GOP takes KY state house, keeps senate creating “unified government”

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ)- Celebrations continued late Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning after Kentucky Republicans took over the state House for the first time in nearly a century.

At last check, 64 Republicans held House seats compared to just more than 40 Democrats. GOP supporters were quick to don hats embroidered with “#newmajority” on them as the group reached its historical goal.

For Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin, it was a quip comparing the feat to a line from The Wizard of Oz saying, “ding dong, the w–“. Bevin stopped there, saying he wouldn’t be “petty” or “small” in his reaction the party’s good news.

The takeover, capped by 95th District candidate Larry Brown’s win over incumbent House Speaker Greg Stumbo, drew critical remarks from Bevin about the ousted leader.

“Good, good riddance. And I mean that sincerely. He’s served for a long time but he’s outworn his welcome. He’s been a thorn in the side of any number of good people for many years for purely political reasons and I’m not going to miss him one bit and I don’t think frankly, the people of his own district are going to based on the incredible drubbing he received. It’s well deserved, it’s been a long time in coming.”

Bevin also took time during his celebration to optimistically introduce Representative Jeff Hoover as the likely House Speaker to replace Stumbo.

Hoover spoke about crossing party lines and giving the new minority opportunities his party hasn’t been afforded since the early 1920’s.

“They will be part of the process and I will reach across the aisle to work with them to resolve issues facing this state,” he said.

In an interview with WHAS radio, Bevin told reporters the new “unified government” would work on overhauling the state’s tax code in 2017 but didn’t give any specific examples of what it might look like.