Gov. Beshear says he’ll serve full term if re-elected, dishes on Cameron in interview

Gov. Andy Beshear committed to serving a full second term if he’s re-elected this year, ruling out a U.S. Senate run in 2026, he told the Herald-Leader editorial board in a wide-ranging interview Tuesday.

Whether or not he’ll serve out a second term through 2027 was one of several topics the incumbent Democratic governor weighed in on, including abortion, the economy, education, social issues and working with the Republican legislature.

“Absolutely, yes, I will serve every day,” Beshear said. “I’m serving this full term. This is where I want to be, and my kids are in a good place… I’ll serve the full four years, and I don’t know what comes after that. I don’t have plans beyond being governor for eight years.”

Beshear’s star is on the rise within the national Democratic party and some in Washington have buzzed about him as a potential candidate for vice president, talk that is expected to increase if he beats GOP challenger Attorney General Daniel Cameron in November.

But Beshear, 45, explicitly ruled out being called up to Washington or running for U.S. Senate in 2026, when Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s, R-KY, term will run out. McConnell, who has faced some criticisms following public health episodes, has yet to comment on whether or not he’ll run for re-election.

When asked a similar question during a primary debate, Cameron, 37, (the attorney is also seen as a rising star in his own right within the GOP) said he wanted to serve as governor “for the remainder of this decade.”

In a more recent interview with the Herald-Leader, Cameron declined to express any interest in a 2026 U.S. Senate run. On Tuesday, Cameron’s campaign told the Herald-Leader he plans to serve two terms as governor.

Cameron has been invited to interview with the paper’s editorial board but his campaign team has not yet responded to that invitation.

The interview with the Herald-Leader editorial board also touched on several other topics, including goals for a potential second term and responses to oft-repeated Republican criticisms:

• When pressed on abortion — Beshear’s campaign has barraged Cameron with ads on his support of a trigger ban on abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest — Beshear reiterated that he would support a law that allows the procedure up until fetal viability, which is generally considered to be around 24 weeks. He reiterated his opposition to late-term abortions and pushed back on the Cameron campaign’s focus on the matter. “I’ve been saying since I ran for attorney general that I believe in reasonable restrictions, especially at late term abortions. He knows it. My track record is clear on it. But he (Cameron) is so wrong on this issue, so extremist, that he has to change the conversation,” Beshear said.

• In a second term, Beshear said his top priority would be “keep going on an economic win streak, the likes of which we’ve never seen.” To support economic development, Beshear said Kentucky needs to improve pay for not just school teachers, but bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers and mental health counselors. Additionally, implementing universal pre-K “is the fastest way to get — especially young — parents back into the workforce. It saves people about $18,000 for that year, but the most important part is it gets every child kindergarten ready.”

• Cameron and groups backing him have sought to tie Beshear to Democratic President Joe Biden, who is deeply unpopular in the commonwealth. Beshear said he supports Biden in his re-election campaign. “What I make of them running those commercials is that they don’t have an agenda to run on, and they can’t win if this race is about us in Kentucky. Every governor’s race is about that state, is about what’s going on in the economy, yet the ads you’re seeing from them are trying to convince you that this race is about Washington, D.C., and I believe that they are dishonest as I believe a number of the ads are. They are meant to confuse, and they are meant to stir up anger and fear and sometimes even hatred.”

Beshear said under his leadership, things are getting done in Kentucky, and directly called out Cameron as someone who is too partisan.

“This is our moment. We can’t fumble this football, and if we allow a highly partisan governor to come in and get involved in what’s going on in Washington, D.C. ... that will move us in the wrong direction,” Beshear said.

This story was originally published October 10, 2023 at 2:06 PM.

Tessa Duvall

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-334-0430

Tessa has been the Herald-Leader’s Politics and Public Affairs Editor since March 2024, after acting as Frankfort Bureau Chief since joining the paper in August 2022. A native of Bowling Green and a graduate of Western Kentucky University, Tessa has also reported in Texas, Florida and Louisville, where she covered education, criminal justice and policing.

Austin Horn

Lexington Herald-Leader

706-571-8597

Austin Horn is a politics reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader. He previously worked for the Frankfort State Journal and National Public Radio. Horn has roots in both Woodford and Martin Counties.