National poll ranks Beshear most popular Democrat governor

LEXINGTON, Ky. ( FOX 56 ) — An annual poll looking at the popularity of all 50 state governors was released on Wednesday. Gov. Andy Beshear received high marks, which could carry a lot of weight as Vice President Kamala Harris narrows down a running mate.

In a 3-month survey of 250,000 registered voters, pollster Morning Consult has ranked Kentucky’s Andy Beshear the most popular Democrat governor in the country and second overall only to Vermont Republican Phil Scott.

“It really is striking that in this era of extraordinary polarization, extraordinary partisanship, that a Democrat who’s a proud Democrat, who’s a who’s affiliating himself with the national Democratic Party would have a 67% approval rating,” FOX 56 News Political Analyst Jonathan Miller said.

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It’s a few points higher than the pollster’s ranking last year putting Beshear 5th most popular in the nation. In a statement, Kentucky Democratic Party spokesman Jonathan Levin told FOX 56:

“Governor Beshear is the most popular Democratic governor in the country with voters across the political spectrum because he’s committed to tackling the issues that Kentuckians think about when they wake up each morning. He’s focused on the things that matter most to working families  — everything from access to good-paying jobs to clean drinking water. And above all, Governor Beshear leads our Commonwealth with compassion and empathy every single day.”

Andy Westberry, spokesperson for the Republican Party of Kentucky, hit back at the poll’s praise of Beshear.

“Other than issuing hundreds of vetoes, he hasn’t done much of anything other than take credit for federal funds the General Assembly appropriated. In the past five years, he can’t point to a single legislative priority passing that he was directly involved with. He will cite medical marijuana and sports betting, but I was personally working in the legislature when that legislation passed and can vouch that there was zero collaboration with Andy Beshear,” he told FOX 56.

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Miller however suggested that Beshear’s popularity with voters may not be rooted in policy at all.

“He’s done it in a way that’s very personal, where people might not like a Democrat, but they like Andy. They like the guy that was in their living rooms during the COVID tragedies, was in their communities during the flooding and the tornadoes,” Miller said.

And as VP speculation grows around Beshear, Miller said the Harris campaign will be looking closely at polls like this one. Digging deeper, the poll also ranked Beshear the most popular democrat governor among Republican and moderate voters.

“They understand that in order to win this presidency, they’ve got to be able to pull independents. They’ve got to be able to pull some Republicans that are on the margins,” Miller said. Beshear landed in the top 3 Democrat governors, popular with black and young voters, but was ranked 14th by Hispanic voters.

• U.S. Governor Approval Outlook | July 2024
• U.S. Senator Approval Outlook | July 2024

Both this poll and another Morning Consult poll ranking US senators’ approval were released on Wednesday. They can be read here:

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