K entucky governor Andy Beshear has seemingly welcomed the attention as a potential running mate for Kamala Harris, appearing on Morning Joe with the same pitch he made to voters in his own state: He is a moderate Democrat who focuses on common voter concerns, moves past the culture war, and builds bridges with Republicans.
Beshear’s record shows, however, that his plan to unite Democrats and Republicans in a post-partisan utopia excludes certain groups: namely, supporters of Kentucky’s current abortion ban or anyone who believes that elementary schoolers should not be exposed to explicit gender ideology in the classroom.
Despite his persona, Beshear is anything but a moderate, with radically progressive social views and a contrived record of compromise with Republicans. His faux moderation conceals these views and shifts blame onto Kentucky conservatives.
On the surface, Beshear admittedly seems like a compelling candidate. He is a second-term governor in a conservative state, with an approval rating of 65 percent — the highest of any Democratic governor. He is also a white man who has mostly focused his messaging on economic improvement rather than social issues, on which he disagrees with the vast majority of Kentuckians. A Harris-Beshear ticket would try to appeal to suburban and rural voters with a message of economic opportunity and compromise.
Beshear constantly appeals to normalcy, claiming that most Americans care not about controversial debates but about jobs, health care, and public schools. But is it fair for him to say that conservatives are less American and have made democracy partisan? Beshear has used his veto power (often overridden by Republican supermajorities in the general assembly) to try to advance his agenda.
This is clearest on the issue of transgenderism. In 2023, he vetoed S.B. 150, which protected children from LGBT indoctrination in the classroom, made bathrooms and locker rooms correspond to biological sex, and prevented transgender procedures for minors. He also refused to sign S.B. 5, which banned obscene books from school classrooms. Both became law without his signature. Most obscene was his photo op with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the same drag group featured by the Los Angeles Dodgers. When questioned, Beshear said he would gladly take the picture again.
Abortion rights played a major role in Beshear’s reelection campaign, when an infamous ad about rape and incest exceptions misrepresented the pro-life position and likely scared many suburbanites into voting for him. He also refused to sign a 15-week ban (H.B. 3 in 2022), which he allowed the secretary of state to sign into law, and vetoed the Born Alive Act (S.B. 9 in 2020), and the legislature didn’t have time to override the veto.
Despite these far-left positions, Beshear has presented himself as a homespun, relatable man of faith (the only way a Democrat could win statewide office in Kentucky). He has played up his religious identity as a deacon in his church and grandson of a Baptist preacher, and his nightly addresses during the early days of Covid seemed like sentimental fireside chats. His rhetoric is laced with love of neighbor and the Golden Rule.
His religious affections did not apply to churchgoers on Easter Sunday 2020, however, when he targeted them with state police. He also put roadblocks in the contract of Sunrise Children’s Services, a Kentucky Baptist child-care organization, pressuring it to compromise its traditional Christian views on sexuality.
His self-touted economic record is also questionable. He did oversee two major disaster-relief plans while in office, but he resisted widespread calls for audits of both programs. And when he has touted improvement plans such as high-speed internet access, they have come with a massive price tag for taxpayers and faulty logic. Handing out government checks does not count as economic development.
So why has such a liberal governor succeeded in Kentucky? Beshear’s name recognition as the son of a former governor and the unpopularity of a Republican incumbent led to his first election. But the past five years and his reelection campaign have shown that he is just as liberal as the leaders of his party. Kentucky Republicans were caught off guard by his attacks during the 2023 campaign, particularly on the pro-life movement. It is a lesson for all states of the importance of clear and firm positions on social issues.
On Morning Joe, Beshear said that, if given the opportunity, he would apply the Kentucky blueprint at a national level. We can expect that he would do exactly that if given the chance. But it would not really be a message of compromise across the aisle and a post-partisan turn away from the culture war, because his positions and actions have been anything but “normal.”