Ky. GOP celebrates state now having more registered Republicans than Democrats

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT) - The Kentucky Republican Party celebrated a milestone Thursday morning.

Republicans now outnumber Democrats by more than 2,400, according to figures released recently by the State Board of Elections.

The GOP has been growing in Kentucky in the last few years and Republican leaders say this clearly points to Kentucky as being a red state.

To put it into context, they say when Senator Mitch McConnell was elected in 1984 the state only had about 500,000 registered Republicans.

Republican registrations have been climbing gradually over the past dozen years or so. Republicans point to the leadership of McConnell leading the way, but say, ultimately, it was the people of Kentucky saying they wanted a change.

“This isn’t about R and D, it is about the people of Kentucky standing up and saying, ‘not only do we want something different, we are something different,’” said Rep. David Osborne, R-Kentucky House Speaker.

Governor Andy Beshear says it just shows both parties now have about 1.6 million registered in each, with the Republicans holding the slight advantage.

“I think what that says is that we need to get along. We shouldn’t be out there flexing on who is dominant. We ought to be trying to get along,” Gov. Beshear said.

It is also interesting to note that, while Republican registrations have been climbing steadily since about 2008 or 2009, Democrat registrations have remained flat or about the same.

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