Jesse Hagan stepped into the role of chairman for the Daviess County Republican Party on Saturday following a vote that marked a shift in the local party’s leadership. Hagan, who had not initially planned to run for the position, said he was honored to be nominated and looks forward to building unity within the party and engaging younger members in political involvement.
“Yeah, it’s funny — I really didn’t expect to take the seat,” Hagan said. “Once the slate was voted down for the current nominations, I was nominated from the floor by Rep. DJ Johnson, and I was very honored by that. It’s a vote of confidence that I hope I can live up to. I believe the local Republican Party has the potential to be unified. If we can come together — listening to each other, engaging in civil conversations, and including more voices — we can really make a difference in our state politics, which in turn can affect national politics.”
Hagan is a 29-year-old Owensboro native who is currently an associate attorney at Sullivan Mountjoy, PSC.
“I was born in Owensboro,” he said. “My wife didn’t live here as a kid but moved here to Owensboro and went to OHS. I grew up going to Heritage Christian School and then I went to private high school. I played basketball with folks from various local schools and worked in different settings, from Reid’s Orchard to private farms. I stayed here through college working as an electrician, then attended law school in Louisville. We moved back about six months ago because, while Louisville is nice, it’s just not home.”
The local GOP met at the Daviess County Courthouse for the Republican Party of Kentucky’s quadrennial reorganization. The Daviess County Republicans first elected precinct captains, co-captains, and youth chairmen before proceeding to vote on the executive committee.
The initial slate for re-election included Darin Tapp (chairman), Andy Gamblin (vice chairman), Tonya Murphy (secretary), Jason Potts (treasurer), and Titus Willis (youth chairman). However, the precinct leadership did not vote in favor of the proposed slate, which opened the floor for new nominations.
The new slate — consisting of Hagan as chairman, Daniel Reeves as vice chairman, Barrett Smith as treasurer, Emily Gholson as secretary, and Brandon Gilles as youth chair — was nominated and subsequently approved by precinct leadership.
Tapp, who had chaired the party since 2021, said the change in leadership felt orchestrated, saying he thought local elected officials led a concerted effort to replace the existing executive committee.
“It gave the appearance of an establishment coup,” Tapp said. “(The former committee) had no problem calling out elected officials when they weren’t representing the will of the people, and that rubbed elected officials the wrong way. So, they fought back and this is the direction they wanted to take things. They wanted the power back and they wanted control back, so they recruited people to show up and take it back.”
Tapp also felt decision-making power was taken away from party members and consolidated to only include the executive committee.
“What they effectively did was take the vote for the direction of the GOP away from the precincts and give it to an executive committee, which means only a handful of people decide,” Tapp said. “(Previously), every precinct in Daviess County with an active precinct officer had a vote in the party’s direction.
Despite his concerns about the process, Tapp spoke positively about Hagan.
“I have the utmost confidence in the new chairman,” Tapp said. “I really like that the executive committee is very young. Jesse is a great guy — he’s a friend of my son.”
Tapp also said he does not harbor any hard feelings about the change in leadership and reflects positively on the last few years.
“We worked extremely hard,” he said. “We’ve grown the Republican voter base every month since we took office. We set fundraising records for the county GOP — records I challenge them to top. We achieved 100% representation of elected officials in Daviess County government, something that had never been done before, and we even took control of the city government. I’m very proud of our accomplishments, and I understand why this happened today — I’m okay with it.”
Hagan, in response to Tapp’s concerns, dismissed the idea that the transition was an establishment-led coup.
“Honestly, it’s hard to call it a coup when a majority of citizens vote for change,” Hagan said. “I wouldn’t label it that way, though I understand where the sentiment comes from. Change is rarely pretty in politics. All I can say is that I was honored to be nominated and voted in by the majority of my community members. While some elected officials did support me, most of the votes came from regular folks in our community.”
Hagan outlined his primary goals, which include fostering youth involvement and encouraging civil discourse within the party.
“There are many young people in our area interested in politics, government, and policy, but there aren’t enough opportunities for them to gain experience or learn more,” he said. “I believe establishing a program, or at least a commitment, to reach out to these young people and give them a chance to serve would be very beneficial.
He continued, “My second goal is to encourage more civil debate and discussion — both among Republicans and between Republicans and those of other parties and persuasions. I believe that through open dialogue, we find truth and build strong relationships. Those are the initiatives I’d like to explore with the committee in our community.”
State Rep. Suzanne Miles emphasized that the reorganization process happens every four years and provides an opportunity for more people to get involved.
“The Republican Party reorganization is the year after the presidential election, so it’s not typically the time for (government) leadership to be voted on, and that creates an opportunity for people to get involved,” Miles said. “I often meet people who want to participate, and when the event took place today, a really good crowd showed up. I hope everyone continues to participate in the days to come.”
She noted that participation was significantly higher this year compared to previous reorganization meetings.
“I’m very happy that so many people showed up to participate. We had a reorganization 4 years ago with much lower turnout, and even 8 years ago when it was held at the Fiscal Court, the crowd was smaller,” Miles said. “I really appreciate all the hard work of the previous officers.”
Miles added that participation has grown not just locally, but at the state and national level as well, leading to more offices being held by Republicans at all levels of government.
State Rep. DJ Johnson similarly acknowledged the efforts of the previous leadership for the local Republican party.
“I, along with every person attending today’s meeting that I talked to, appreciate the hard work and passion that the outgoing leadership team gave on behalf of Daviess County Republicans,” Johnson said. “I want to thank each and every one of them for their service to our community.”
Johnson is also eager to see what the new executive committee will do.
“I also want to congratulate our new leadership team and look forward to working with these new leaders to build upon what is now a continuous 8-year trend of growth in the Daviess County Republican Party, and the Republican Party of Kentucky,” he said.
Miles expressed confidence in Hagan’s ability to lead the party forward.
“He seems like a fine young man. I don’t know a tremendous amount about him, but he appears very knowledgeable and very interested in moving the party in a positive direction,” Miles said. “We want everyone to get involved. The Republican Party should be very active, participate, and help move our country in a positive direction.”
With Hagan now at the helm, he said his focus would be on ensuring inclusivity within the party and maintaining the momentum built by his predecessors.
“I’m really honored,” he said. “I’m grateful for the overwhelming support from the community. I’m proud of Daviess County, proud of my home, and proud to be Republican. I believe there’s a lot of work to do so we can continue the great efforts of the past and keep moving forward, and that’s what I plan to do.”
