Representative-elect Linda Belcher’s special election victory isn’t just a win, but a historical success.
The last time the 49th House District voted, Donald Trump won with 73 percent of the vote, but last night Bullitt Countians answered back with a blowout.
Belcher took a commanding 68 percent of the vote — an 86-point swing from the presidential election — making Kentucky’s first 2018 special election more than monumental.
It’s the largest point swing in comparison to the numerous blue-wave successes Democrats have seen in special elections across the nation.
While the rest of the country had counted Kentucky as a firmly red state, the results show what we’ve all known, all politics are local. Belcher’s Republican opponent took just 32 percent of the vote.
Kentucky has more candidates running in the House for Republican-held seats than in the last 18 years. Teachers have awakened to the bad policies and culture coming from our Capitol. Belcher is one of 28 current or retired educators and one of 47 women running to the flip the Kentucky House. She’s joined by 14 women running for state Senate seats in the midterm elections.
The first wave of excitement came with the historical numbers from candidate recruitment. Now, Belcher’s electoral success in a red district has only emboldened and solidified it. People are voting against anti-Kentucky policies coming from Frankfort.
While many news stories have focused on the scandals surrounding the election, Belcher and her fellow candidates run on local and state issues. They’ve stepped forward to fight for the programs, public education and the working-class Kentuckians that are the cornerstones of our communities.
Belcher’s successful victory margin trumps any electoral success in the last 200 years of the party’s history.
“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,” Kentucky Democratic Party Chair Ben Self said. “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.”
Belcher thanked her staff, support from the community and volunteers which included a large turnout of labor supporters from around all regions of the state.
The DNC weighed in last night on the success.
DNC Chair Tom Perez released the following statement yesterday.
“Democrats have now flipped 37 legislative seats from red to blue over the last year:
“Congratulations to Representative-elect Linda Belcher on her victory in today’s special election, which flipped yet another Republican-held seat from red to blue in a district that Trump won easily in 2016. Democrats are organizing, investing, and winning elections in red districts across the country as voters reject Donald Trump and the Republican agenda.
“It’s good to have Linda back in the fight to build a brighter future for hardworking families across Kentucky. The DNC is proud to stand with Linda and the Kentucky Democratic Party, and we will continue working to elect Democrats up and down the ballot.”