Governor Andy Beshear will likely take a less hands-on approach to governing Kentucky as he tries to court a national constituency for a possible presidential run, political experts said. 

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Beshear has been recognized for his boots-on-the-ground style of governance, like his hands-on approach to managing the December 2021 Western Kentucky tornado outbreak and the 2022 Eastern Kentucky floods. 

This approach helped him win reelection in 2023.  But Kentuckians will likely not see the same level of day-to-day management from the governor as he spends more time out of state and wades into more national political battles to prove that he is president material. 

“Beshear is playing to a much larger constituency and walking around sodden fields in Western Kentucky isn’t going to do him a whole lot of political good at this point,” Stephen Voss, associate professor of political science at the University of Kentucky, told Queer Kentucky. 

Beshear’s audience changed after he won his second term as a lame duck governor, said Kyle Kondick, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a nonpartisan weekly newsletter on politics. And he appears to have some interest in running for president. 

While Beshear has not officially announced a 2028 presidential campaign, it is widely believed that he is positioning himself for a potential run. In 2023, he said that his gubernatorial re-election campaign may not be his last;  he launched a federal super PAC called In This Together PAC in January 2024; he is embarking on a promotional tour for his book Go and Do Likewise, and he has taken part in some high-profile political fights. 

“The biggest challenge Beshear faces as a non-grandstanding candidate is he still needs to convince Democratic primary voters that he’s got fight in him, that he’ll take the fight to Trump’s Republican Party,” said Voss. 

“We’ll likely continue to see Beshear take positions on issues that might get national attention.”

Beshear recently jumped into the national conversation around the role of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. During a Team Kentucky update last week, Beshear called ICE the “worst-trained, most aggressive law enforcement unit” he has ever seen when asked about a $20 million deal with the agency made to purchase shock gloves produced in Lexington. 

He then called for every ICE agent to be “withdrawn, retrained, and actually taught what the law does and does not allow.” 

These comments come shortly after Beshear has placed public pressure on Republican U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell during his prolonged absence from public life. He also recently entered an online spat with U.S. Senator Rand Paul after he criticized Beshear for not attending the Fancy Farm Picnic, a community festival and church fundraiser that serves as the unofficial start of Kentucky’s campaign season.

Kentuckians should also expect Beshear to make more decisions at home framed for a national Democratic audience, especially on Civil Rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and other values that conflict with the current GOP legislature, experts said. 

Voss noted that Beshear will likely not change his position on those issues now that he has broader ambitions. 

“Beshear has managed to serve as a voice in favor of LGBTQ+ rights, including trans rights, while doing it in a language that was not particularly provocative and that didn’t evoke a lot of opposition from his more moderate supporters,” he said.

Executive Director of The Fairness Campaign Chris Hartman noted that Beshear has supported LGBTQ+ rights “long before it was popular” and that he believes the governor will continue to do so. 

“It’s still not popular, and the governor leaned into the protection of trans youth and their rights while he was running for reelection…and that is really rare.” 

Democratic State Senator Keturah Herron added that she does not think Beshear’s stance on policy and governing style will change much throughout the remainder of his term. 

“I think the governor will continue to govern Kentucky these last 16 months or so as he did on day one and throughout his term, with love, compassion, focusing on economic growth, public education, and keeping the main thing the main thing,” Herron wrote in an email to Queer Kentucky. 

Beshear’s spokesperson Scottie Ellis said that the governor’s main priority will always be serving the people of Kentucky. 

“The Governor has proven his commitment to our Commonwealth and his ability to balance the demands of the job and his personal responsibilities by delivering record-breaking investments and new jobs, maintaining safe roadways and bridges, helping the state overcome 16 federally declared weather disasters and more,” Ellis wrote in an email. 

“The book tour presents another opportunity for Gov. Beshear to further showcase Kentucky on a national stage, as our commonwealth plays an important part in “Go and Do Likewise.”