In a district where Donald Trump got 73% of the vote, Democrat Linda Belcher doubled up her Republican challenger in today's special election for Kentucky House district 49, winning 68% to 32%. The Republican, Rebecca Johnson, was running to fill her late husband's seat, but was not able to replicate his path to victory.
In a interesting "history repeating" detail, Belcher originally won the seat after her state representative husband was killed in an automobile accident in 2008. Belcher lost to Dan Johnson by 156 votes in the 2016 election.
Ben Self, the chair of the Kentucky Democratic Party, issued this statement:
“Our congratulations go out to Representative-elect Linda Belcher for her victory tonight in Bullitt County. This is a great indication of the wave of excitement felt by Democrats throughout the state of Kentucky. We just won this district by more than 30 percentage points, where Trump won 73 percent of the vote. This just shows that the entire House is up for grabs this fall. People are using their votes and voices to take a stand against the anti-Kentuckian policies of the Republican majority. We are confident we will have continued success during the 2018 midterm elections. We have a record-breaking number of Democratic candidates, who along with energized voters, remain passionately focused on state and local issues concerning our children, working-class families and the future of our state.”
After the election was called, Forward Kentucky spoke with Mike Ward, one of the co-campaign chairs for Linda Belcher. (The other co-chair was Jonathan Hurst.)
What were some of the factors that you think were key to tonight's victory?
There were two factors, each equally important:
- Linda herself, her relationships, and her history of community involvement
- The pent-up Democratic voter demand that things be done differently in Frankfort – promoting Democratis policies, such as protecting teachers and education and healthcare and pensions, instead of starving government.
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Compared to other campaigns you've been a part of, how different was the volunteer energy in this one?
Volunteer participation was huge. Here's an example: we had more people on Saturday out canvassing, than we had at the celebration tonight. That's unheard of.
How much support did you get from the party?
Both the KDP and the Democratic House Caucus were very helpful.
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Our thanks to Mike Ward for taking our call, as he was already on the road, driving to another town to help another Democratic candidate.
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(Cross-posted from Forward Kentucky, “the progressive voice for the Bluegrass state”)