A podcast, a re-post & a report: Beshear, Barr & others make moves for next gig
Kentucky is holding no major elections in the year 2025.
That was evident this past week as several of the Commonwealth’s most prominent politicians appeared to be laser-focused on the future, whether that’s next year or all the way to 2028.
Most notably, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear launched a podcast. It attempts to answer two questions many Democrats are asking in the aftermath of their 2024 election flop. First, how can Democrats regain a foothold in the popular longform audio space? Second, is Beshear really presidential material?
On the Republican side, three high-profile potential candidates for U.S. Senate have stressed their ties to President Donald Trump.
The Republican cadre of U.S. Senate candidates includes one confirmed and two who have been circling the race since before longtime Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell announced he wouldn’t seek reelection in 2026.
Former attorney general Daniel Cameron, who lost the governor’s race to Beshear by five percentage points in 2023, is the only one to have announced. Central Kentucky Congressman Andy Barr and Lexington tech entrepreneur Nate Morris have made no secret of their interest, but haven’t publicly launched bids.
Similarly, Beshear hasn’t announced he’s running for any higher office. However, he’s widely believed to be eyeing a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028. He’s often mentioned among the top dozen contenders, though much can change in the three years between now and when a nominee will likely rise to the top.
The Andy Beshear Podcast
Many Democrats are still scratching their heads at the election results of 2024. With a lost presidency and U.S. Senate, the party ceded full trifecta control of the federal legislative and executive branches to the Republicans.
Some are suggesting the Democrats’ need a new media strategy that fits the times. Less quibbling over the wording of a New York Times headline and more putting candidates out there.
President Joe Biden notably avoided media appearances, declining even the Super Bowl presidential interview, as concerns about his fitness and mental acuity proliferated. Former vice president Kamala Harris was also more guarded than Trump.
The podcast space is one that’s highly scrutinized through this lens.
Trump and Vice President JD Vance made several appearances with hugely popular right-leaning podcast hosts like Joe Rogan and Theo Von; perhaps as a consequence, they fared as well as any Republicans had with young voters in a generation.
Enter The Andy Beshear Podcast.
The pilot episode of the governor’s own podcast featured friends and family, didn’t focus much on politics and really leaned on the feel-good, wholesome vibe that Beshear has tried to build through his five-plus years leading Kentucky.
“Far too much of what we see out there tries to put us in a box. It’s ‘this talking head versus that talking head,’ it tries to make everything D or R, red or blue, left or right, and we know the world’s so much more complicated than that,” Beshear said.
Beshear’s first guest exemplified that spirit of nonpartisanship. He also happens to be one of the governor’s most prominent supporters in terms of wealth and stature.
You’ve probably heard the name on television or read it on billboards: John Morgan of Morgan & Morgan.
A Kentucky native Morgan told his story of getting into injury law, which began with a devastating spinal injury his brother suffered on the job. He also spoke of his advocacy for medical marijuana. Earlier this year, Morgan said he was mulling a run for Florida governor under a moderate third-party “Capitalist Party” designation.
Two other guests were also “Johns” who have contributed generously to Beshear. Jonathan Rabinowitz, one of Morgan’s top lieutenants in Kentucky, spoke about name, image and likeness law. John McConnell, an insurance executive from Murray and father of a special needs child, weighed in on potential federal cuts to spending that helps children with special needs.
It ends with Beshear’s own 15-year-old son, Will, joining the group to explain popular “Gen Z” and “Generation Alpha” slang terms.
“How is ‘skibidi’ different than ‘fire’?” Beshear asked his son during the segment.
“Fire is, like, it’s really good,” Will explained. “‘Skibidi’ is just, like ‘Oh, OK.’”
The podcast draws a natural contrast to one launched by fellow Democratic governor — and potential 2028 contender — Gavin Newsom of California.
Newsom drew controversy among liberals for bringing on conservative influencers like Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk and longtime far right Trump whisperer Steve Bannon. It was on the mic with Kirk when Newsom shook up many Democrats’ messaging on LGBTQ issues, stating he didn’t support trans women in women’ s sports. Beshear later made headlines with his renunciation of that view and of Newsom’s inclusion of Bannon on the podcast.
Some Kentucky Democrats with podcasting experience see it as improving on a perceived weakness of Beshear’s: off-the-cuff communication and the charisma befitting a presidential candidate.
The scrutiny over a person’s ability to charm — often referred to as how much voters “would want to grab a beer with them” — and even their mannerisms is magnified to the umpteenth degree during a presidential run.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was once seen as the frontrunner for the 2024 GOP nomination; the stories and comments critical of his laugh, his outfits and even how he eats pudding certainly didn’t help his losing bid.
“When he ran for governor the first time, he was like ‘oh yeah, that guy is really closed off,’” Robert Kahne, host of the long-running Democratic My Old Kentucky Podcast and member of the state party executive committee, said of Beshear. “... Now he has this odd situation of projecting as being intimate but distant. It’s kind of unique.
“I think having a show where you are more yourself and able to talk about things you care about is a positive thing.”
Adam Edelen, a former state auditor who ran against Beshear in the 2019 gubernatorial primary, made a similar comment.
“I’m not sure a podcast plays to Andy’s natural strengths, which are discipline and work ethic,” Edelen said. “I think even his people would concede that he’s not necessarily a big personality. Maybe it’s trying to present a richer persona than what’s been seen the last couple cycles.”
On a separate note, Beshear is slated to host a major Democratic Governors Association fundraising event at the Kentucky Derby.
The schedule of events includes tickets to the Kentucky Oaks on Friday, a cocktail reception, a gala and a breakfast at the Governor’s Mansion before the main event; fellow governors Tim Walz of Minnesota, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico and Maura Healey of Massachusetts will be in attendance, according to a copy of the event flier obtained by the Herald-Leader.
One ticket will cost attendees $15,000, and two will go for $25,000.
Beshear will serve as chair of the association in 2026, when a handful of key battleground states are holding gubernatorial elections.
KY GOP Senate hopefuls approach starting line
The war over who will fill McConnell’s seat in 2026 is still mostly of the “cold” variety.
But it is very much a war.
Cameron, the only active Republican participant thus far, released a memo last week proudly displaying his team’s ties to Trump.
John McLaughlin was the most notable name from Trump World. The pollster has been with the Trump team dating back to the president’s underdog 2016 GOP primary win.
“Every measurable indicator shows momentum in this Kentucky Senate race is squarely with Cameron, and his path to victory is clear,” McLaughlin said in the release, which made reference to early polling showing Cameron up over hypothetical competition.
Cameron has also been staying visible on social media, cable television and even out of state.
A video of a protester confronting Cameron at his event with the Northern Kentucky Young Republicans caught traction on Facebook and X. The protester, who railed against Cameron’s handling of the investigation into the police killing of Louisville woman Breonna Taylor in 2020, was escorted out.
Beyond Kentucky, Cameron has continued to make appearances on Fox News, a particularly important place for candidates to communicate with voters more likely to show up for primary GOP elections: devoted Republicans who follow the news. He also spoke at a major event in Iowa conservative circles, the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition Spring Kickoff.
One of the first big tests for Cameron’s nascent campaign just came back: he raised about $508,000 in the first 39 days of his campaign, according to records with the Federal Elections Commission. The campaign ended the quarter on March 31 with $455,000 on hand.
Cameron’s campaign boasted about the numbers, claiming the dollars came from 3,000-plus donors from all 50 states.
“This is a long campaign, and we know that the grassroots army of thousands of donors across the country are excited to continue to support Team Cameron again and again,” Cameron’s general consultant, Brandon Moody, wrote in a release.
Other Republicans saw less reason to celebrate. Tres Watson, a former spokesperson for the state GOP, said the total was underwhelming but not necessarily embarrassing.
“The reason that Daniel Cameron got in early is so he could raise money. Knowing that was the lone advantage, a half-million dollar report has to be kind of underwhelming,” Watson said.
For better or worse, money attracts money.
In general, candidates who prove they can raise money tend to get more support from donors, whose dollars can help them spread their message far and wide.
That is one area where Barr appears to have some momentum.
A source close to Barr told the Herald-Leader that the congressman raised more than $2 million this quarter into his congressional campaign account and will have $5.3 million in hand when his next report becomes public.
Why does this matter? Unlike state-level politicians, members of Congress like Barr can simply shift any funds in their account to a new campaign for Senate.
It’s also a much larger war chest than Cameron, who had to start from scratch.
Unlike Cameron, Barr’s political career has mostly been limited to the Central Kentucky-centric 6th Congressional District, where he’s served since knocking off former Democratic congressman Ben Chandler in 2012.
In the last poll, conducted less than a week before Cameron’s announcement, Cameron was pacing Barr 39% to 18%. Barr will likely need money to introduce himself to voters in high-population areas like Louisville and Northern Kentucky as well as the Republican-dense South Central Kentucky.
Another interesting moment in the week came directly from Trump.
At the president’s recent event heralding his executive actions related to the coal industry, Barr got a brief shoutout that sounded an awful lot like a nod to his likely run for Senate.
“Thank you, Andy. Good luck with everything. I hear good things,” the president said from the podium when he was acknowledging certain attendees.
Barr wasn’t the only one to get some notable acknowledgment from the Executive Branch.
Morris, a businessman who has never run for political office, was quoted on social media by Vance last Tuesday after he criticized McConnell for voting against another Trump appointment. In this instance, McConnell voted against Elbridge Colby, who places less emphasis on U.S. support for Ukraine, for Pentagon policy chief.
“Elbridge Colby is one of the brightest foreign policy minds in the GOP and it’s pathetic watching Mitch McConnell continue to stand with Dems to sabotage President Trump,” Morris wrote on X. “This is why whoever replaces Mitch for Senate needs to represent a clean break from him - Time for a change!”
Morris is friends with Vance, calling he and the vice president kindred spirits as “the hillbillies out in Silicon Valley.” Vance was a venture capitalist in the San Francisco area around the same time Morris was growing his company, Rubicon. A late March TIME Magazine story noted that Vance has encouraged Morris to run for Senate.
Vance quoted Morris’ post, adding that McConnell’s vote was “one of the great acts of political pettiness I’ve ever seen.”
Morris is widely believed to have a significant chunk of cash at his disposal for a potential political bid. He has spoken openly about running for senate in 2026 or even governor in 2027.
In 2022 alone, he made $41 million as leader of Rubicon according to outlet Waste Dive. Also in 2022, the company went public on the New York Stock Exchange in a $1.7 billion deal.
However, the company took a nosedive shortly thereafter. Morris left his role as CEO in late 2022 as stock prices were declining. According to Yahoo Finance, Rubicon started trading at around $60 per share, and, as of Friday, it was trading at around 4 cents.
This story was originally published April 15, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
