Kentucky is not exactly thought of as a blue state. But last week, the Republican Party there made it official. Kentucky is now red.
Much like Florida last November, the number of registered Republicans in Kentucky surpassed that of Democrats for the first time in state history.
The tally became official last Thursday, according to Kentucky Today.
The Kentucky GOP now claims 1,612,060 voters, while there are 1,609,569 registered Democrats, a pro-GOP difference of just 2,491 voters. About 324,000 voters are independents or members of minor parties.
“This is a very historic milestone for the Republican Party of Kentucky,” party Chairman Mac Brown said at a press conference last week.
“That report [by the state elections office] confirms the Republican Party is Kentucky’s Party. It’s clear that Kentuckians see the Republican Party as the party best equipped to represent them.”
As recently as 1999, Kentucky Today reported, Republicans could field only one candidate for state office. The Louisville Courier-Journal reported that 40 years ago Democrats were 68 percent of the state’s registered voters, while the GOP had just 28 percent.
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Today, however, Republicans control both of Kentucky’s seats in the U.S. Senate, five of its six U.S. House seats, at least 75 percent of the seats in the Legislature and most posts for county judge-executive.
“Today is a day I never thought would happen,” Sen. Mitch McConnell said in a statement. “This is great news for the Commonwealth but it’s just the beginning.”
The trend toward the Republican Party is not just limited to Florida or Kentucky.
Last month the Associated Press reported on its analysis of shifts in voter registration.
“Across 31 states, about two-thirds of voters who have switched their official party registrations in the past year have switched to the Republican Party,” the AP noted. “The phenomenon is playing out in virtually every region of the country — Democratic and Republican states along with cities and small towns — in the period since President Joe Biden replaced former President Donald Trump.”
“Biden and Democrats are woefully out of touch with the American people, and that’s why voters are flocking to the Republican Party in droves,” Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement at the time.
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