WASHINGTON — Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., is considered a rising star of the Democratic Party for winning in a deep-red state, most recently by fending off Republican Daniel Cameron, the former Kentucky attorney general, last fall.
He keeps being floated as a potential presidential or vice presidential nominee if Democrats reshuffle their ticket to replace President Joe Biden amid concerns about his mental acuity.
Thursday, Beshear shared what he said at Biden’s meeting with Democratic governors last week.
“When I had an opportunity to speak, it was that he didn’t just need to reassure us, he needed to reassure the American people,” Beshear said. “I think they’ve taken some steps towards it, but I think more steps would need to be taken.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, the good vibrations Beshear has been enjoying nationally in the Democratic Party are not shared by some Republicans in Frankfort, at least publicly.
“I think this little flare up for Gov. Andy Beshear just shows you how weak the bench is for the Democratic Party,” Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, said. “I mean, they don't have much to go on.”
Though Beshear has worked with Republicans to pass landmark legislation to legalize medical marijuana and sports betting, he has often clashed with GOP leaders. In 2022, he vetoed a Republican-backed income-tax reduction bill that also expanded services subject to the sales tax. Republicans overrode his veto.
When Beshear broke with Democrats last year by signing a related bill cutting the income tax rate, the Republican Party of Kentucky said it was the “latest example of Beshear taking credit for Republican policies.”
“You have to be leery of someone who takes credit for someone else's work, and that's exactly what Gov. Beshear has done, and that's exactly why he wouldn't be the appropriate person to run our country either,” said Speaker Pro Tempore David Meade, R-Stanford.
Beshear has said it’s flattering his name keeps coming up for a potential slot on the national ticket, but that he thinks it’s more of a reflection of the good things happening in Kentucky.
Earlier this month, Beshear said, “I think the rest of the country turns to us and says how can a Democratic governor, a Republican General Assembly create really good results? And I think the answer to that is everything is not partisan.”
Last week, Kentucky’s Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams wished Beshear well and said he deserves to be considered by Democrats.
Beshear said again Thursday that he supports Biden as the nominee "as long as he is our nominee."