WASHINGTON — With cans of beer in hand, Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., and incumbent Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., appear in a new video posted on the social media platform X, in which Beshear endorses his fellow Democrat.
“I got one of the toughest races in the nation to win reelection on, and I’m here with my good friend, Governor of Kentucky … Andy Beshear,” Tester said.
“I’m here because Jon is a fighter for rural America,” Beshear said. “He’s brought millions of dollars to Kentucky for high-speed internet expansion and clean drinking water.”
Kentucky voters reelected Beshear last November in a high-profile race.
He formed a political action committee, “In This Together,” which has so far raised nearly $130,000, according to the latest available Federal Election Commission (FEC) data. The PAC recently announced endorsements of candidates including Tester, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.
“We want to help other candidates out there that push back against that division, that want to run in a way that brings Democrats and Republicans together,” Beshear said in February. “I think we’ve got a good story and a good example that, hopefully, we can share with people to help them win.”
“Democrats know they need to be able to do more of what Gov. Beshear accomplished in Kentucky, the way the Electoral College structures our votes, the way the U.S. Senate structures our votes,” said Stephen Voss, University of Kentucky (UK) political science professor and political analyst. “Democrats cannot afford to cling to the coastlines of New England and California and hope to reach parity with the Republican Party.”
Some of Beshear’s success can’t be repeated, Voss said, like the support he got for his response to tornadoes and flooding that devastated parts of Kentucky. But the governor offers Democrats a model on how to communicate better and name recognition, Voss added.
“Being seen with someone like Gov. Beshear, who's gotten national attention, is a way a politician running for office sends a message about what type of Democrat he or she will be as well,” Voss said.
Beshear could use the PAC to run for president or start building support with politicians nationwide for something in the future, Voss said.
When asked whether the PAC signals he has aspirations for higher office, Beshear said in February he formed the PAC because his campaign showed “hate and division don’t work" and said that he will serve every day of his term.