KY Gov. Andy Beshear's approval rating at 65%...most popular Dem governor.

[Wanderlust988]

I honestly think he would win and carry Kentucky and it's 8 EV's in 2028. He's got a higher approval in Kentucky than Trump.

You can say what you want about the other candidates, but Beshear is the ONLY Dem that can turn a red state into a blue one in 2028.


https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article314558319.html

[unblock]

1. That's pretty mind-boggling. KY is one of the reddest states.

[Big Blue Marble]

2. He is a very caring person

who takes care of Kentucky citizens during crises and brings jobs and prosperity to the state.
He is the perfect antidote to Trump.

[Wanderlust988]

11. We do have the Bluegrass Resistance here...Massie, Paul, McConnell

[JI7]

3. In a national election he would have to talk about issues

that he probably doesn't or not as much in Kentucky.

[senseandsensibility]

4. My understanding is that he has had to discuss abortion rights and transgender issues

in KY and has found a way to do so. Maybe someone with more local knowledge could chip in here, but I recall reading about him finding a way to do so.

[Fiendish Thingy]

5. I think there are a number of red states that might flip to blue in 2028

Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Alaska all come to mind. Not slam dunks, but certainly within the realm of possibility after four years of chaos and suffering under Trump 2.0. The senate seats for IA and AK are definitely in play this year and could be a bellwether for 2028.

I think a lot depends on who the GOP nominates as their presidential candidate- if it’s Vance, we could get Texas to turn blue.

[Renew Deal]

6. He's too popular to be electable

[tritsofme]

7. He would be made into the biggest villain of the primary around here.

The dreaded “centrist”

[Wanderlust988]

10. The irony is he checks all the boxes of Democratic orthodoxy. He's NOT a centrist. He's more left than Shapiro.

I don't know why people think he's some sorta Joe Manchin. He embraces social issues. He talks about trans issues just as well as any other Dem. He doesn't shy away from controversial topics in Kentucky. He just talks about them without shouting. He's not a fire-breather.

[senseandsensibility]

14. He went to Davos

just a week or so ago and was live on CNN absolutely tearing into trump before a world audience. Shrinking violet he is not.

[mr715]

27. On trans issues, he talks better than most Dems.

He isn't a centrist, as you say. He is a mainstream Democrat.

To me he appears thoughtful and passionate.

He is, for better or worse, perhaps the weakest governor in the nation after the Kentucky legislature stripped him of many of his powers.

But I suspect he would be a formidable candidate and I think his ethics are unimpeachable

[mr715]

21. Really?

His passionate defense of trans rights is one of the things that makes me think he is our best candidate.

The drawl helps, too.

[SheltieLover]

8. Catsup will be hitting the walls tonight.

The catsup bottles are probably stampeeding to evacuate already.

[kentuck]

9. That's about where Hillary was at until she announced she was running for President.

They have a very effective propaganda system .

[newdeal2]

12. What's his plan to hold Trump and MAGA accountable and undo all his crap?

That's my first question to every candidate and their answer better not include any bipartisanship BS.

[Norbert]

13. All last week he kept Kentuckians in touch

on what is working and what needs attention, even let us know the people that died as a result of the storm. He is the complete antithesis of trump.

[Wanderlust988]

15. How do you hold them accountable when Trump will pardon every one of them?

[Initech]

16. Mark Kelly for president, Andy Beshear for VP would be a winning combo!

[senseandsensibility]

17. Not advocating for this (I'm undecided) but

James Carville just said something like if the Dems choose two white males....., and I braced for what was coming, then after a pause something like no one will give a #@@##. He was basically saying that Dems just need to win and whatever that involves the base will support it.

[DFW]

18. Mark is 74 today, and is (so far) not interested.

He'd be 76 by the time the election of 2028 is upon us. I think of all the ugly comments Janet Mills had garnered just on DU for being 78. Mark doesn't follow DU, but he's well aware of the current attitudes toward age in general.

Mark is mentally and physically all there, of course, and had extensinve foreign policy experience. I have no clue as to Beahear's experience in that matter, although it hasn't seemed to be of great importance to the American electorate in presidential elections of late. It matters plenty once someone gets to the Oval Office, however. Even Bill Clinton had studied at Oxford, and so had been exposed to a lot of educated thinking from abroad before he ever stzarted thinking of running for national office.

[Celerity]

19. Mark Kelly turns 62yo on February 21st, 2026.

Mark Edward Kelly (born February 21, 1964) is an American politician and a retired astronaut and naval officer. He is the senior United States senator from Arizona, a seat he has held since 2020. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Kelly

[Iris]

20. Generation Jones!

[DFW]

23. Sorry, you're right. Wrong Mark Kelly!!

I know two of them on Facebook, and was too distracted to have the presence of mind to know which one was announcing his birthday!! My apologies.

However, the fact remains that the one who is a Senator is not interested in running for president at this time. He hears the noise, of course, but sometimes it is best to ignore the noise, especially if it is from your most enthusiastic supporters. It’s the rest of the people—the ones who will NOT stand in line in the rain for two hours to shake your hand—whose votes you need to win an election. Whether George McGovern or Katie Porter, this has always been a factor that some politicians with vocal (but too small) followings have ignored to their ultimate downfall.

[Buckeyeblue]

26. We might be better off with him holding onto the Senate seat in AZ

We haven't haven't even made it to the midterms yet. However if I was going to speculate i think we have some strong governors that would potentially be good president and VP candidates.

[Buckeyeblue]

22. I've posted on here before that i think he could be a strong candidate

He has figured out how to appeal to a rural audience. Hope he decides to run and the country can get to know him during the primary.

[DFW]

24. IF he decides to run, he will not keep it a secret. However:

He will not announce it too early, either.

Candidates whose candidacy is old news rarely maintain attention long enough to make it all the way.

[Buckeyeblue]

25. I think announcing sometime in the fall of 2027

That gives time for the team to get their legs under them before the primary season starts.