Road to 2028: Andy Beshear visits Michigan, New York, climbs in one poll
READ MORE
Road to 2028: Gov. Andy Beshear’s political future
Gov. Andy Beshear is increasingly in the spotlight as a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate. The Herald-Leader believes Kentuckians should know what he is saying and doing, where he is traveling and what is being said nationally about the two-term governor.
Expand All
Another day, another dinner.
As we approach the end of April and are well into the spring season, Gov. Andy Beshear’s appearances at out-of-state Democratic have been a regular occurrence. for a while. This past weekend was no exception, where he took his “relatable messaging” pitch to win back voters to the Michigan Democratic Party’s annual Legacy Dinner fundraiser on April 18.
In his speech, Beshear said the Democratic Party has alienated voters by letting “advocacy speak seep into our Democratic language,” according to reporting from Michigan Advance.
“Sometimes these terms make it feel like we’re talking down to people, like we’re talking at them, instead of to them,” Beshear said.
By talking like a “normal human,” Beshear argued the party will improve connections with voters and make the party’s brand one “that makes people want to join.”
It’s a message he’s been using for months as he travels cross the country.
Beshear wasn’t just there to tout himself as “the guy that won in deep red Kentucky.” He took part in Michigan Democrats honoring Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is also viewed along with Beshear as a potential 2028 presidential candidate.
Whitmer and Beshear work closely together as leaders of the Democratic Governors Association. While Beshear started his term as chair this year, Whitmer is vice chair of the association.
There were also other notable appearances from high-profile Democrats in Michigan. That includes former Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, who both spoke at an earlier fundraiser for the Michigan Democratic Primary Women’s Caucus, according to reporting from The New York Times. Harris was the Democratic nominee for the 2024 presidential race, and Booker ran for president in 2020.
Michigan isn’t the only state where Beshear has recently made an appearance; this month, he also traveled to Georgia, New York and Washington, D.C.
National Action Network Convention
Beshear recently made an impression on New Yorkers at the National Action Network Convention, a multi-day civil rights gathering that discusses social justice and equality.
In a conversation with Rev. Al Sharpton, a civil rights and social justice activist, Sharpton asked Beshear about his future political aspirations, according to a recording from C-SPAN. Beshear gave a similar response to what he has said in the past: he doesn’t have a formal announcement yet, but his gubernatorial reelection campaign may “not have been my last (race).”
Sharpton said he was surprised by “how taken the audience was with (Beshear),” a “relative unknown” whom he compared to former President Bill Clinton, according to reporting from The New York Times. He said the audience appreciated Beshear’s “Southern roots” and his familiarity with the Bible.
“‘If there was one that was an eyebrow raiser, it was Beshear,” Sharpton said.
Carter-Lewis Dinner
At the annual Carter-Lewis Dinner in Georgia April 12, Beshear outlined how Democrats can win back the South in a 30-minute speech, according to reporting from the Georgia Recorder.
“For too long, the national Democratic Party wrote off the South,” he said. The key to winning voters back over, he told the audience, starts with “showing up and getting dirt on our boots and then governing well.”
Beshear’s speech comes amid what Georgia Democrats expect to be a tough fight in the midterm elections. Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff also spoke at the event and is facing a competitive reelection campaign in a state where President Donald Trump won in 2024.
Some Democrats found the speeches inspiring ahead of the primary election on May 19, which falls on the same day as Kentucky’s primaries. That includes Rep. Michelle Au, a Johns Creek Democrat, who said Beshear’s message was “encouraging.”
“It’s very motivating to hear someone like Andy Beshear speak, who was able to win in a red seat,” she said to the Georgia Recorder. “We continue to work here. I think that we are well on our way, and I think this is the perfect room for him to speak in prior to the primary.”
Beshear receives LGBTQ allyship award
The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, a group that works to elect “pro-choice” and “pro-equality” candidates, honored Beshear at its annual Champagne Brunch in Washington, D.C., by giving him the Allyship Award, according to reporting from The Advocate.
In his acceptance speech on April 19, he said supporting LGBTQ rights is a moral obligation and not a strategic calculation.
“I never thought I’d get an award for just doing what’s right,” he said. “There should never be a false choice between rejecting discrimination and winning elections.”
Beshear also criticized Trump, where he said Trump is weaponizing religion to divide Americans. He brought up Trump’s public feud with Pope Leo XIV and the AI-generated image of Trump depicting himself as Jesus that was posted on his Truth Social account. Trump said he thought the AI image represented him as a doctor, according to reporting from The Guardian.
Beshear has aligned himself as an ally with the LGBTQ community, which he pointed out in his speech. He referenced his vetoes on legislation targeting the LGBTQ community; the Kentucky General Assembly overrode all of them, where Republicans hold a supermajority in both chambers.
He also told reporters, according to The Advocate, that LGBTQ issues should still be at the forefront of the Democratic Party’s priorities, despite pressure to deprioritize transgender rights.
“Discrimination is never OK. It’s not a bargaining chip so that you can win elections,” he said.
A significant jump in one poll
While polls are taken with a grain of salt, Beshear has made significant movement in a poll released by Yale Youth Poll, the largest poll of young voters in America run by Yale University undergraduates.
In the most recently released poll, Beshear placed third as the most-electable Democrat in 2028 among Democratic primary voters, garnering a 64% of overall support and 56% of support from people who are between 18-34 years old.
Beshear trailed behind California Gov. Gavin Newsom and U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona.
That’s a significant jump compared to the poll that was released five months earlier by the same group. In the fall 2025 poll, Beshear placed ninth as the most-electable Democrat in 2028, with receiving around 53% of overall support.
But another finding in the Yale Youth Poll’s spring report showed Beshear performed poorly when people were asked who they would vote for if the presidential 2028 primary was held today.
The poll revealed only 2% of voters would choose Beshear, while former Harris, Newsom and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg placed as the top three contenders.
