Kentucky Democratic Party executive director to leave, replacement named

The Kentucky Democratic Party will soon have a new leader.

Morgan Eaves, a Lexington attorney with a history in Kentucky Democratic politics, has been named executive director, according to a press release from the party Friday.

Eaves will take the helm Thursday.

Executive Director Sebastian Kitchen is leaving his role after more than two years to return to Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration.

Kitchen, a former spokesperson for Beshear, has been with the party since October 2021. He will become the deputy secretary of the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, Secretary Lindy Casebier said.

“Sebastian will be instrumental in continuing to foster growth and development in our great tourism and arts industries,” Casebier said.

Chair Colmon Elridge thanked Kitchen for guiding “the KDP with integrity and excellence — leadership that has been recognized across the nation and that was essential in the historic reelection of Gov. Beshear.”

Elridge called Eaves a “dynamic leader.”

“We are excited for her to bring her experience and determination to the KDP to support candidates who are committed to moving Kentucky forward,” he said in a statement.

Prior to joining KDP and the Beshear administration, Kitchen worked on Senate campaigns for Doug Jones in Alabama and Bill Nelson in Florida, as well as the presidential campaign of Julián Castro, who ran for the 2020 Democratic nomination.

Like Kitchen, Eaves has ties to Beshear, though she’s most recently been in the private sector, having worked as a lobbyist for the education nonprofit Cognia. Before that, she worked for more than two years in the Beshear administration, first as deputy director for legislative services for the governor and later as director of legislative affairs for the Education and Labor Cabinet.

“I am thrilled to join the KDP to elect more leaders who work every day to move our communities, our commonwealth and our country forward,” Eaves said.

Before working in Frankfort, Eaves was an attorney in Richmond for six years after graduating law school. She served on the Richmond City Commission for a term before running against Rep. Deanna Frazier Gordon, R-Richmond, in 2018. Frazier Gordon won by a slim 24-vote margin.

“I look forward to working with Morgan again to move Kentucky forward and improve our communities and our commonwealth,” Beshear said in a statement. “I appreciate Sebastian’s tireless work in the first two years of our administration and his steady hand steering our state party during the election, and I look forward to welcoming him and his leadership back to the administration to continue serving the people of Kentucky.”

This is a developing and story may be updated.