The recently elected chair of the Kentucky Democratic Party says he believes the party’s recent electoral victories in other states can translate to wins in the solidly-red commonwealth.
Democrats nationwide are hoping recent wins at the ballot box signal a trend that could lead to big gains next November. Among them is Ben Self, the Lexington businessman who was elected to the head the state party.
Self says, even with Kentucky’s long-running rightward trajectory, the policies being pursued by the Trump and Bevin administrations are galvanizing a new generation of Democratic voters and activists.
"We're gonna compete everywhere. I think we saw with some great momentum this last week in Virginia and in Oklahoma that people are really upset by our current national administration as well as here in the state, our governor and the Republican-controlled state legislature," he says.
Self acknowledges Kentucky Democrats tend to lean more conservative than their national counterparts, but he says core priorities on expanding access to healthcare coverage and helping working families are enough to unite the party in both urban and rural areas.
