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Aug

24

KY Dems hope Robin Webb, candidate in tomorrow’s special election, can help turn its state senate blue


ElectWomen, one of my favorite resources about women in politics, is featuring an article on Robin Webb, a state representative in Kentucky, who is running in a special election tomorrow to fill a state senate seat.  

She has a very compelling life story which you can learn a bit about in this 2006 radio spot by NPR, called, “Working in a Coal Mine.” It highlights Webb’s pre-political life – as a coal miner from the age of 18 to 25.  She eventually went to law school and landed in the statehouse, but she grew up in a holler just a few counties north of where I did volunteer work (Red Bird Mission in Beverly).

You also can see a couple of Youtube videos, “Why I’m Voting for Robin,” here.  And you can read numerous newspaper pieces on her race here, including one about how four former KY governors campaigned for her over the weekend.

Finally, it’s this information about what’s going on behind the scenes in the race (reported in the link above about the govs support for her) that is most relevant to Ohio’s Democrats:

Webb, a state representative since 1999, faces Russell dermatologist Jack Ditty, a Republican, in the race to replace longtime GOP state Sen. Charlie Borders. Borders resigned last month after Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear gave him a posh position on the Kentucky Public Service Commission that pays more than $100,000 a year.

The move was widely seen as the first step in a broader initiative by Beshear to break the GOP’s hold on the Senate, where Republicans now outnumber Democrats 20-16.

“If we don’t win this race, it’s going to take a lot of wind out of our sails,” Patton told about 150 people gathered in a high school auditorium.

Before the Borders departure, another Republican, Sen. Gary Tapp of Shelbyville, announced that he won’t seek re-election next year. If Democrats could pick up the Borders and Tapp seats, the GOP’s majority would dwindle to 19-18. And if Beshear is able to lure other entrenched Republicans out of the Senate with offers of lucrative positions, independent gubernatorial candidate Gatewood Galbraith said, the balance of power could be tipped to the Democrats.

“I think it’s pretty obvious to anyone who has been watching it,” Galbraith said.

I’m not sure whether I’d advocate for our top Democratic officials to be making these moves, but could it beat waiting around until redistricting?

In the meantime, best of luck to Webb in tomorrow’s election in Kentucky.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:21 am August 24th, 2009 in Campaigning, Democrats, Elections, Gender, Government, leadership, Politics, senate, Statehouse, Women 

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