Louisville Republicans are hoping to flip three more seats on Metro Council in this year's elections. If successful, it would put Republicans squarely in the majority on the legislative body for the first time since the 2003 city-county merger.
Speaking to LPM News, Jefferson County Republican Party Chair Don Fitzpatrick said the party will target three seats currently held by Democrats they believe are vulnerable. Two are in the far East End of Louisville Metro and the other is in the South End, near Iroquois Park.
“We’re focused on three districts and protecting our incumbents in five others,” he said. “We understand, by the way, that that makes it pretty easy for folks on the other side to understand what we’re doing. We didn’t hide it before, we’re not going to hide it now.”
Fitzpatrick called the strategy “Protect 5, pick up 4,” a reference to their strategy in the last local elections in 2024, when Republicans protected four incumbents while flipping three seats in the South End.
Local Republicans have been building momentum in Metro Council races since 2022, when the party gained seats for the first time since merger. Republican council members currently represent 12 of 26 districts on the council, one fewer than the Democratic Majority Caucus.
This year, Republicans have set their sights on Districts 7, 17 and 21.
Covering parts of Graymoor-Devondale, St. Matthews and Indian Hills, among others, District 7 is currently represented by Council Member Paula McCraney. She was first elected in 2018 and served in the Democratic Majority Caucus leadership before becoming an Independent last year.
Republican Catherine “Cat” Timmerman, a public school teacher, has filed to run against McCraney. They will both advance to the General Election in November, since there are only two candidates.
In District 17, Democratic incumbent Markus Winkler is facing a reelection challenge from two candidates: Merideth Booth, a member of the Louisville Democratic Party Executive Committee, and Republican Nancy-Lynne Walters. The district covers parts of Anchorage, Middletown and Lyndon.
The race in District 21, which includes parts of Iroquois and Beechmont east to Okolona, is a crowded one. Savannah Hughes, Ben Spalding and Lonnie Joseph are challenging incumbent Democrat Betsy Ruhe. Joseph, the uncle of District 12 Council Member Jonathan “JJ” Joseph, is the lone Republican candidate in that race.
Even though Metro Council and the mayor’s races are officially nonpartisan this year — meaning candidates won’t have an “R” or a “D” next to their names on the ballot — candidates can still tell voters their party affiliation. They can also ask for a party's endorsement.
Fitzpatrick said he believes there’s still an important role for these parties in local politics in Louisville. He said the Jefferson County Republican Party has put in a lot of effort to recruit strong candidates for Metro Council races and to craft a unified message focused on “law and order.”
“Public safety is just so important,” Fitzpatrick said. “We want to build successful communities, we want to build communities where there are more job opportunities, but it’s got to be safe.”
LPM News’ recent interview with Fitzpatrick, edited for length and clarity, is below:
RR: So two years ago, Republicans took the strategy of protecting the four seats that they had up for re-election and pushing to pick up three seats in the South End, and it worked. What is the strategy this year?
DF: Two years ago, it made sense for us to protect the four incumbent seats that we had, but we really decided to focus our energy on making sure that, number one, we had great candidates in those districts, and also that we really focused a lot of our energies, whether it's getting people to walk, knock doors, etc.
That put us in a pretty good position on Metro council with 12 Republicans. I think the high point prior to that was 11 back when it was first formed. So, that was a good record. But this coming year, or I should say this year now that we're into 2026, it is going to be “Five plus three’’”. We're going to go after [Districts] 7, 17 and 21.
RR: It does seem like that's building on the success that you've already had in the more suburban areas surrounding the urban core, right?
DF: That's true. And look, it's a nonpartisan race. We all understand that. But at the same time, really, the only thing that's changed of significance is that on the ballot, the names are not going to be with an “R” or a “D” next to them.
RR: Given the nonpartisan nature of these elections, at least in terms of the information on the ballot, does that put more pressure on the Republican Party and the Democratic Party?
DF: It does in the sense that we're going to have to help people understand.
Personally, I'm old-fashioned. Even if I’m hitting all Rs, I go down [the list of candidates.] But lots of people do just hit “All Democrats" or “All Republicans”.
We're going to have to ensure that they understand that if they do that and they don't look further down in the ballot and don't see that, ‘Oh, gee, in my Metro Council district I need to vote,’ then perhaps there's going to be folks that will just leave and miss the opportunity to vote for their council member.
RR: You mentioned that the Republican Party on Metro Council is at a high water mark. Why do you think that voters in Jefferson County, where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans, are increasingly choosing more conservative candidates for Metro Council?
DF: I think it's a combination of things. Sometimes you use the term “common sense solutions,” and people think that's rather trite, but I do think that there is something to be said. I think we feel that [the candidates we ran in 2022] brought some common sense solutions toward things like public safety, some of the initiatives in the South End in bringing businesses in and also just a focus on where the council does have an impact: public education, transportation and other areas.
RR: If Republicans do take over as the majority party in Metro Council, what differences will that make for residents?
DF: Well, I think, again, the focus is on spending money as intelligently as we can, making the right investments in the community, staying focused on things that really matter to folks. I'm a big believer that public safety needs to continue to be a, if not the, top priority. Because how can you bring businesses in if the person that is looking at putting a new restaurant or putting a small manufacturing company in a particular part of town, if they feel that things are just not safe there? it's not going to happen. So, public safety has to continue to be number one.
