By Katherine Grace Crall, contributing writer
Students, community members and professors gathered in the Miller Screening Room Tuesday, Nov. 27 to hear about the political landscape, the growing bipartisan divide and a call to action moving forward. Asbury’s Joe Pitts Center for Public Policy presented the Post Midterm Election Analysis Panel to discuss state and federal political implications of the recent election.
The panel, moderated by Dr. Steve Clements, featured three influential leaders in Kentucky politics: Dr. Thomas Martin, professor and executive director of The Center for Economic Development, Entrepreneurship and Technology (CEDET) at Eastern Kentucky University; Colmon Elridge, former executive assistant and senior advisor to Gov. Beshear; and Amy Wickliffe, lobbyist for McCarthy Strategic Solutions.
Local election results show that Republicans kept their supermajorities in both the Kentucky State Senate and House. Nationally, the Senate kept a Republican majority while the House flipped to a Democratic majority.
During the discussion, Martin indicated that siding with a political “team” can be a dangerous mentality. He described how voters are beginning to support candidates based on which party they claim instead of supporting candidates based on how their political goals align with personal beliefs. This only feeds the beast of bipartisan division, making it harder for Congress to collaborate and pass laws.
One of Clements’ points was the power of incumbency and how it presented problems for newcomer candidates. He used the example of U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, a congressman since 2013, winning against Amy McGrath in Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District to hold his seat in the House.
As part of the evening, Wickliffe touched on the increased number of female voters in this year’s midterm elections and the growing divide between urban and rural voters. Nonpartisan firms, such as McCarthy Strategic Solutions, are working to bridge the dichotomy between right-leaning populations in rural communities and the left-leaning urban majority. Kentucky’s 6th District noticed this divide, as McGrath was more popular in predominantly urban Fayette County while Woodford County and other more rural counties favored Barr.
The panelists warned against demonizing candidates, generalizing party members and holding onto tradition instead of paying attention to the current economic situation. They urged listeners to stay engaged by voting, volunteering, networking and learning to disagree without being disagreeable. They emphasized that the goal of America’s Founding Fathers was to create “a more perfect union,” but the country cannot be a union when its people are so sharply divided.
