Kentucky Gov. Beshear says he’s ‘honored’ to be considered for Harris’ running mate

FLOYD COUNTY, KY (WOWK) — Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday said he is “honored” to be considered for Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate.

The governor made this comment at a scheduled stop in the Wayland area of Floyd County, Kentucky.

Gov. Beshear has been a leading contender for Harris’ running mate ever since President Biden announced he was dropping out of the presidential race on July 21 .

The Kentucky governor’s name has been mentioned alongside other Democratic governors, including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, according to reporting by the Associated Press .

Other names, according to the Associated Press , include Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimonda. Their reporting said at least one person being vetted is not currently in the government.

If picked to be Harris’ running mate, they would go up against former President Donald Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance.

Gov. Beshear and Sen. Vance — who come from neighboring states — have been going back and forth . This includes a jab on Thursday where the Kentucky governor jokingly apologized to Diet Mountain Dew in reference to Sen. Vance commenting on the drink at a rally, saying Democrats would call drinking one “racist.”

The Ohio senator and GOP vice presidential nominee at the rally recently said, “Democrats say that it is racist to believe… well, they say it is racist to do anything. I had a Diet Mountain Dew yesterday, and I’m sure they’re going to call that racist too.” In response, Gov. Beshear told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins , “Who drinks Diet Mountain Dew?”

At his press briefing on Thursday, the Kentucky governor apologized to Diet Mountain Dew after saying he, “Sometimes goes over the line.”

“I do owe an apology to Diet Mountain Dew,” Gov. Beshear said. “Ale-8-One is definitely the soft drink of Kentucky, but I don’t believe the government should be making your decision. So, if you enjoy Diet Mountain Dew, you be you, we want to support you, and to Diet Mountain Dew, very sorry, didn’t mean to say negative things about you.”

Beshear has also called Vance a “phony” and a “fake.” Vance then said it was “ very weird ” for Beshear to critique his upbringing, according to Politico via Nexstar’s The Hill, saying Beshear “inherited the governorship from his father.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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