FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday left behind the turmoil gripping his party over the fate of President Joe Biden's candidacy, taking a business trip to Asia to promote his state.
Beshear is one of several Democratic governors viewed as a potential candidate to join the party's presidential ticket should Biden abandon his reelection bid following a widely panned debate performance against Donald Trump, in which he struggled to complete sentences and clearly articulate thoughts.
Before leaving, Beshear reiterated his support for Biden “as long as he is our nominee.” But he added that the 81-year-old president needs to be forthcoming about his health to reassure Americans.
“I think they’ve taken some steps towards it, but I think more steps would need to be taken,” Beshear said at a Thursday news conference.
The Democratic Party has been beset by turmoil in the two weeks since the debate, as a growing number of donors, strategists and elected officials unsatisfied with the president’s handling of the tumult have asked him to drop his quest for another term.
Beshear said his trip to Japan and South Korea will include meetings with a host of business executives in hopes of landing more jobs and extending Kentucky's "best economic development win streak in our lifetime.” It follows his economic development trip to Germany and Switzerland in the spring.
Beshear, who won a second term as governor last year in a state that has trended Republican in recent years, said his overseas ventures were long delayed as he dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic and the recovery from tornadoes and flooding that devastated parts of Kentucky. The governor is scheduled to return home late next week.
Beshear was at Biden's side during high-profile visits to tornado- and flood-stricken regions of Kentucky. He has praised the president for his leadership in winning the massive federal infrastructure deal. But the governor generally has distanced himself from Biden and avoided talking about Trump unless asked to do so. Trump carried Kentucky by lopsided margins in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections and is expected to do so again in November.
Beshear, 46, won hard-fought campaigns for governor in 2019 and 2023, defeating Trump-backed Republicans both times. His ability to win in Republican territory has helped him burnish a reputation as a next-generation leader in the Democratic Party. In recent months, he has traveled the country and made speeches before Democratic groups, including an appearance at a fundraiser and watch party in Los Angeles on the night of Biden's debate stumble.
Beshear's approach toward winning in GOP-friendly territory, one that he hopes Democrats can replicate elsewhere, includes “stepping back from whatever the outrage of the day is in Washington, D.C.” and focusing on people's everyday concerns, he has said.
“When they wake up, they’re not thinking about the presidential election or their party,” he said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. “They’re thinking about their job and whether they can afford to raise their kids. They’re thinking about their next doctor’s appointment for themselves, their kids or their parents. ... They’re thinking about the public schools they’re going to drop their kids off at. And they’re thinking about the public safety in their community.
"Those are the things that drive our lives,” he added.
Beshear has repeatedly pledged to serve out his second term, which ends in late 2027. He's term limited from running for the job again in 2027. Beshear said Thursday that his job as governor is “more than enough for me,” but left wiggle room should a bigger opportunity arise.
"The only way that I’d step away from this role is if I felt like I could help the commonwealth even more through some other opportunity,” Beshear said.
Mark Riddle, a Democratic strategist, said people shouldn't "read anything into the timing” of Beshear's trip to Asia. Riddle hosted a fundraising event this week in Washington, D.C., for Beshear's political action committee.
“The best thing Gov. Beshear can do is continue to be a great governor," Riddle said. “The national stuff will sort itself out.”
Having achieved mixed results in getting his policy proposals through the state's Republican-dominated legislature, Beshear has emphasized his record on expanding Kentucky's economy. He typically begins his regular press briefings by touting the state's latest economic development wins.
The governor said his Asian trip is meant to continue that momentum.
“We ought to sprint as hard as we can forward — not right, not left — but forward to achieve as much as we can for our people,” Beshear said.
