Robin Webb, a state lawmaker for over a quarter of a century, has claimed many identities.

The longtime Democrat has been a coal miner, lawyer, rancher and now Republican.

Last night, she shared with us why she made the decision to switch political parties.

Tonight, she offers a defense to those who claim she's betrayed Democrats and those who've supported her.

We pick up part two of our conversation right there.

I want to go to some social media reaction, and this is coming from either folks in your district or through Democratic Party associations that accuse you of deceiving and betraying your supporters and reneging on a promise you made to run another term as a Democrat.

I never promised that.

Let me be very clear.

I've never promised that.

No recall.

Promise me that, wouldn't promise that, because let me tell you, just to be honest and transparent in this.

I didn't have an opponent.

The last race.

I was blessed.

Thankful.

But I took that to mean, you know, if there was a problem with my voting record before, then, somebody should have surfaced somewhere and somehow.

And the representation.

My district didn't know how I feel about my district, and that's fine.

But, I appreciated it, but it, I didn't betray anybody, in my opinion, because of the timing of it now.

You know, the cycle I'm now in cycle.

And so I'm putting it out there.

There's a filing deadline coming up.

I think that's what you should do.

And everybody's like, resign and all this stuff.

That's not the way we're set up.

People all over the United States have changed parties one way or another, several times.

Are we independent?

You know, I don't care how many partners or I can live with, but, so that, to me, is not a problem.

And if you look back, this is not a decision that happened overnight.

This is this is based on the struggles that I've had internally with my conscience and my vote.

I'd say at least three years.

And if you look at my fundraising activity, I've got the least amount of money that I've ever had in my bank account.

And you know, I can raise money because, you know, when I ran for the Senate, it was the most expensive and one of the meanest sort of dueling in the Commonwealth.

And that's okay.

But, I didn't raise money because I did not want to be that person that raised money.

One thing, when there was a potentiality that I might not stay the course, should you return the money that you received from the Senate Democratic Caucus and other Democratic contributors?

And the previous cycle that rolled over from 2018 to 2022, when you were unopposed the last time.

I, you know, like I got money from the party.

I think it was 2017.

That's been a long time ago.

And you look at my financial reports, I get money from a lot of Republicans historically through the years.

Some of my bigger donors are Republican donors because of the job that I've done and the friendships and relationships and and so I don't have that much money in my account at this point.

I've been I, the party had asked me to return it, but, you know, there's not that much in front of me.

I want some of it there.

That's fine.

But I also have a mixed bag in that.

Right.

So as we come upon this new election cycle, the filing deadline, I mean, to change your party, you need to do it before the end of the year.

Right.

Then we know the filing deadline had been moved up, right?

And then closer to January.

So do you consider yourself having done the Democrats a favor, to give them a chance to perhaps find a Democratic representative from the Senate, district number 18 to run?

Very well.

Could have found one anyway.

Probably the some of the displeasure they've had with me on my voting record.

You know what I mean?

I mean, they were not all pleased with me anyway.

They don't want me seeing me come to, call or meeting for the years.

But.

And they certainly haven't listened to me, you know what I mean?

Or had me included me in anything, and that's okay.

But, you know, good luck to them.

But it's, But the people.

And I'm not the only band, the bass or getting in the weeds on this, and and the general public really doesn't know the dynamics of parties and party leadership and inclusion and exclusion and how things have gone.

And, you know, I don't like it.

I don't like, I don't like how parties operate overall sometimes.

But, you know, and that's the system you got.

You gotta operate in it.

Yeah.

So again, the the timing of this to me is the ethical timing of this.

Yeah.

So while you're hearing it from the Democrats, some of the Republicans are saying, well, she's going to be a rhino Republican in name only.

Then they say that about some of the caucus now.

But you know.

Right.

Do so many people are curious.

Do you agree with the Trump agenda pro MAGA movement.

And and do you support what you've seen from the president so far?

But this isn't about the president.

This isn't about him at all.

This is about, the the state of Kentucky.

I don't get the opportunity to vote on a lot of that.

And, any president of any party I'm not very with, especially as a state legislator.

I'm big on state autonomy.

I'm big on my institution.

I'm big on separation of powers.

I'm constitutionalist.

I am a conservative.

Always have been.

When it comes a constitution.

So, you know.

No, I don't agree with everything.

In the process, particularly now, some of the subject matter.

Yes.

I agree with and like agency downsizing, maybe, you know, you should have people that know the government a little better.

I mean, I don't have a problem with looking at that.

President Clinton did that.

So, back in the day, I mean, if you want to talk parody and every administration does that to some degree.

So.

But no, this isn't about that.

And this isn't about, really national agenda, because that's not what I'm running for.

So many people are wondering about motive, what's in it for them and what's in it for you?

Nothing.

I mean, there wasn't anything offered to me.

I got a chairmanship of a task force I've been working on, and I have expertise, and.

But that was before you switched.

That was before.

And was going to happen anyway.

So that had nothing to do.

And you had not had a conversation about switching when you got that said task?

No, no.

And that's what, Senator Stivers, President Stivers has sent me places all over the world to learn about flood mitigation.

He knows my background.

He knows I'm technically oriented on, like, this stuff.

You know, have the state spent money getting me to do so?

You know, that was a deal.

I didn't ask for anything.

I asked for, you know, a decent an office comparable to the one I have now in the store and, you know, good help.

But other than that, and nothing was offered to me.

And no chairmanship.

No.

No possible leadership position.

No, no, no, no, that.

No, I mean, I I'm, I'm happy.

They've always I've always been at the table.

I've got the committees.

Same committees like always.

Give me one on one of my committees.

They my budget expertise they've always deferred to and I have been successful pass some bills because I work well across the aisle.

I did my house when I was in the house with the super majority.

I had Republican co-sponsor on almost every bill.

So I look at this like, we're all in this together, represent Kentuckians.

And that's I put my blinders on.

I just want to do my job.

You know, with with Webb's defection to the GOP, Republicans widened their super majority in the state Senate to 32 members to Democrats, six and the 100 member state House of Representatives.

There are 80 Republicans and 20 Democrats.