# GOP dominates December voter registration surge in Kentucky  
**Published:** 2026-01-09T20:42:24.000Z  
**Source:** [KY Secretary of State](https://kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=SOS&prId=556)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/gop-dominates-december-voter-registration-surge-in-kentucky

Republicans accounted for nearly all new voter registrations in Kentucky during December 2025, underscoring a years-long shift in the state's partisan makeup as the 2026 election season approaches.

[According to Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams](https://kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=SOS&prId=556), [Republican registration grew by 5,690 voters in December, accounting for 86 percent of new voter registrations](https://www.wbko.com/2026/01/09/republican-voter-registration-kentucky-surges-december/) as Kentucky's voter rolls expanded by 6,550 overall.

"This shows the importance of our primary elections, and we hope for a solid turnout in May," Adams stated.

The December surge marked the latest chapter in a long-term realignment of Kentucky's electorate. [Republicans now comprise 47.8 percent of registered voters with 1,601,098 registered Republicans, while Democrats represent 41.1 percent of the electorate with 1,375,378 voters](https://kaco.org/articles/voter-registration-statistics-december-2025/). [Over the four-year period from December 2021 to December 2025, Democratic registration declined by 250,896 voters, or 15.4 percent, while Republican registration increased by 9,225 voters](https://kaco.org/articles/voter-registration-trends-by-county-2021-2025/).

[Between December 2021 and December 2025, registered Republicans increased in 89 counties while declining in 31 counties](https://kaco.org/articles/voter-registration-trends-by-county-2021-2025/). [Fayette County, home to Lexington, saw a net decline of 12,044 Republican registrations over the four-year span, and a loss of 15,791 Democratic registrations](https://kaco.org/articles/voter-registration-trends-by-county-2021-2025/).

[The most recent report shows 3,349,449 registered voters across the Commonwealth](https://kaco.org/articles/voter-registration-statistics-december-2025/), with [total voter registration declining by 208,264 voters between December 2021 and December 2025, a 5.9 percent drop despite population growth during the same period](https://kaco.org/articles/voter-registration-trends-by-county-2021-2025/).

Kentucky voters will head to the polls in May for primary elections and in November 2026 for midterm elections, with races including a contested U.S. Senate seat, all six congressional seats, the entire state House and even-numbered state Senate districts on the ballot.

## Sources

- [KY Secretary of State](https://kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=SOS&prId=556)
- [December 2025 voter registration statistics from WBKO News](https://www.wbko.com/2026/01/09/republican-voter-registration-kentucky-surges-december/)
- [December 2025 voter registration statistics from Kentucky Association of County Clerks](https://kaco.org/articles/voter-registration-statistics-december-2025/)
- [Voter registration trends by county 2021-2025 from Kentucky Association of County Clerks](https://kaco.org/articles/voter-registration-trends-by-county-2021-2025/)

---

This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from KY Secretary of State, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=SOS&prId=556.