Gov. Andy Beshear says he’ll ‘take a look’ at running for president

Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., would not rule out running for president in 2028, telling “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker that he may “take a look” at launching a bid.

“I would have never considered this a couple years ago, but I will not leave a broken country to my kids or to anyone else’s,” Beshear said Sunday. “And so if I’m somebody that at that point, that I believe that I can heal the country, then then I’ll take a look at it.”

Beshear, who was first elected governor in 2019, won re-election in 2023, becoming a rare Democrat to govern a ruby-red state, where 64.5% of voters cast ballots for President Donald Trump in 2024.

Asked whether he was running for president, Beshear said, “What I’m doing right now is trying to be a reasonable voice out there that hopefully doesn’t just bring Democrats back together, but Democrats, Republicans and independents.”

“This country has gotten far too partisan, too much ‘us versus them.’ If we can focus on the core issues that lift up every single American, then we can actually move not right or left, but forward as a country,” Beshear added.

Asked a second time whether he was considering a run for president, Beshear said, “Right now, what I’m trying to do is speak out for my people and for the American people, especially with this attack on rural America and the ‘big, ugly bill.’” Moments later, he added that he may “take a look” at launching a presidential campaign.

Beshear is one of several Democrats who have emerged as potential presidential contenders, several of whom are making trips to early primary states. Beshear is traveling to South Carolina next week — a state Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., also visited last week.

Beshear has previously expressed an openness to running for president, and last week he told CNN that he did not want to leave “a broken country to my kids or anyone else’s,” a sentiment he reiterated on Sunday.

“What I think is most important for 2028 is a candidate that can heal this country, that can bring people back together,” he said in the CNN interview. “So when I sit down, I’m going to think about whether I’m that candidate or whether someone else is that candidate.”