Beshear to lead Dem Governors, urges candidates to ‘get dirt on your boots’
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is now the top dog at the Democratic Governors Association.
After a year as the vice chair, Beshear was elevated to lead the DGA for 2026, the organization announced at the close of its meetings in Arizona this weekend.
In election years like 2026, the DGA chair usually plays a crucial role in fundraising, messaging and coordinating party strategy.
The upcoming election cycle will be closely watched. Democratic gubernatorial candidates are playing defense and offense in key swing states, and the results could reveal voter attitudes towards GOP President Donald Trump. Beshear’s effectiveness might be used as a measuring stick for 2028 given signaling that he’ll explore a bid for president that year.
In a statement posted to social media Saturday, Dec. 6, Beshear said he was “honored” to take on the role.
“Together, we’re going to show that Democrats can win anywhere by focusing on what matters: improving the lives of American families,” Beshear wrote.
Beshear is the fourth Kentucky governor to chair the organization. The late Wendell Ford and John Y. Brown, Jr. served in 1973 and 1982, respectively. Former Gov. Paul Patton was chair in 2000.
The only person to have held the role and later be elected to the White House is former President Bill Clinton, who was governor of Arkansas.
As for how candidates for governor in 2026 should go about convincing Americans they’re better suited to address those issues, Beshear offered some advice in Arizona.
“What I would tell our candidates is, get dirt on your boots,” Beshear told reporters. “Make sure that you are showing up in places that maybe Democrats haven’t gone in far too long.”
In the past year, with Democrats reeling from a 2024 cycle that saw them lose control of the White House and the U.S. House, Beshear has regularly offered his take on where Democrats should shift their focus. Issues like the cost of living, healthcare and infrastructure — topics that affect all people — should be emphasized more than cultural or social issues, he’s said.
The message of focusing on “meat and potatoes” political issues like infrastructure may ring a bell. It was similar to how former President Joe Biden pitched himself, given his work on major legislation during his one term in office. Biden ran for reelection before stepping aside after a poor debate performance and concerns about his old age.
Beshear’s message is a little different, he stressed in an interview with The New Republic, one of many he’s conducted with national outlets as his star continues to rise. For one, he thinks showing up outside of the U.S. Capitol or state capitol buildings is worth emphasizing.
Further, the Democrats can’t be seen as the party of stilted bureaucracy.
“We’ve got to do things faster. The Biden administration passed a lot of good legislation that has spurred a lot of economic development in my state, but the Democrats need to admit that there are times when we are over-regulated, and we’ve created so many rules that some programs that we believe are essential for the American people simply take too long,” Beshear said.
He sang a similar tune to press at the Arizona meetings.
“I think we need an executive that can come in and help repair the federal government that this president has torn down,” Beshear said. “I think the American people are desperate for results quickly, and that’s what Democratic governors deliver.”
The 48-year-old governor also appeared alongside Vice Chair Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan who has also been rumored as a potential presidential contender. When asked if either of them would run in 2028, Whitmer said, “who knows.”
“I’m not going to share anything other than I think we should have a Democratic governor be our candidate for 2028 president,” Whitmer said.
Laura Kelly, the former chair and current governor of Kansas, repeated a line Beshear has been using of late.
“I have absolutely no doubt that the candidate in ‘28 will be from the ranks of the Democratic governors, either current or past,” Kelly said.
