Republican rally in Lexington draws supporters inside, protesters outside ahead of midterms

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - A Republican get-out-the-vote rally in Lexington drew a full room inside and loud protesters outside Saturday morning, with both sides working to fire up voters ahead of the midterms.

The Republican Party of Fayette County hosted Ralph Alvarado, Andy Barr and others at the Fayette County GOP headquarters to kick off its voter turnout effort. Outside the building, protesters gathered in a counter-demonstration.

Inside, supporters opened by acknowledging the crowd outside.

“Are we energized today? I want to make sure that our liberal crazy friends right outside of the front can hear us,” one speaker said to cheers. Protesters outside chanted, “Shame on you!”

Protesters criticize Trump, supporters warn of socialism

Protesters spoke out against the president and those who support him, with frequent mentions of the Epstein files.

“At this point, if you’re willing to support somebody, if Trump is not a pedophile, he is defending them. He is stopping the release of the files,” said Ken Beitler, a protester with Peaceful Bluegrass Resistance.

Inside, speakers focused on warning voters about socialism and Democratic policies.

“If you know anything about history, if you know anything about Stalin, Pol Pot, Hitler, Castro, Maduro, Chavez, you name it. Socialism has failed everywhere. And yet the Democrats are now saying the quiet part out loud. They’re not liberal. They’re progressive. They’re actually socialists,” said Sen. Rand Paul.

U.S. Senate race takes center stage

Congressman Andy Barr urged supporters to turn out against his Democratic opponent in the U.S. Senate race, Charles Booker.

“Ladies and gentlemen, are we going to let the Mamdani of Kentucky go to the United States Senate?” Barr said.

“No!” the crowd responded.

Beitler pushed back on that comparison:

“Mussolini and Hitler are fascists, not socialists. And if you want to talk about Mamdani, he’s plugged up 200,000 potholes in New York. A complaint they’ve had forever. He has done road work. He has done rent stabilization. He’s doing good things for the people there.”

Both sides invoke Constitution, urge voting

Both sides voiced a desire to defend the Constitution.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Constitution is a document that limits government power. It recognizes that our rights come from God, from our Creator, and that it is the job of government to protect those rights,” Barr said.

“We want a representative who will put a stop to the violation of the Constitution. That’s all we want. We want someone who will put up a guardrail and say, enough is enough. You can’t take bribes from the UAE. You can’t get Jared Kushner to get money from Saudi Arabia. We need someone who will put a halt to this before it’s too late,” Beitler said.

Everyone seemed to agree on the importance of voting.

After the event, the Republican Party went door-knocking in the area, while the counter-protesters stayed outside to encourage turnout for Election Day on Nov. 3 and early voting, which starts Thursday.