Road to 2028: Beshear makes splash in Vogue as speculations rise over White House run
Road to 2028: Beshear makes splash in Vogue as speculations rise over White House run
BY AMANCAI BIRABEN
ABIRABEN@HERALD-LEADER.COM
2 days ago
Editor’s Note: Gov. Andy Beshear is increasingly in the spotlight as a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate. The Herald-Leader believes Kentuckians should know what he’s saying and doing, where he is traveling and what’s being said nationally about the two-term governor. Our reporters will publish a regular round-up of the latest news and headlines about Beshear.
This is the first installment.
Fresh off a visit to the early primary state of South Carolina, Gov. Andy Beshear is continuing to generate buzz back home in Kentucky and beyond.
Most recently, he was featured in a Vogue magazine profile, received praise from a writer in Slate Magazine as a “Democratic star” and touted his state and national credentials at a July 22 Kentucky Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
Though a presidential run is still just speculation, Beshear’s rise to national relevance is stirring anticipation as he continues to make the rounds to audiences near and far.
Vogue: ‘Hyper-organized, well-rehearsed’
Beshear was featured in Vogue magazine on July 21, with photos capturing his children playing baseball and the first lady petting their dog, Winnie, inside the Governor’s Mansion in Frankfort.
Calling the governor’s style of leadership “hyper-organized, well-rehearsed, on message, and largely drama-free,” the writer praised Beshear’s wide reach among the Democratic Party and his centrist appeal.
It also pointed out that his genteel, milder affect may not hold up to national scrutiny, with former Ohio Gov. John Kasich noting “he needs to demonstrate some strength.”
At a Chamber of Commerce event in Lexington the day after publication, Beshear was met with laughs when he said he never anticipated appearing in a fashion magazine.
“I think I still had the very first suit I ever had when I met my wife,” he said. “And she probably burned it.”
Adding to his surprise that the high-fashion publication took an interest in his modest attire, Beshear poked fun at his own everyday wear amid the glamorous spread.
“I might be the first person in Vogue to wear Gap jeans,” he tweeted.
Slate: ‘Anti-death penalty hero’
Slate Magazine also took the opportunity to shed light on the Kentucky governor late last week, referring to him as an “anti-death penalty hero.”
The label referenced a recent debate between Republican Attorney General Russell Coleman, an advocate for capital punishment in the state, and Beshear, himself a former AG not unilaterally opposed to the death penalty, over the life of death row inmate Ralph Baze.
While Coleman called for the execution of Baze, who was convicted of killing two police officers in 1992, Beshear pointed out the state “does not currently have, nor can it obtain, the drugs necessary to carry out lethal injection executions.”
The most recent use of capital punishment in Kentucky took place in 2008.
In 2010, Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd halted the death penalty when he issued an injunction over a range of concerns about executions, including the executing intellectually disabled people. Since taking office, Coleman has worked to get the punishment reinstated.
“The fate of capital punishment may be determined in places like Kentucky, places I call death penalty ‘swing states,’” writes Austin Sarat, a political scientist at Amherst, in Slate.
Kentucky Chamber of Commerce
Beshear spoke to a room full of powerful Kentuckians Tuesday at the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce luncheon about his goals for the Bluegrass State and his concerns for the nation.
He greeted friends and colleagues as he reflected on his state’s economic momentum amid national policy turmoil.
“What I really hope is that we’ve created the jobs where any Kentucky kid can dream as big as they want and chase that job right here in Kentucky,” Beshear said.
He reiterated his commitment to fighting for free child care in order to draw a newer and larger workforce to the state, and being able to modernize Kentucky’s economy while staying true to the state’s values.
Beshear also criticized President Donald Trump’s unpredictable tariff policies and the possible defunding of FEMA, asserting its importance in light of the deadly Texas floods earlier this month.
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