Beshear's name floated as possible presidential or vice presidential pick

The buzz about whether Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear could find a place on the Democratic presidential ticket hit a fever pitch this week. Beshear is among a host of Democratic names floated as possible presidential or vice presidential picks should President Joe Biden step aside.

Monday, Beshear joined a group of Democratic governors in a private conference call to discuss Biden's debate performance and campaign.

Tuesday, he appeared on CNN for an interview with anchor Pamela Brown, a Kentucky native. There, Beshear said Biden's debate performance was "rough." He added that he's flattered by the suggestion that he could take a spot on the Democratic ticket. He said he does not want to "speculate" about what will happen but added he has a "good relationship" with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Wednesday, Beshear headed to the White House with other Democratic governors to meet with Biden, confirmed Eric Hyers, a Beshear campaign strategist. And a new poll showed how Beshear might fare in a presidential matchup against Trump.

Here's some other political news from the past week:

Kentucky in D.C.: McConnell weighs in on presidential race: On Monday, we started a new feature called Kentucky in D.C., which will be a weekly recap of what the federal delegation has been up to in Washington D.C. and around the state. This week's recap highlights Sen. Mitch McConnell's speech at a Louisville event and why the delegation is supporting Beshear's request for Federal Major Disaster Declaration.

What the City of Grants Pass v. Johnson Supreme Court Case Ruling means for Kentucky: The Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that cities may criminalize camping by homeless people who have nowhere else to go. That means Kentucky will likely be able to implement a law criminalizing homeless camping that takes effect July 15, which is part of the Safer Kentucky Act.

U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie shares news of his wife's death: Massie's wife died last week, according to a post shared by the congressman on social media. In the post, Massie called his wife, Rhonda Massie, "my high school sweetheart" and "the love of his life." Information has not been released about Rhonda Massie's cause of death.

Help us get to know Our Kentucky Home: We're somehow already in July and summer is breezing by. What's one July summer event in Kentucky you're looking forward to this month?

Write to us with your Kentucky politics, story ideas, and questions: rgrapevine@courier-journal.com and hpinski@courier-journal.com.

We hope you have a wonderful week!

Best,

Rebecca Grapevine & Hannah Pinski