Ky. Gov. Beshear: May 'Take a Look' at Running for President

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said he may "take a look" at running for president in 2028, with the Democrat telling "Meet the Press" that his goal would be to "heal the country."

"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 I'll take a look at it."

In 2024, 64.5% of voters cast their ballots for President Donald Trump in the Bluegrass State, making Beshear one of a handful of Democrats to govern a state with a solid-Republican legislature. He was first elected governor in 2019 and won reelection in 2023.

When host Kristen Welker asked if he was launching a presidential bid, Beshear said he's currently "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,'" he said. "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 demurred when asked a second time if he is considering making a run for the Oval Office.

"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," he said, before adding that he may "take a look" at throwing his hat in the ring.

Beshear is traveling to South Carolina next week following California Gov. Gavin Newsom's tour of the key primary state. Newsom, also a Democrat, visited the Palmetto State last week.

Beshear left the door open to a presidential campaign earlier this month, telling Vanity Fair he wouldn't have considered running two years ago and reiterating his message of healing the country's political divisions.

"But if I'm somebody who could maybe heal and bring the country back together, I'll think about it after next year," he said.

Beshear's current term as governor expires in 2027, and he has said that he intends to complete his stint in the governor's mansion.

Having previously served as Kentucky's attorney general, Beshear had sharp words for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act just passed by Congress and signed into law by Trump.

"What the Republican majority is getting wrong is that the American people don't view healthcare in a partisan way," he said. "They want to be able to see their doctor when they need to, and they want their neighbor to be able to see their doctor."

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