6 days ago
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A longtime authorities lawmaker successful Kentucky has announced that she is switching parties
ByBRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press
FRANKFORT, Ky. -- A longtime authorities lawmaker announced Friday that she is switching parties, joining Republican supermajorities successful the latest setback for Democrats trying to rebuild support crossed agrarian Kentucky.
State Sen. Robin Webb, who represents a four-county swath of northeastern Kentucky, revealed she volition articulation the ranks of GOP lawmakers who power the travel of authorities successful the state. Webb was 1 of the past agrarian Democrats successful Kentucky's legislature, and her defection leaves her ex-party much tethered to municipality and suburban districts successful a authorities with ample stretches of agrarian territory controlled by the GOP.
Webb said successful a prepared merchandise that the state's Democratic Party has continued to “lurch left.”
“It has go untenable and counterproductive to the champion interests of my constituents for maine to stay a Democrat,” Webb said. “I volition proceed to beryllium a fearless advocator for agrarian Kentucky and for the residents of eastbound Kentucky who person been truthful bully to maine and my family."
Webb has compiled a resume profoundly ingrained successful Kentucky culture. She has ties to the ember manufacture and is simply a well-known weapon enthusiast who changed vocation paths to go an attorney.
Webb archetypal joined the Kentucky House successful 1999, erstwhile Democrats controlled the chamber. She spent a decennary arsenic a authorities typical earlier joining the GOP-led Senate successful 2009. Republicans seized full power of the legislature successful the 2016 election, erstwhile they rode Donald Trump's coattails to triumph the Kentucky House for the archetypal clip successful astir a century. Republicans padded their legislative numbers successful consequent elections, giving them their overwhelming majorities.
Republicans attained that dominance by winning successful agrarian districts antecedently held by Democrats, but Webb's territory had remained a bluish dot connected the representation until Friday.
Her enactment power leaves Democrats mostly devoid of a agrarian beingness successful the legislature. One objection is Democratic authorities Rep. Ashley Tackett Laferty, who represents an Appalachian district.
The state's two-term governor, Democrat Andy Beshear, won a fig of agrarian counties and shrank GOP margins successful others successful his 2023 reelection. His popularity was built connected the state's robust economical maturation successful his archetypal word and his handling of disasters, from tornadoes and floods to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kentucky Democrats are trying to spark a agrarian comeback with a grassroots strategy, evidenced by the authorities party's ongoing “listening tour” with stops successful culturally blimpish towns crossed the state.
Lawmakers volition statesman their 2026 league successful aboriginal January, but Beshear has said helium volition apt telephone lawmakers backmost for a peculiar league sometime this twelvemonth to instrumentality up storm-relief funding. Parts of southeastern Kentucky were devastated by deadly tornadoes earlier successful May, portion different parts of the Bluegrass State were inundated by flooding successful April.
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