If you think Kentucky’s governor, Democrat Andy Beshear, is just day-dreaming about someday moving his family into the White House four years from now, think again.
And if you think it unlikely the Democrats, the party out of power in Washington, will want a candidate from a ruby red southern state as their next standard-bearer, think some more.
Think Bill Clinton. 1992. Democratic governor of Republican Arkansas. No Washington experience. Plenty of unpleasant baggage.
He managed to overcome it all with his dazzling display of southern charm, a golden voice and an uncanny ability to convince people that he cared deeply about each and every one of them.
And those qualities carried him to two terms as president of the United States.
Why not Beshear, who has zero baggage, a picture-perfect family, is a church deacon and governor who is very popular in a state that is as Republican red as a state can be?
Andy Beshear is aware of all of this.
It explains why, just days after the November election, he wrote an op-ed piece for the New York Times on what the national Democratic Party must be to gain back the trust of voters.
And, in the process, he touted himself.
“What I offer instead is a way forward,” Beshear wrote. “I won re-election 12 months ago by five points in a state that Donald Trump just carried by 30 points.
“And I did so at a time when inflation and illegal border crossings were higher than they are now. So how was it possible? Because the people of Kentucky know I care about them personally and, most important, that I am focused on what matters most in their daily lives. That’s a trust leaders must earn not only in their messaging but also in their everyday actions.”
And there was this:
“Earning trust and showing people you care about them also require that we talk to people like normal human beings. And that we are not afraid to share our 'why.' For me, my why is my faith, and I share it proudly. I vetoed anti-LGBTQ legislation last year because I believe all children are children of God. And whether people agree with my decision, they know why I’m making it. They know where I am coming from.”
And, in the weeks after this op-ed piece ran, the governor made many appearances on multiple shows on CNN and MSNBC where he pitched his vision forward for the party and himself as a role model for Democratic candidates.
While other potential 2028 Democrats were laying low, Beshear was out front.
And there are many political observers who believe Beshear’s low-key style might be just what the Democratic Party is looking for in 2028.
“What Mister Rogers was to TV, Andy Beshear is to politics,’’ said D. Stephen Voss, a political science professor at the University of Kentucky.
“He has a calming influence on people. And a calm and caring politician might be exactly what the country wants after four years of Trump,’’ Voss said.
And he has a family who are well-liked — his wife Britainy, daughter Lila, son Will and a shaggy dog named Winnie, who stunk up the governor’s mansion a few years ago when she took on two skunks on the grounds.
The governor and his wife are deacons at their church, Beargrass Christian Church, in Louisville, part of the Disciples of Christ denomination.
Col Owens, the former Kenton County Democratic Party chair, is a great fan of Andy Beshear — as he was of Andy’s father, former governor Steve Beshear.
Owens didn’t really know the son well until he went to Frankfort in 2018, when the younger Beshear was running in the Democratic gubernatorial primary.
But he had been impressed by Beshear when he was Kentucky’s attorney general, particularly because he went after 23 pharmaceutical companies charging excessive prices for medications.
“We had lunch at a Panera Bread down there,” Owens said. “I knew Steve, but not Andy. After sitting with him and talking for a while, I came away saying, 'This is my guy.' ”
Owens said he would not at all be surprised to see Beshear run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028.
“He has a very good record to run on,” said Owens, a retired lawyer. “He’s done an extraordinary job as governor, almost flawless, particularly in handling the pandemic.” (There are the memes to prove it.)
Beshear can’t run for a third term as governor. He will be term-limited out in 2026.
But Owens sees another scenario for Beshear — running for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Republican Mitch McConnell.
“I don’t know if Mitch McConnell plans to run again, after stepping down as leader,” Owens said. “He’s in his 80s, but they wheeled Strom Thurmond into the Senate chamber until he was 100.”
Beshear could run for the Senate in 2026 and be elected, Owens said.
“I don’t think he really wants to be in the Senate,’’ Owens said. “Some politicians are built for executive jobs, where they are in charge. Senators are in charge of nothing.”
But, Owens said, presidential candidates have a better chance running from a Senate seat than from a statehouse.
“Either way, Andy Beshear is someone who would have to be taken seriously as a presidential candidate,’’ Owens said. “Even if there are 20 candidates on the stage for the first debate. Andy would stand out in a crowd.”
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