Written by Mark Payne, LINK nky government and politics reporter
It was a busy week in the capital last week, especially for Gov. Andy Beshear. First, his son Will tested positive for COVID-19, while the rest of the family stayed negative. Will has since tested negative.
On Thursday, the governor’s team parked one of the 200 campers the state purchased for tornado victims between the capital building and the annex. Media and staff, including school superintendents from Western Kentucky, toured the mobile homes that were expected to start arriving in Mayfield at 2 p.m. Friday.
Gov. Andy Beshear’s popularity has increased from 55 to 60 percent over the past year, according to a Mason Dixon Poll released Friday. Thirty-two percent disapproved, while 8 percent were unsure of his performance.
The poll surveyed 625 voters across the Commonwealth between Jan. 19 to 22. Forty-four percent were registered Republicans, with 45 percent registered Democrats. The other 11 percent were independents or registered as something else.
Interestingly, 39 percent of Republicans approved of his job, with 50 percent disapproving and 11 percent undecided.
Lastly, Secretary of State Michael Adams announced that December saw a considerable increase in the number of Republican voters across the state. The Kentucky Democratic Party lost 5,571 voters, with the Republican Party gaining 5,684. The swing most likely occurred due to the December deadline that will see voters align with their party ahead of the May primaries.
Overall, there are 1,626,274 registered Democratic voters or 45.7 percent. Republican voters total 1,591,873, or 44.7 percent. There are 339,556, as other affiliations, or 9.5 percent.
“Kentucky remains a two-party state, and candidates should reach across the political divide and court all voters,” Adams said. “Nevertheless, voter registration is now reflecting voter preference at the ballot box, and I believe that by the November election, a plurality of Kentucky voters will be registered as Republicans.”
If you didn’t catch the weekly LINK Facebook Live on Thursday evening, LINK chatted with NKU Political Professor Ryan Salzman, Rep. Adam Koening (R-Erlanger), and Rep. Rachel Roberts (D-Newport). Among the topics was how some state representatives and senators are using TikTok to communicate to their constituents. Check out Rep. Roberts’ TikTok here. Rep. Koenig doesn’t yet have TikTok (Hint, hint).
