Fayette GOP Chair Kilgore Resigns, Raises Concerns About Excluding Democrats

Fayette County Republican Party Chair Elaine Kilgore resigned Monday, September 28, saying the demands of the position had become too much and raising concerns about party members who have tried to exclude Democrats or people they perceived as Democrats from Republican meetings.

“I can no longer sustain the time and energy to do the many duties and responsibilities demanded of a Chairman any longer,” Kilgore wrote in her resignation letter to the party’s Executive Board and County Committee.

Kilgore, who said she has served as chair since March 2023 and on the Executive Board since March 2021, wrote that the job had caused her to neglect family, friends, and her household. She said it was time to invest in her personal life and enjoy retirement.

But Kilgore also devoted a significant portion of her resignation letter to concerns about the culture within the local party.

“There are additional reasons for my resignation,” she wrote.

Kilgore described “a few strong-willed party members” whom she said had asserted control and spread negative comments and misinformation about her and others. Of particular concern, she wrote, were instances in which Democrats or people perceived to be Democrats were discouraged from attending Republican gatherings.

“In the last 2 years, Democrats or perceived Democrats have been asked to leave meetings or called to say that they would be asked to leave if they showed up,” Kilgore wrote. “These decisions were made by individuals and not approved by the Executive Board.”

Kilgore declined The Citizen’s request for an interview regarding her resignation.

Fayetteville City Councilman Emmett Spurlock was not surprised to learn Kilgore had stepped down.

Spurlock, who took office in January after winning an at-large, nonpartisan council seat, told The Citizen that Kilgore had recently expressed frustration to him about some of the same behavior she described in her resignation letter.

Spurlock said he experienced it himself while running for office last year.

He attended a Republican meet-the-candidates event in October 2025 while campaigning for Fayetteville City Council. Although the municipal race was nonpartisan and Spurlock considers himself politically independent, he said a man at the gathering told him to leave because he believed Spurlock was a Democrat.

“As soon as I walked in, there was a gentleman there,” Spurlock said. “Don’t remember his name, but he actually told me he wanted me to leave because I was a Democrat.”

Spurlock said he explained two or three times that he was independent and wanted only the opportunity to introduce himself to people attending the event. He ultimately left.

When Kilgore learned what had happened, Spurlock said she was upset and encouraged him to return.

“Please come back,” Spurlock recalled Kilgore telling him. “Please don’t let this person prevent you from coming back here.”

He did, and Spurlock said he has been welcomed at Republican meetings since then.

Several weeks ago, Spurlock encountered a similar situation.

He planned to bring Chandra Wright, a Democrat running for Fayette County Commission, with him to a Republican gathering. According to Spurlock, Wright received a voicemail from a member of the Republican organization telling her she was not welcome and would be asked to leave if she attended.

Wright shared the recording with Spurlock. She ultimately did not attend, but Spurlock did.

After the meeting, Spurlock said he shared the recording with Kilgore and another woman who was with her. He said Kilgore told him the caller did not speak for the organization.

Spurlock said Kilgore also told him Wright would have been welcome to attend and listen, although she would not have been given a speaking role at an event intended to hear from Republican candidates.

That question — who should be welcomed into Republican meetings — became one of the central concerns Kilgore raised as she left the chairmanship.

“The Board needs to come up with a policy on Democrats attending meetings and come up with procedure on how to deal with it,” Kilgore wrote.

She said decisions about excluding people had been made by individuals rather than the Executive Board and argued that the practice hurts the party’s ability to reach people who do not already identify as Republicans.

“If Fayette County becomes more Democratic, we cannot win hearts and minds to our Republican Platform by being exclusionary,” Kilgore wrote. “If we don’t let them attend our meetings, how will they know that our values agree more with their fundamental values than the Democratic values.”

Kilgore said that concern extended beyond Democrats. She wrote that some newcomers interested in participating or joining had been treated with “over-the-top suspicion of being a Democratic spy.”

She urged Republicans instead to approach visitors much as a church welcomes newcomers.

“We should act like that with each visitor,” Kilgore wrote. “Our party aligns closely with Biblical principles. I hope we will welcome people to our party with the same warmness as we receive visitors at our churches.”

Spurlock emphasized that many members of the Fayette County Republican Party have been welcoming to him personally. His criticism, he said, is directed at individuals whose behavior he believes makes civil political conversation more difficult.

“We all, I think, want to have what’s best for the country, but there’s two different ways to get there, and that’s where we differ,” Spurlock said. “That doesn’t mean we have to be so nasty towards each other just because one group doesn’t want to get there the same way you do.”

He said Kilgore understood that people with political differences could still listen to one another.

“In my humble opinion, she was very much understanding of that,” Spurlock said. “She knew at the end of the day that whoever is elected is going to represent everyone, not just a particular group.”

Kilgore’s resignation was also driven by the workload of running the organization. She wrote that too few people were being asked to do too much and offered recommendations for reorganizing and expanding the party’s leadership so responsibilities could be spread among more people.

She also pointed to accomplishments during her tenure, including growing membership to 243, increasing the party treasury by $50,000 to $60,000, and making improvements to its event space. She credited those accomplishments to the work of many party members, not herself alone.

Kilgore said she intends to remain involved with the Fayette County Republican Party, including poll watching, attending meetings, helping with projects, and advising party leaders during the transition.

Spurlock said Kilgore had spoken to him about her frustration before she resigned. After the recent incident involving Wright, he said Kilgore indicated she was reaching the point where she could no longer continue in the role.

Spurlock urged her not to leave.

“I said because you’re one of the few people then at the gate, who is trying to stop this nonsense,” Spurlock said. “If you leave, then who’s going to be the gatekeeper to stop such behavior from happening?”

When The Citizen told Spurlock this week that Kilgore had resigned, he said he had not yet heard the news.

“Am I surprised by it? No,” he said.

He had hoped she would stay.

“She was a voice of reason, someone who recognized you could have differences without being so hateful,” Spurlock said.