Sen. Webb: 'Give me a chance'

Yahoo

06-06-2025

GRAYSON Sen. Robin Webb, who just last week was the lone Democrat representing rural Kentuckians, said she never expected her party switch to garner so much attention.
Webb, who has represented back-country counties in Frankfort since the 1990s, has been the center of both praise and contempt after announcing she would be joining the Republican Party last week.
Often voting in line with Republican legislature and sponsoring bills with bi-partisan support throughout her decades in the General Assembly, Webb said she didn't anticipate her announcement to be a surprise, or that it was worthy of reaching the national stage.
'Oh heck no. I'm not that important,' Webb said when asked if she expected to appear in national and international headlines, including multiple talking segments on Fox News since the announcement.
That attention has brought Webb an array of reactions, a mixed bag of 'disappointment and meanness expressed — but it's overall been positive,' she said.
After decades in the legislature and at the near halfway point of her Senate term, Webb said she chose to join the Republican party to 'get it out of the way,' ahead of the General Assembly's interim budget session.
'I wanted to be starting legislative work in earnest and get it out of the way so it wouldn't be a distraction,' Webb said. 'I felt like it was the transparent and ethical thing to do, to not do it at the last minute.'
As mentioned, Webb's legislative history has often leaned conservative on issues related to gun, conservation and agricultural issues, which she said compounded onto a 'disconnect and rural divide' within Kentucky's Democratic Party.
'Of course there are a few issues we separate on,' Webb said of her former party. 'They just have a different demographic and I felt like we weren't being acknowledged.'
That division, Webb said, became more clear to her on energy, agricultural and social policies, although she said she still strived to remain 'party-blind when it comes to work.'
'Like I said, my votes are pretty consistent the past 25 years. Nothing much has really changed about me,' Webb reasoned. 'I landed where my votes and things have taken me.'
The Senator's district — Boyd, Carter, Greenup and Lewis County — has continued to trend from historically Democrat to Republican in local and national races, but Webb told The Daily Independent her decision to change parties was not swayed by future political races or aspirations.
'I felt like if my voting record was that far off, I would've probably had opposition,' Webb said, adding running as a Democrat candidate has never lessened her popularity in her district.
'I represent a Republican district and I won one of the most Republican counties in the state,' Webb said. 'To nip that myth, I do not have my eye on any other office. I like where I am and will run for state senate again.'
In response to statements of betrayal possibly felt by rural Democrats who officially have no representation in Frankfort, Webb said that shouldn't be the case as she will continue to legislate as she always has.
'They should feel like I'm being transparent and honest,' Webb said. 'I'm being true to myself and trying to be true to my people.
'I thank everybody who has put me where I am and all the party support I've received from both sides,' Webb said.
According to Webb, her party affiliation was not swayed by national politics, either, as she said 'nationally, I don't agree with anybody completely,' as her national focus has been preserving Second Amendment rights and preserving 'the Constitution as a whole.'
Webb's primary focus in the Senate, however, will continue to be on 'rural issues and voters.'
'I will continue to look at how to help my people and continue to look at their issues,' Webb said, '(and) try to bring our share of tax dollars and try to grow our economy.
'I'm still who I am and I hope that they give me a chance to do it,' Webb said to her voters — no matter their registration. 'My people mean more to me than anything and that's not going to change.'