Latest news with #Beshear
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Beshear on potential White House bid: ‘I'll think about it after next year'
Gov. Andy Beshear (D-Ky.) said he'll consider a 2028 White House bid in an article published Friday while seething over the 'big, beautiful bill' backed by Republicans in Congress. 'Two years ago, I wouldn't have considered [running for president]. But if I'm somebody who could maybe heal and bring the country back together, I'll think about it after next year,' Beshear told Vanity Fair. The Kentucky governor's term ends in 2027 and he's pledged to complete his tenure in office before launching another political bid for a higher office. Fellow party members Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.) have also been listed as potential contenders for the presidency as Democrats look to claw back the executive branch after their November loss. Political pundits have suggested the GOP-authored spending package will have a significant impact on midterm elections and cycles that follow as Americans grapple with the possibility of losing their healthcare coverage, a top issue for Beshear. 'What the Republican majority is getting wrong is that the American people don't view health care in a partisan way. They want to be able to see their doctor when they need to, and they want their neighbor to be able to see their doctor,' Beshear, Kentucky's former attorney general, said in the interview. 'No state will be able to compensate for the level of devastation that this bill would cause. What they're doing is immoral, and it's certainly not Christian,' he added. The legislation is set to remove millions from Medicaid and introduce stricter work requirements for food stamp benefits and other social services. However, Beshear said in order to break through on the cuts, Democrats will need to help voters conceptualize the ongoing impact of the bill. 'If Democrats say this bill is going to increase food insecurity, their point's not going to get through. If they say people are going to go hungry, it will,' he said. 'And we have to explain not just what we disagree with in this bill, but why. And my why is my faith. The parable of the fishes and the loaves is in every book of the gospel. My faith teaches me that in a country that grows enough food for everyone that no one should starve.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Beshear on possible 2028 run: ‘I do not want to leave a broken country' to future generations
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) said Sunday that he's mulling a run for president in 2028 because he's concerned about future generations living in a 'broken country,' but said he needed to decide if he's the right person to 'bring people back together.' 'My family's been through a lot, but I do not want to leave a broken country to my kids or anyone else's,' Beshear said in an interview on CNN's 'State of the Union.' 'I'm going to make sure we're putting the country first, because my kids deserve to grow up in a country where they don't have to turn on the news every morning, even when they're on vacation, and say, 'What the heck happened last night?'' Beshear said he wouldn't have entertained a presidential run 'if you had asked me this question a couple years ago.' 'What I think is most important for 2028 is a candidate that can heal this country, that can bring people back together,' he said. 'When I sit down, I'm going to think about whether I'm that candidate or whether someone else is that candidate.' Beshear has led ruby-red Kentucky since December 2019, winning reelection with more than 53 percent of the vote in 2023. He was considered a top contender to become Vice President Kamala Harris's running mate last year after former President Biden abruptly ended his 2024 reelection campaign. Beshear, 47, is slated to chair the influential Democratic Governors Association (DGA) next year, before his gubernatorial term ends in 2027. The former Kentucky attorney general cannot immediately seek another four years because state law limits governors to two consecutive terms. He predicted Democrats in traditionally GOP-controlled states will have better chances in the upcoming election cycle in the wake of President Trump's massive tax and spending package that was signed into law Friday. 'I think, especially in these rural states where Republican governors have not spoken up whatsoever to stop this devastating bill, we're going to have strong candidates,' Beshear said. 'We're going to win a lot of elections.' 'All these Republican governors that aren't saying a thing, where their rural hospitals are going to close, where they're going to see massive layoffs and people lose their coverage. That's pretty sad,' he added. Trump's megabill, named the 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act,' narrowly passed the House and Senate. Every Democratic lawmaker voted against it. The president and his allies have hailed the legislation for boosting defense spending and funding for Trump's sweeping immigration crackdown, while extending the 2017 tax cuts from his first term. But Democrats have blasted the measure for cutting funding for social safety net programs, such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Porgram. 'I know a lot of people on Medicaid — these are our parents with special needs children that could have never covered it otherwise. These are busy people all working two jobs already to support that child,' Beshear told CNN's Dana Bash on Sunday. 'I mean, you can lie all you want about what's in this bill, but the numbers are the numbers.' The bill would cut nearly $800 billion from the health care program that primarily covers poor people, pregnant women and children by setting work requirements for most 'able-bodied adults' with no dependents, implementing more frequent eligibility checks and reducing federal aid for states that provide coverage for undocumented migrants. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated the new law could threaten health care coverage for millions of people. It raises the debt ceiling by $5 trillion, forestalling the threat of a federal default, while adding $2 trillion to the deficit. 'It's going to devastate rural health care, all while adding trillions of dollars to our national debt. And it's going to upend every state budget across the country,' Beshear said. 'Our job is to stand up for and represent our people, and I wish people would get back to that.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Beshear to appear on Vogue cover as 2028 speculation heats up
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) will appear on the cover of Vogue as speculation about his political future and potential run for president heat up. Beshear 'is the most popular Democratic governor in the country—and he's achieved this in a state that has become a GOP stronghold,' the news and culture magazine said in an Instagram post promoting its September cover story focusing on the politician. 'His elections have all been close, but in each the margin has widened and he continues to win without turning away from the values and priorities of the left,' it added. 'Head to the link in our bio to learn more about what's next for Kentucky Governor Beshear who's found a way to win (and win again) in Trump County which has put him at the top of the list of Democrats expected to vie for the presidential nomination in 2028.' Beshear was among several potential Democratic presidential candidates making visits to South Carolina this month, along with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) Beshear has previously said he would 'take a look' at running for president in 2028 Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Politico
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Politico
The relatively unknown Democrat drawing huge crowds in South Carolina
Throughout his first swing in an early presidential state, Beshear opened with, 'If you don't know me … I'm the guy who beat Donald Trump's hand-picked candidate by five points in 2023.' During his two-day visit, that line drew cheers every time. A leadership vacuum at the highest levels of the party has already set up what could be a wildly crowded presidential race, as potential Democratic candidates overtly prepare for national campaigns and frankly acknowledge their interest in what will be a wide-open contest. During the 2020 primary, the lack of name recognition — and the accompanying in-state network of supporters — posed an existential challenge for many of the nearly 30 Democrats who mounted bids to unseat Trump. Now, Beshear has company in trying to get a head start. California Gov. Gavin Newsom headlined a multi-day tour through rural counties here earlier this month, with attendees forming long selfie lines for face time after his events. California Rep. Ro Khanna held town halls and visited churches this weekend. Govs. Wes Moore of Maryland and Tim Walz of Minnesota did their own relationship-building in May, when they both appeared at the South Carolina Democratic Party's convention. And in other early voting states, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker railed against 'simpering timidity' in his own party before New Hampshire Democrats this spring, while former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg popped up at a veterans-focused forum in Iowa and has appeared on marathon-length podcasts. The visits come as Democrats, locked out of power in Washington, are looking to the 2026 midterms as their first shot at winning back the voters they hemorrhaged last year. Party leaders are banking on Trump's tax-and-spend law, particularly its deep cuts to Medicaid and food assistance programs, as core to their midterm messaging strategy. The campaigning from 2028 candidates also previews Democrats' options for the party's brand moving forward. 'We have an identity crisis and we don't have a voice leading the party,' said South Carolina state Rep. Hamilton Grant, who met Beshear in Columbia, S.C., Wednesday afternoon. 'For everybody who's not from South Carolina, visits South Carolina, wants to be president … it's a jump ball.' South Carolina gained its first-place perch in the presidential nominating calendar in 2024, but it's not clear whether that will change ahead of 2028. The Democratic National Committee will review the early state process ahead of the primary. Beshear is beginning to build his national operation. He's popping up at major donor conferences and recording a podcast. Former Kamala Harris campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt is consulting for him, and he hired a new set of fundraisers this spring. On Thursday morning, Beshear met privately with state legislative leaders, taking questions one-on-one and soliciting advice, according to two members who attended the South Carolina confab. But he starts off lesser known than Newsom or Buttigieg, both of whom have built national followings as they consider 2028 runs. Early national polling puts Harris, Buttigieg and Newsom at double-digit support already, while Beshear garners about 2 percent. Luck, the state legislator, said Beshear 'lacks the star power,' of Newsom, 'but he's actually the guy who could do the job' of winning in a red state. 'Nobody knew who the governor of Arkansas was either, but it's certainly a more challenging media environment now,' Michael Morley, who managed then-Rep. Tim Ryan's 2020 presidential primary campaign, said in reference to Bill Clinton. 'He has time to introduce himself, and my informed assumption is that's part of what he's doing here.' At the state's AFL-CIO convention and Georgetown County Democrats' fundraising dinner, Beshear previewed his potential 2028 pitch: He said Democrats need to talk 'like normal human beings,' trading 'abuse disorder' for 'addiction.' He urged them to eschew policy bullet points in favor of relating to voters' everyday lives. And he argued he won deep-red Kentucky because voters know the 'why behind what I do, and because they know about that, even when I do something that they may disagree with, they know I'm coming from the right place.' 'Democrats have a huge opportunity to seize the middle and win back voters who have been increasingly skeptical of our Democratic brand,' Beshear told the county Democrats. 'But it's going to take focus, and it's going to take discipline. We have to talk to people and not at them.' He laced his remarks with Scripture to explain why he vetoed 'every single piece of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation' pushed by his GOP-controlled legislature. He argued it doesn't have to be an 'either or' for Democrats. 'We can stick up for everything we believe in while still convincing the American people that we are going to spend every single day working on those things that lift everybody up,' Beshear said in Charleston at a reception Thursday morning. Skeptics of Beshear's argument, however, argue the GOP-controlled legislature still overrode his veto and enacted bans on gender-affirming care for transgender children. Even so, South Carolina Democrats said his Christianity may help him in a state where churches, especially African Methodist Episcopal churches, are still a vital part of the Democratic Party primary. Herbert, the Columbia city council member who didn't know much about Beshear, said she liked how he grounded his pitch in 'his faith and his values,' adding that she'll 'probably' donate to his campaign now. The Southern governor may also gain some home field advantage, said Christale Spain, the chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, 'being able to communicate the way we do, very plain-spoken,' she said. 'I think that's going to benefit him down the line.'
The Hill
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hill
Beshear to appear on Vogue cover as 2028 speculation heats up
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) will appear on the cover of Vogue as speculation about his political future and potential run for president heat up. Beshear 'is the most popular Democratic governor in the country—and he's achieved this in a state that has become a GOP stronghold,' the news and culture magazine said in an Instagram post promoting its September cover story focusing on the politician. 'His elections have all been close, but in each the margin has widened and he continues to win without turning away from the values and priorities of the left,' it added. 'Head to the link in our bio to learn more about what's next for Kentucky Governor Beshear who's found a way to win (and win again) in Trump County which has put him at the top of the list of Democrats expected to vie for the presidential nomination in 2028.' Beshear was among several potential Democratic presidential candidates making visits to South Carolina this month, along with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) Beshear has previously said he would 'take a look' at running for president in 2028
