Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear picked to lead Democratic efforts to win governorships in 2026 midterms

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is taking on a lead role for Democratic efforts to win governorships in the 2026 midterm elections

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear picked to lead Democratic efforts to win governorships in 2026 midtermsBy BRUCE SCHREINERAssociated PressThe Associated PressFRANKFORT, Ky.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Looking to strengthen his foothold in national politics, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is taking on a lead role for Democratic efforts to win governorships in the 2026 midterm election — when a majority of states will be electing governors, including a crucial set of presidential swing states.

Democratic governors on Saturday picked Beshear as chair-elect of the Democratic Governors Association for 2026. He will serve as vice chair in 2025, when Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly will continue serving as the group’s chair. Voters in Virginia and New Jersey will elect governors next year.

His selection sets up Beshear to play a lead role in candidate recruitment, messaging and fundraising for 2026, when the DGA says governorships are up for grabs in 36 states, including the presidential battlegrounds of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The assignment will raise Beshear’s profile within the national party as Democrats try to rebound from bitter losses last month, when Republicans swept the White House and both chambers of Congress. Beshear is one of several Democratic governors who are the subject of early speculation as potential contenders for the party’s presidential nomination in 2028.

After gaining his new role at DGA, Beshear said in a statement that Democrats can win anywhere by focusing on “fundamental challenges families are facing every day” — continuing a theme he advanced in a New York Times opinion piece outlining a way forward for Democrats after the November election.

In the opinion piece, Beshear said Democrats can win back voters without abandoning the party’s values on divisive social issues. But the focus, he said, should be on core issues — good jobs, affordable health care, education, public safety and good roads and bridges.

“Earning trust and showing people you care about them also require that we talk to people like normal human beings,” he wrote. “And that we are not afraid to share our ‘why.’ For me, my why is my faith, and I share it proudly.”

Beshear, the son of a popular former Kentucky governor, has won three statewide elections in deeply red Kentucky — once for attorney general and twice as governor. Now term limited, his tenure as governor ends in late 2027. He was in the running to be Kamala Harris’ running mate this summer but lost out to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Beshear became a surrogate for the ticket during the campaign, stumping in places like Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan and New Hampshire.

During his first term as governor, Beshear mostly avoided criticizing Republican Donald Trump, not wanting to rile Bluegrass State voters who overwhelmingly support Trump. Beshear, who won reelection in 2023, took a more aggressive tone against Trump this year while he was vying for his party’s vice presidential nod and then as a campaign surrogate.

Beshear has projected unifying themes and presided over record-setting economic development but has sparred with Kentucky’s Republican supermajority legislature on a host of issues. His vetoes are routinely overridden, and GOP lawmakers credit their business-friendly policies for the economic growth.

Responding to Beshear’s new role, Republican political strategist Scott Jennings said the “supposed nonpartisan governor” will now be spending time on partisan politics, but he expressed doubt that the new role will have much of an 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 springboard or albatross,” Jennings said Monday in a statement.

After Trump won back the presidency, Beshear said he would work with the incoming administration when it’s good for Kentucky and “stand up” against it when the policies are bad for the state.

The governor has raised concerns about the president-elect’s threats to impose stiff tariffs on foreign imports.

“We just had an election that was significantly about inflation and other core issues,” Beshear said recently. “My hope is that a president that ran on decreasing inflation and making things more affordable won’t put policies into place that will raise prices. Because that’s what happens with tariffs.”

Beshear’s ability to win in tough terrain for Democrats, appealing to swaths of urban, suburban and rural voters, makes him the right fit for the DGA posts, said Democratic political strategist Mark Riddle. As for his future, Beshear will spend time with party leaders, strategists and donors, enabling him to “expand his reach around the country and make his argument and see if folks are willing to listen,” he said.

Regardless of the midterm results, it’s a prime opportunity for Beshear, he said.

“Win or lose, if he’s out networking and building relationships, it’s a total win,” Riddle said Monday. “Obviously if Democrats lose in the midterm, they have a whole host of other, larger problems.”