Beshear’s approval rating among KY voters higher than Trump’s, surveys show
Gov. Andy Beshear is still the country’s most popular Democratic governor, with 65% of registered voters in Kentucky approving of the job he’s doing, according to recent survey results released Tuesday.
President Donald Trump, who easily won the Bluegrass in the last three presidential election cycles, by comparison, has the stamp of approval from 55% of registered Kentucky voters.
Both surveys were conducted by Morning Consult among registered Kentucky voters. The governor approval ratings survey was conducted in October through December and released Feb. 2, whereas the Trump approval ratings survey was done in September through November and released Dec. 5.
The findings come as Beshear, 48, begins his role as chair of the Democratic Governors Association, in which he will support other governors, candidates and policies of the party through the 2026 midterm election cycle. It’s also a position likely to grow Beshear’s name ID as national Democrats look for the party’s next leader.
“The positive approval rating is a reflection of the good things going on in Kentucky,” Beshear said in a Tuesday statement to the Herald-Leader. “Better jobs, expanded access to health care, safe roads and bridges, good schools and safe communities are things all Kentuckians support — and it shows in the numbers.”
He’s ahead of the other Democratic governors who are often mentioned in the same sentence as Beshear as being potential 2028 presidential candidates: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro who has an approval rating of 62%, California Gov. Gavin Newsom who has an approval rating of 60% and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer who also has an approval rating of 60%.
Along with Newsom, the “home-state popularity” of Shapiro, Beshear, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore stand out among the potential 2028 contenders, the pollster said.
Of all the country’s state leaders, Beshear is the third most popular, behind Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, who is a Republican with an approval rating of 74%, and Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, who is also a Republican but with an approval rating of 68%.
Beshear has a disapproval rating of 28%, roughly the same it’s been since the start of 2024 when he began his second term.
Kentucky Republicans say Beshear’s approval ratings are actually a reflection of “Republican accomplishments he takes credit for at ribbon cuttings and check presentations.”
“If he were actually able to enact his own agenda, his numbers would look very different, because Kentuckians have consistently rejected the far-left radicalism he supports,” said Republican Party of Kentucky Communications Director Adam Hope in a statement to the Herald-Leader.
“The reason he’s floated as a presidential contender isn’t his record — it’s the absence of one,” he added. “Republican leadership has driven economic growth and prosperity across the Commonwealth, often by overriding his vetoes, but he never misses a photo opportunity tied to that success, even when he opposed the very policies that made it possible.”
Founded in 2014, Morning Consult specializes in online survey research technology. The firm collects data from more than 250,000 registered voters nationwide to assess popularity of politicians in all 50 states.
At the start of 2025, Beshear’s approval rating was 68% and went down to 65% at the end of the fourth quarter. The governor’s highest approval rating was at the start of 2020, just after he’d been elected the first time, when 76% of voters approved of his job performance.
Beshear has a net approval rating of 37, a measure that represents the share of voters who approve of his job performance minus the shares who disapprove. In Kentucky, Trump’s net approval rating is 14.
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