FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday that Democrats should think less about partisan politics and more about meeting people’s everyday needs as they plan a comeback strategy after last month’s crushing election losses.
Beshear, who has won three statewide elections in deep red Kentucky and has been mentioned as a potential challenger for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, 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 that the American people need help with, and that’s where we as Democrats should be, but that’s where every Republican should be as well,” Beshear said during a sit-down interview at the Kentucky Capitol. “And just think, if we spent most of our time working on all that stuff, we’d be arguing a lot less. And the American people would be a lot better off.”
Beshear, who was recently elected to chairman of the Democratic Governors Association for 2026, when a majority of states will elect governors, he said he hoped to be “a reasonable, common sense, common voice” for the party. That should overshadow talk of whether the party should move more to the political right, left or center, he said.
“The Democratic Party must remain laser-focused on the everyday needs of people,” he said. “I don’t think they’re political at all. So I’m not coming in right, left or center. But with a focus on jobs, a focus on healthcare, a focus on the roads and bridges we drive every day, public education and public safety. That’s the bottom line worry that if someone is worried about that, they won’t get to anything else. They won’t get to the bias.”
Beshear’s rise in national politics accelerated with his re-election victory 2023, one 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’s attorney before his first election for governor during 2019.
Beshear was in the running to be Kamala Harris’ replacement partner this summer, though lost to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Assessing her 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 turned to the work ahead for the Democrats and his role in the party’s comeback effort.
“I think what this election showed is that at the end of the day, a lot of people vote with their gut about who they think is going to 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 once again ruled out a U.S. Senate election in 2026, when Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s seat will be on the ballot. McConnell, who is that? leaves his leadership position at the end of the year, has not said whether he will seek another term.
Beshear had some ideas about what Democrats should look for in their next presidential candidate in 2028.
“I think the next Democratic candidate should be a pragmatist who is about getting things done, about getting real results,” he said. “A track record of showing people that they can help lower their bills or help them earn more money to pay them. Someone who has a track record of improving the infrastructure of this country. With plans, but also results, that show that healthcare can become more affordable. Someone who is pro-public education and someone who understands that people not only need to be safer, they need to feel safer in their communities.”
A constant theme of Beshear’s governorship has been Kentucky’s record economic development since he has been in office. The state’s Republican supermajority legislature says the record private sector investment stems from its pro-business policies.
Beshear has also 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 clashed with Republican lawmakers on a number of issues, including GOP efforts to limit abortion rights and ban gender-affirming health care for trans people. GOP lawmakers have easily swept aside Beshear’s veto.
Beshear is one of several Democratic governors who are the subject of early speculation as potential challengers for the party’s 2028 presidential nomination.
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 too ideological because you have to get results for your people. So my goal is to elect many more Democratic governors who will work every day for the people of their states. And if I do well, there will be many more names that are there in the future.”
