Republican, Independent Registrations Surge in Kentucky

from Kentucky Public Radio's Tony McVeighThe sizable gap between registered Republicans and Democrats in Kentucky is narrowing, but voter registration numbers in general are down.When the May 18th primary rolls around, Kentucky will have two-point-eight million registered voters, down slightly from the record set during the 2008 presidential election. And Les Fugate of the Secretary of State’s office says Republicans are gaining ground on Democrats.“We still have the Democrats with a two-to-one registration advantage in Kentucky," says Fugate. "However, for the first time ever, Republicans and independents have set a new record for their percentage of the voter registration population.”Democrats outnumber Republicans 57-percent to 37-percent. Six-percent of voters are independents, or “Others.”Fifty-three percent of Kentucky voters are women and 47-percent are men. The voter registration books are now closed for the upcoming primary.