New voter registration totals make Kentucky political history, as GOP dominance continues

Joe Sonka, Louisville Courier Journal
·3 min read
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U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks about the situation in Ukraine, calling for the United States to 'ratchet up' the sanctions on Russia, on Feb. 24, 2022.
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks about the situation in Ukraine, calling for the United States to 'ratchet up' the sanctions on Russia, on Feb. 24, 2022.

The Democratic Party has dominated Kentucky politics for most of the state's history since the Civil War, but another milestone in its fall — and the rise of the Republican Party ― over recent decades has been reached:

Republicans now surpass Democrats in registered voters for the first time.

The Kentucky State Board of Elections released its new monthly voter registration numbers Friday, showing 1,612,060 voters registered as Republicans and 1,609,569 registered as Democrats.

Just 40 years ago, Democrats made up 68% of registered voters in Kentucky, more than doubling the 28% registered Republican.

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While Republicans have made significant electoral gains since the 1980s — particularly dominating federal races — they were slower to make gains in voter registration, as many in rural parts of the state remained registered Democrats to vote in local primaries, where the party still dominated.

The past decade has witnessed the fall of such "ancestral Democrats" — who voted Republican in many general elections, but remained registered Democrats — as voters increasingly switched parties and started voting Republican in races at all levels.

A major milestone in this evolution came in the 2016 election, when Republicans won a majority of seats away from Democrats in the state House for the first time in nearly a century.

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Another milestone occurred in the summer of 2018, when Democratic registration dipped under 50% for the first time since the Civil War era.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — the Republican who was inarguably the most central figure in the Republican Party of Kentucky's gains over the last four decades ― celebrated Friday's news in a statement:

“Today is a day I never thought would happen," McConnell said. "After decades of hard work and grassroots efforts across the Commonwealth, registered Republicans now outnumber registered Democrats in Kentucky. Congratulations to all my fellow Republicans who have worked so hard and so long to make this historic day possible. This is great news for the Commonwealth but it’s just the beginning.”

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Republican Party of Kentucky chairman Mac Brown said their registration milestone "cements its place as the majority party in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.”

“This did not happen overnight, and we didn’t do it alone. This day has been decades in the making and is only made possible by the hard work and effort put in by so many. We stand on the shoulders of giants who came before us. Kentuckians know the Republican Party is their party."

Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams, the state's chief election official, stated that "after a century and a half, the birthplace of Lincoln has finally aligned with the party of Lincoln."

Kentucky Republicans have been particularly dominant across all levels of government in recent years. The party controls not just both seats in the U.S. Senate and five of the state's six U.S. House seats, but at least 75% of the seats in both chambers of the legislature and a majority of county judge-executive positions.

Republicans also won five of the six statewide constitutional officer positions in the 2019 election by a blowout margin, with only incumbent GOP Gov. Matt Bevin losing to current Gov. Andy Beshear by a very narrow margin.

Kentucky Democratic Party chairman Colmon Elridge responded to the registration news with a statement noting pollsters have found Beshear as "the most popular Democratic governor in the country,” and the party is "fighting for working families and responding to the urgent needs of our communities."

Reach reporter Joe Sonka at jsonka@courierjournal.com and follow him on Twitter at @joesonka.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky GOP surpasses Democrats in party registration for first time