KY Republican party chair Mac Brown stepping down after 8 years
After eight years leading the state GOP, Mac Brown will step down from his post as chair of the Republican Party of Kentucky.
Brown informed members of the Republican State Central Committee of his departure in an email Monday night, which was reviewed by the Herald-Leader. His exit comes just three weeks after Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear won a second term and all other statewide constitutional offices held Republican.
“Now it is time for me to step down from the Chairman position to allow new and fresh leadership to the party to the next level,” Brown wrote.
Brown oversaw a largely successful run for the GOP. The state party flipped the last Democratic-held legislative in the American South in 2016 and last year Republicans overtook Democrats as the largest party in the state in terms of voter registration.
In the email to committee members, Brown also emphasized gains the GOP has made at the local level when it comes to county judge-executives as well as statewide gains in other constitutional offices.
However, the party lost its hold on the governor’s chair in 2019 when Beshear beat former Republican governor Matt Bevin by a slim margin. Three weeks ago, Republican candidate and state attorney general Daniel Cameron failed to flip the governor’s mansion and lost to Beshear by about 5 percentage points.
As the ranks of Republican elected officials have grown quickly, some intra-party rifts have developed.
Several Republicans want to push the party to the right. Meanwhile, others like Secretary of State Michael Adams believe the party needs to steer clear of focusing on some social issues, like trans rights, that make some Kentuckians feel excluded.
Brown ended his email in a call for unity.
“Over the past eight years we have made tremendous progress in transforming the Commonwealth into a state of opportunity, but there is still a great deal of work to be done. The key to our future success is for the Republican Party to come together and not fight each other,” Brown wrote.
“Help the next Chairman build the party. Listen to and respect each other, as our future is worth the effort.”
Rep. Killian Timoney, R-Lexington, heralded that focus on unity in a post to X.
“He was a voice of reassurance and a steady force when groups were fighting for control. He discussed ‘big tent’ ideology and encouraged varying interests to attract new members. He wanted the party to appeal to new & younger members. Individual thought had a place in his vision,” Timoney wrote.
Republican Party of Kentucky Executive Director Sarah Van Wallaghen called Brown “one of the most influential chairmen” in the organization’s history.
“He helped flip the state house to Republican control for the first time in nearly a century, which has and will continue to deliver meaningful, conservative fiscal policies for a generation. After nearly a decade of service to the Commonwealth and the Republican Party, he has decided to spend much needed time with his family and friends. He is a true statesman, who has steered the ship of our organization for nearly a decade,” Van Wallaghen wrote.
Brown is a vice president at Brown-Forman Corp., the Louisville-based spirits conglomerate that owns Woodford Reserve and Jack Daniel’s, among other brands.
Republican Party of Kentucky officials Monday night did not respond to inquiries regarding Brown’s departure or who might replace him.
This story was originally published November 27, 2023 at 11:13 PM.
