FRANKFURT, Ky. — Independent voters are now the fastest-growing voting bloc in the Commonwealth, according to new party registration numbers released by Secretary of State Michael Adams. For the first time, voters registered in “other” political organizations reached about 10%.
The secretary of state said the new registration total should be a signal for candidates for elected office. “Candidates for statewide office need to take notice: to win the general election, they need to reach beyond their base and tap into a rapidly growing group of voters,” Adams said.
In December, registered Republicans increased by 2,048 voters, an increase of 0.13 percent. Republicans now hold 45.5% of the state’s electorate with 1,635,938 voters. Those registered as Democrats lost 2,892 voters, down 0.18 percent. With 1,600,466 voters, 44.5% of voters are Democrats.
Those registered as “Other” by political affiliation increased by 1,353 new voters, an increase of 0.38 percent. The total number of voters in this group now includes 358,336 Kentucky voters.
Those trends follow in Kentucky, where Democrats have historically dominated state and local politics but have been getting redder and redder lately. In July, Adams announced that for the first time, Republican voter registrations had surpassed Democratic registrations. This gap has only widened since last winter.
Since that phase, “Other” registrations have increased by 12,662 voters, growing to 358,336 voters in the state. For example, Kentucky Governor Andy Bescher in 2011 He won his primary in 2019 by 5,333 votes, or just 0.37 percentage points.The favorite is up for re-election in elections later this year, suggesting a shift in registration. Visible effect.
Forty years ago, Democrats had 68% of Kentucky voters, compared to 28% of Republicans at the time. After more than a century of dominating state politics, things have changed.
Democrats controlled all three branches of state government before ceding the Senate to Republicans in 2000.
In the year The Republican state has grown stronger in 2019, winning every executive office except governor and reducing Democrats to 20 seats in the state legislature.
Bryce Shreve contributed reporting to this story.