Kentucky State Senator Robin Webb, who represents the state’s rural 18th Senate district, announced she is switching her party affiliation from Democrat to Republican, saying the Democratic Party has “left me.”
“First and foremost, I’m a mother, a rancher and a lawyer with deep personal and professional roots in Kentucky’s coal country,” Webb explained. “As the Democratic Party continues its lurch to the left and its hyperfocus on policies that hurt workforce and economic development in my region, I no longer feel it represents my values.
“It has become untenable and counterproductive to the best interests of my constituents for me to remain a Democrat,” Webb added in what is certainly a blow to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who is thought to be considering a bid for his party’s 2028 presidential nomination. “While it’s cliché, it’s true: I didn’t leave the party — the party left me.”
Webb was first elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1998 after defeating Republican Ramona Gee. Her defection also marks a significant setback for Kentucky Democrats, who have traditionally maintained strong support in the state’s rural areas, largely due to backing from union workers and the coal industry.
Speaking to a local Louisville news outlet, Beshear said he “would consider” running as the Democratic nominee for president in 2028. As a newly re-elected Democratic governor and potential White House contender, he now faces the added challenge of energizing his party in Kentucky ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
“Like countless other Kentuckians, [Webb] has recognized that the policies and objectives of today’s Democratic Party are simply not what they once were, and do not align with the vast majority of Kentuckians,” Republican Party of Kentucky Chairman Robert Benvenuti said.
“I always respected that [Webb] approached issues in a very thoughtful and commonsense manner, and that she never failed to keenly focus on what was best for her constituents,” Benvenuti added. “It is my pleasure to welcome Sen. Robin Webb to the Republican Party.”
The Kentucky Democrat Party responded to Webb’s party switch, saying “she isn’t a Democrat” and floating typical talking point conspiracies about Republicans that are false.
“Senator Webb has chosen to join a political party that is currently working around the clock to take health care away from over a million Kentuckians, wipe out our rural hospitals, take food off the table of Kentucky families and take resources away from our public schools,” Kentucky Democratic Party Chair Colmon Elridge told Fox News Digital. “If those are her priorities, then we agree: she isn’t a Democrat.”
