FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Kentucky State Senator Robin Webb of Carter County has switched her party affiliation from Democrat to Republican, saying the Republica Party better aligns with the values she and her constituents hold.
"I've not changed. I will not change. My voting record will not change. It's just sort of where my voting record has landed me," Webb told LEX 18 in her new office in Frankfort.
The longtime lawmaker's switch, announced on May 30, marks the end of Democratic representation from rural areas in the Kentucky Senate. The change shifts the balance to 32 Republicans and six Democrats, further strengthening the GOP's supermajority.
Webb said the division between her and the Democratic Party began over energy policy, particularly her strong support for coal and diversified energy policy, and further grew apart over social issues like trans athletes in women's sports.
"It's come to the forefront, particularly on the national level, on some cultural issues, some second amendment issues, and just rural value issues. Women's sports is for one. We fought awful hard to get to Title IX. I really don't want to see that undermined as a former Title IX athlete," Webb said. "Just those kinds of things have accumulated through the years."
In the Republican Party of Kentucky's press release announcing Webb's switch, Webb said she believes the Democratic Party left her.
“While it’s cliché, it’s true: I didn’t leave the party — the party left me,” Webb said in the press release. “The Kentucky Democratic Party has increasingly alienated lifelong rural Democrats like myself by failing to support the issues that matter most to rural Kentuckians."
"A lot of people have felt that way," Webb further explained to LEX 18. "So, in those areas that I discussed previously, I think that they have [left] people like me and not really acknowledged or paid attention to the rural issues or the cultural issues that are important to a lot of Kentuckians, especially in east Kentucky. So, yeah, I think the emphasis has not been on including those views."
Webb noted that her voting record, even as a Democrat, has reflected her values. She also points out that she was originally a Republican before switching to the Democratic Party earlier in her career.
Why did she make that initial switch from red to blue years ago?
"I was a coalminer, and I value what unions did to make me - to enable me as a woman to pursue my occupational goal and do it in a safe manner. All the blood, sweat, and tears that went on before me - and I thought that was a value," Webb said.
"It's just - the tenants of the union," Webb added.
Webb said she was thinking about making the change back to the GOP for a while now, but decided the time was right as her seat is on the ballot in 2026. She told LEX 18 News she wanted her constituents to have plenty of notice about the change.
While Republicans have praised her decision to switch affiliation, the Democratic Party of Kentucky criticized the move.
In a statement, the Democratic Party Chairman said: "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. If those are her priorities, then we agree: she isn't a Democrat."
On social media, Webb's cousin claimed the senator had promised to run as a Democrat in her final campaign.
"Senator Webb promised me and other young, aspiring Eastern Kentucky Democrats her commitment to one final run for Senate District 18 next year as a Democratic candidate," Nicholas Hazelett wrote on X on May 30th. "But that promise she even gave to us again last week at Grayson Memory Days was all smoke and mirrors. She chose to deceive her supporters, proteges, and constituents for personal job security heading into re-election next year."
Webb disputes having made such a promise.
"I don't even recall having a substantive conversation about politics at all, but I wouldn't have said that. I've been contemplating this. You can look at my fundraising and see how long I've been contemplating this - probably a couple of years at least. I haven't raised any money thinking I didn't want to be that person that does that," Webb said.
