FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is taking on a new lead role in Democratic efforts to win more governorships in the 2026 midterm election when a majority of states will be electing governors, including in critical presidential swing states.
Democratic governors picked Beshear over the weekend as chair-elect of the Democratic Governors Association for 2026. In the interim he’ll serve as vice chair next year to Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly when voters in two states, Virginia and New Jersey, will elect governors.
His selection sets up Beshear to play a lead role in candidate recruitment, messaging and fundraising for 2026, when governorships are up for grabs in 36 states, including in the presidential battleground sates of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The role will boost Beshear’s profile within his party as Democrats try to battle back from bitter losses when Republicans took the White House and both chambers of Congress. Beshear is already being eyes as a potential contender for the party’s presidential nomination in 2028.
After being picked for his new role, 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.
He wrote then that 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.
Beshear, the son of a popular former Kentucky governor, has won three statewide elections in deeply red Kentucky — once for attorney general and now twice as governor. His last term 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, avoiding riling Bluegrass State voters who overwhelmingly support Trump. Beshear has taken a more aggressive tone against Trump this year.
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.
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.”
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.
But Democratic political strategist Mark Riddle said 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 his new party role. 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,” Riddle added.
“Win or lose, if he’s out networking and building relationships, it’s a total win,” Riddle said Monday.
