BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FORT MITCHELL -- Northern Kentucky Democratic leaders must be worried about Tuesday's Republican primary.
Republican congressional candidate Gex "Jay" Williams looked strong in beating Rick Robinson. Democrat Ken Paul, the Campbell County judge-executive, can expect a tough race in the fall from Fort Thomas Republican Steve Pendery, as can Democrat Jim Collins against Republican Gary Moore in the Boone County judge-executive race.
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Jim Bunning, the Southgate Republican, is coming out of an easy primary win over State Sen. Barry Metcalf to face a bruised and broke Scotty Baesler, the Lexington Democrat who won the party's U.S. Senate primary.
"The Republican Party is going to sweep all seven federal races in Kentucky this fall, take over the state Senate, make gains in the statehouse and pick up courthouse seats at an unprecedented level," an optimistic Fourth District Republican Party Chairman Damon Thayer predicted Wednesday.
But where the Republicans see success, the Democrats see opportunity. Where the Republicans see unity, the Democrats see divisiveness. This alleged splintering of the Republican Party is a perceived rift between fundamentalist and mainstream factions, which the Democrats are attempting to expose and exploit.
"We've seen the (splitting) of the Republican Party coming for several years," said Villa Hills Democrat Darryl Evans, who worked on Kim Patton's winning campaign in Tuesday's Boone County Fiscal Court Democratic primary.
"There is a real opportunity for Democrats to win back many of the people who went to the Republican side over the last several years," he said. "But I don't know if the Democrats are organized enough to do it."
Democrats point to wins not only by Mr. Williams, who is backed heavily by the conservative Christians in the party, but also the winners in two county commission Republican primaries:
Barbara Black of Taylor Mill, who beat incumbent Nyoka Johnston in a Kenton County Fiscal Court race.
Robert Hay of Florence, who won a Boone County commission GOP primary over Deborah Jo Schafstall of Richwood and Ed Moore of Florence. In all the races, the winning Republican is aligned more closely with the fundamentalist wing of the party than the old-guard GOP, which for the most part backed the winners' opponents.
Such a chasm of political ideology and background will enable the Democrats not only to keep members of their own party from jumping ship and voting for Republicans, which has been a huge trend in Northern Kentucky in the last few elections, but also to attract some Republicans to Democratic candidates, leading Democrats said.
"There are certainly two very definite, very different groups in the (Republican) party right now," said Democrat Ken Lucas, who won his party's primary Tuesday and will take on Mr. Williams in the fall.
"And that's an opportunity for the Democrats," he said.
"That's a real nice spin," said Boone County Republican Party Chairman Jay Hall.
"And if it were up to me, I'd be trying to use the same thing against us. But the fact of the matter is this primary showed there are a lot of interested Republican voters, and any disparity only reflects the strong commitment each campaign had for its candidate," he said.
"This party has come a long way to get where it's at right now, and you can count on us being united," Mr. Hall said.
Craig Hendricks, Mr. Williams' campaign manager, said Mr. Williams represents the mainstream of voters in the 4th District. And he said the differences between Mr. Robinson and him were almost indistinguishable.
"The distinction was experience," Mr. Hendricks said, noting Mr. Williams has been elected to three statehouse terms while Mr. Robinson has never held office.
"There wasn't a big ideological difference in the race." Mr. Thayer admitted there are some "hurt feelings" in the GOP following Tuesday's primaries.
"But when it comes right down to it, the party is going to unite behind" our nominees. "People may not work for a candidate or campaign for him or her, but they'll certainly vote Republican in the fall."
Kenton County Democratic Chairwoman Shirley Huelsmann said the Democrats know to beat Mr. Williams and other Republicans in the fall "we have to get the vote out."
"We have candidates, like Ken Lucas, who appeal to a broad base of voters, a broad base of conservative voters. The Republicans don't know what they want to be right now. We do. And we're going to win," she said.
