As speculation builds around the 2028 presidential election, Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., is creating a lane for himself by relentlessly challenging the 2028 Republican favorite, Vice President JD Vance.
Beshear is claiming the mantle of a pugnacious yet moderate Democrat as the Democrat field for 2028 is wide open.
ABC News recently highlighted Beshear’s desire to specifically prevent Vance the White House. “There is no one who will work harder—no matter what I am doing that year—to beat JD Vance in 2028,” Beshear claimed in a speech at the Spring Gala in Butler County, Ohio
“He is the most arrogant politician I have ever seen—and given his current boss, that’s saying something,” he added.
Even before he took the Spring Gala stage, Beshear took to X to lash out against Vance’s memoir “Hillbilly Elegy.”
“Every time Andy Beshear attacks the vice president to try to get himself publicity, he ends up humiliating himself in the process,” Taylor Van Kirk, a spokesperson for Vance, said in response to Beshear’s X post. “But maybe that’s something he’s into?”
That post was only the start of attack lines against Vance.
“JD Vance is a bully who says that addiction is the fault of struggling Americans — not the opioid manufacturers that flooded our communities with pills,” Beshear wrote in an X post with a clip of the speech. “I’ve focused on delivering results by suing the companies responsible and increasing access to treatment and support.”
Beshear’s X account was still sharing clips of that appearance days later.
Beshear’s comments caught the attention of Brent Buchanan, Cygnal’s pollster and CEO.
“Andy Beshear went to JD Vance’s home county to call him arrogant, which is what you do when 66% of Independents say your party is either just opposing Trump or out of touch with everyday Americans, and you’ve got nothing affirmative to run on,” Buchanan said, referencing Cygnal’s March poll.
The barbs from Beshear are nothing new.
As the 2024 Democratic National Convention took place in Chicago, Beshear became Democrats’ anti-Vance attack dog.
In an interview with Mika Brzezinski on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” about “what some people have had to go through because of these [abortion] laws,” Beshear made it about Vance and his family. “Make him go through this!” Beshear exclaimed when talking about pregnancy as a result of rape.
William Martin, the communications director for Vance, called Beshear’s comments “vile” while Vance himself posted on X that Beshear was “a disgusting person.”
Beshear attempts to present as a moderate blue governor from a red state, but his record on abortion in particular is radical.
Beshear similarly weaponized the tragedy of rape and abortion against his Republican gubernatorial opponent, former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron.
As governor, Beshear repeatedly vetoed pro-life bills from the state Legislature, a move praised by abortion advocates.
Beshear has also taken radical-left positions on transgender issues, too.
In 2022, Beshear vetoed a bill that would have banned boys from girls sports teams. The Legislature overrode Beshear’s veto. He also vetoed a bill in 2023 that included a ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy. The Legislature again overrode his veto.
Beshear defended those vetoes on “The View” in February, claiming it was a matter of his Christian faith.
“My decisions are based on ‘we love our neighbors like ourselves’ and the parable that says everyone is our neighbor,” Beshear claimed. “When I vetoed one of the nastiest pieces of anti-LGBTQ legislation that came through my state, I described it in those terms.”
“I said my faith tells me that all children are children of God and I didn’t want people picking on those things,” the governor added.
Beshear remains one of the most popular governors in the country.
According to Morning Consult polling, Beshear is the third most popular governor overall and the most popular Democrat governor, with a 65% approval rating among registered voters in his state.
But how popular will Beshear be when his radical record is scrutinized under the national spotlight?
Beshear’s office did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment.