The deep West Side suburbs of Cincinnati are pretty conservative. This is the blue-collar part of town and traditional Republican stronghold. But if my family reunion is any indication, Kentucky’s Andy Beshear is the one vice presidential candidate who resonates across party lines and has the potential to radically change the electoral map this fall.
When I was growing up, we never talked much politics in my family. But with the Reds slumping and interest in my run for the Kentucky House of Representatives, Beshear was the hot topic in my cousin’s backyard on Shady Lane recently. Former Donald Trump voters are turned off by his actions and words since the 2020 election. My aunts find J.D. Vance weird and demeaning to women. The younger generation has no interest in an out-of-touch boomer’s incoherent rambling.
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Again and again, all I heard from my family members is a desire for some type of normalcy; they want to elect practical, dignified, compassionate people to office. Someone they can sit and have a beer (or bourbon) with. There are lots of undecideds and disaffected Republicans out there in places like Ohio that Vice President Kamala Harris can win over. She should reach out to them and earn their vote. And the best messenger for this job is Gov. Andy Beshear, or just "Andy" as we call him in Kentucky.
Beshear is the kind of guy who can walk a United Autoworkers picket line and then travel to Japan and meet with Akio Toyoda, chairman of the Toyota Motor Corporation and employer of 10,000 Kentuckians. He is a family man, a deacon at his church, who speaks proudly of his Christian faith. At the same time, he is a strong ally to the LGBTQ community, vetoing a sweeping anti-transgender bil l pushed by Kentucky’s Republican legislature. He vocally advocates for a return of reproductive rights in Kentucky. He restored voting rights to 175,000 ex-felons who served their time, defended teachers and our public schools from attack, and welcomed refugees to our state to contribute to our workforce and our culture.
Beshear likes to tell us that his faith teaches that we are all children of God, deserving of love. He exudes compassion − just ask any Kentuckian who lived through the pandemic or saw their life upended by historic floods, ice storms, or tornadoes. And he has worked toward commonsense, bipartisan gun laws that may have prevented the killing of his friend during the mass shooting at National City Bank in Louisville .
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With this track record, it is no mystery why Andy won reelection last year by five points in Kentucky, a state Trump won in 2020 by 26 points. He is a unifier who works for "Team Kentucky" and not a "red" or "blue" team. He is not just talk. Kentucky has enjoyed the best four-year period of economic growth in our history, earning top rankings for new jobs and business development. His work ethic has earned him a current approval rating of 67% , the second-most popular governor in America. As he continues to travel to places like Ohio, Montana, North Carolina, Iowa, Virginia and Georgia , and as he speaks to more Americans in coming weeks, I am sure he will be popular around the country as well.
While we would miss Andy Beshear as our governor, we Kentuckians would be proud to share him with the nation because we know that our country needs him at this moment.
Matt Lehman is a Newport resident and the democratic candidate for Kentucky House of Representatives from district 67 (Campbell County).
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Opinion: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear the one VP candidate who could radically change electoral map
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