FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Looking to strengthen his position in national politics, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is taking a leading role in Democrats’ efforts to win governorships in the 2026 midterm elections — when a majority of states will elect governors becomes. including a crucial set of presidential transition states.
Democratic governors on Saturday selected Beshear as the Democratic Governors Association’s 2026 chair-elect. He will serve as vice chair in 2025, while Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly will continue to serve as the group’s chair. Voters in Virginia and New Jersey will elect governors next year.
With his selection, Beshear will take a leading role in recruiting, communicating and fundraising for candidates for 2026, when gubernatorial offices are up for grabs in 36 states, including in the contested presidential races of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and, according to the DGA Wisconsin.
The assignment will raise Beshear’s profile within the national party as Democrats try to recover from bitter losses last month, when Republicans captured the White House and both chambers of Congress. Beshear is one of several Democratic governors who have been speculated early on as potential candidates for the party’s 2028 presidential nomination.
After assuming his recent role at the DGA, Beshear said in a statement that Democrats can win anywhere if they focus on “fundamental challenges that families face every day” – continuing a theme he in a New York Times opinion piece outlining a path forward for Democrats in the November election.
In the statement, Beshear said Democrats can win back voters without abandoning the party’s values on divisive social issues. But the focus should be on the core issues – good jobs, affordable health care, education, public safety, and good roads and bridges.
“To gain trust and show people that you care, we also need to talk to people like normal people,” he wrote. “And that we are not afraid to share our ‘why.’ For me, my faith is my why, and I share it proudly.”
Beshear, the son of a popular former Kentucky governor, has won three statewide elections in deep-red Kentucky — once for attorney general and twice for governor. His term as governor is now circumscribed and ends at the end of 2027. He was in the running to become Kamala Harris’ vice president this summer, but lost to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Beshear became a surrogate for the ticket during the campaign, failing in places like Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan and New Hampshire.
During his first term as governor, Beshear largely avoided criticizing Republican Donald Trump because he did not want to anger Bluegrass State voters who overwhelmingly support Trump. Beshear, who won re-election in 2023, struck a more aggressive tone toward Trump this year as he campaigned for his party’s vice presidential pick and then as a surrogate.
Beshear has projected unifying themes and spurred record economic development, but has clashed with Kentucky’s supermajority Republican legislature on a number of issues. His vetoes are routinely overridden, and Republican lawmakers credit their pro-business policies with driving economic growth.
Reacting to Beshear’s recent role, Republican political strategist Scott Jennings said that the “supposedly nonpartisan governor” would now spend time on partisan politics, but expressed doubt that the recent role would have much impact on the governor’s political future.
“It certainly gives him more contacts with donors and party people, but I don’t think it’s a potential stepping stone or a problem,” Jennings said in a statement Monday.
After Trump won back the presidency, Beshear said he would work with the recent administration when it was good for Kentucky and “oppose it” when the policies were bad for the state.
The governor expressed concerns about the president-elect’s threats to impose tough tariffs on foreign imports.
“We just had an election that was all about inflation and other core issues,” Beshear said recently. “I hope that a president who is focused on lowering inflation and making things more affordable doesn’t take actions that raise prices. Because that’s exactly what happens with tariffs.”
Beshear’s ability to win in arduous terrain for Democrats and appeal to vast swaths of urban, suburban and rural voters makes him the right candidate for the DGA post, said Mark Riddle, Democratic political strategist. As for his future, Beshear will spend time with party leaders, strategists and donors, which will allow him to “expand his reach across the country, make his case and see if people are willing to listen,” he said.
Regardless of the interim results, it is a prime opportunity for Beshear, he said.
“Win or lose, if he networks and builds relationships, that’s an absolute win,” Riddle said Monday. “If the Democrats lose in the medium term, they will of course have a whole range of other, bigger problems.”
