FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday that Democrats should be thinking less about partisan politics and more about meeting people's everyday needs as they chart a comeback strategy after last month's crushing election losses.
Beshear, who has won three statewide elections in deeply red Kentucky and has been mentioned as a potential contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, said the party should work on things like good-paying jobs, health care, schools, roads and bridges and public safety.
“These are the core areas the American people need help on, and that’s where we as Democrats should be, but that’s where every Republican should be, too,” Beshear said during a sit-down interview at the Kentucky Capitol. “And just imagine, if we spent most of our time working on all that, we’d argue a lot less. And the American people would be a lot better off.”
Beshear, who was recently chosen as chair-elect of the Democratic Governors Association for 2026, when a majority of states will elect governors, said he hoped to be “a reasonable, common-sense, common-ground voice” for the party. That should overshadow talk of whether the party should shift more to the political right, left or center, he said.
“The Democratic Party needs to stay laser focused on people’s everyday needs," he said. “I don’t think they’re political at all. So I don’t get into the right, left or center. But focusing on jobs, focusing on health care, focusing on the roads and bridges we drive every day, public education and public safety. Those are the core concerns that if somebody’s worried about it, they don’t get to anything else. They don’t get to the partisanship.”
Beshear's rise in national politics accelerated with his reelection victory in 2023, a year before voters decided to return Republican Donald Trump to the White House and give the GOP control of Congress. Beshear served one term as state attorney general before his first election as governor in 2019.
Beshear was in the running to be Kamala Harris’ running mate this summer but lost out to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Assessing his party's loss of the White House, Beshear avoided any criticism of Harris, saying she made the best decisions she could and tried hard to win.
He quickly pivoted to the work ahead for Democrats, and his role in the party's comeback efforts.
“I believe that what this election showed is that many people, at the end of the day, vote with their gut about who they think will make their lives better," Beshear said.
Beshear, whose term ends in 2027, mostly sidestepped questions about his future, saying he's focused on his job as governor and his national role in getting more Democratic governors elected. The term-limited governor again ruled out a U.S. Senate run in 2026, when Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell's seat will be on the ballot. McConnell, who is stepping down from his leadership post at the end of the year, has not said whether he will seek another term.
Beshear had some ideas on what Democrats should look for in their next presidential nominee in 2028.
“I think the next Democratic nominee should be a pragmatist that is about getting things done, getting real results," he said. “A track record of showing people that they can help lower their bills or help them make more money to pay them. Somebody who’s got a track record on improving the infrastructure of this country. With plans, but also results, that show that health care can be more affordable. Someone that is pro-public education and someone that understands that people don’t just need to be safer, they need to feel safer in their communities.”
A constant theme of Beshear's governorship has been Kentucky's record pace of economic development since he's been in office. The state's Republican supermajority legislature says the record private-sector investments stem from its business-friendly policies.
Beshear also has focused on infrastructure improvements, expanded health care and support for public schools. He led opposition to a ballot measure rejected by voters that would have allowed state lawmakers to allocate public tax dollars to support students attending private or charter schools.
The governor has feuded with Republican lawmakers on a number of issues, including GOP efforts to restrict abortion rights and ban gender-affirming health care for transgender young people. GOP lawmakers have easily swept aside Beshear's vetoes.
Beshear is one of several Democratic governors who are the subject of early speculation as potential contenders for the party’s presidential nomination in 2028.
If he succeeds in helping elect more Democratic governors in 2026, the party's bench of potential candidates for national office will grow, Beshear said Wednesday.
“Governors get things done,” he said. "You can’t be overly ideological because you’ve got to get results for your people. So my goal is to elect a lot more Democratic governors who will work everyday for the people of their states. And if I do that well, there will be a lot more names that are out there for the future.”
Bruce Schreiner, The Associated Press
