FRANKFORT, Ky. — The so-called "red wave" that saw Republican supermajorities swell at the Capitol includes a millennial conservative replacing a former governor and taking his seat for her party.
"You know we're going to kind of bring that back it's not just retirement and it's not just the regular white guys I guess,” said Senator-elect Adrienne Southworth, (R) KY Dist. 7.
Southworth, 32, won on Tuesday. She'll take over a seat Democrats wanted to hold after the retirement of 89-year-old former Governor Julian Carroll.
Her arrival means the GOP supermajority in the Senate will include three female members and she is excited to get to work.
"I bring my officestry experience to the budget and then I bring that through the budget and bring that back to the front end of creating the budget. I think that's super important that most legislators, especially not freshman legislators, are even thinking about," Southworth said.
Her experience includes time as former Lt. Governor Jenean Hampton's deputy chief of staff, a job she lost when the Bevin administration fired her during the run up to Governor Bevin choosing Senator Ralph Alvarado to be his running mate instead of Hampton.
WHAS11 Political Editor Chris Williams asked whether she expects that to create any issues.
"Well, I think that was 2019 and now we're in 2020. I've never and an issue with Ralph Alvarado. I'm not aware that he has ever had an issue with me. He was a member of the, you know, party and where it was going at the time and that has clearly been addressed. So, here we are and every year is a new year,” Southworth said.
Senate President Robert Stivers also downplayed any relevance, instead focusing on Tuesday’s win -including Southworth's - as an indication that the Commonwealth wants his Republicans' agenda.
"It's great it tells you how far this state has come,” Stivers said.
Southworth, like Stivers, expects that agenda will include addressing Governor Beshear's executive powers - something you can bet will be an early focus when lawmakers return in January.
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