing deadline is Jan. 30.