BESHEARFOR PRESIDENT

AndyBeshear

A president who shows up, and gets it done.

Two-term governor of Kentucky. Through a pandemic, deadly tornadoes and historic floods, he led from the front, and he built the strongest economy his state has ever seen.

Join the campaign See the record

Why Andy is running

Less shouting. More doing.

Most families aren't asking Washington for a fight. They want a good job, a doctor they can afford, a strong public school down the road and a safe community to raise their kids. Andy Beshear has spent his career delivering exactly that.

He won twice in one of the most Republican states in the country, not by changing who he is, but by working with anyone willing to get something done. He signed bipartisan voting reform with a Republican secretary of state. He cut taxes when the budget could afford it and vetoed bills that would have hurt working families. When tornadoes and floods tore through Kentucky, he was there the next morning, and he stayed until the rebuilding was done.

That is the kind of president America needs: steady in a crisis, decent to people who disagree with him, and focused every day on the kitchen-table issues that keep families up at night.

“It’s time for America to be united.”
Gov. Andy Beshear, February 24, 2022, as Russia invaded Ukraine
  • Common sense over chaosSolve problems with whoever is willing, and judge every idea by whether it helps people.
  • Faith that calls us to serveAndy and Britainy are deacons at their church in Louisville. To him, loving your neighbor is a job description.
  • Show up when it’s hardLeadership is measured in the worst week, not the best one.

Meet Andy

Kentucky roots. A life spent fighting for families.

Born
November 29, 1977, Kentucky
Education
Vanderbilt University, B.A. 2000; University of Virginia School of Law, J.D. 2003
Service
Attorney General of Kentucky, 2016–2019; Governor, 2019–present
Family
Married to Britainy; two children, who attend public school in Frankfort
Faith
Deacon, Beargrass Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Andy Beshear grew up in Kentucky, and his first jobs were around horses: mucking stalls, teaching riding lessons, working at a summer camp. He earned a National Merit Scholarship to Vanderbilt University and a law degree from the University of Virginia, then built a career as a consumer-protection lawyer.

The people’s lawyer

Elected attorney general in 2015, Andy went after the companies that fueled Kentucky’s opioid epidemic, filing nine lawsuits against drug makers and distributors. He secured funding to test thousands of untested rape kits, built a cold-case unit to prosecute the offenders those tests identified, and stood up an office devoted to preventing child abuse and human trafficking. When a 2018 law cut the pensions teachers had been promised, he took it to court, and the Kentucky Supreme Court struck it down.

The governor who shows up

In 2019 Andy defeated an incumbent governor by about 5,000 votes. Four years later, Kentuckians re-elected him by five points, with support from Democrats, independents and a large share of Republicans. He governed through COVID-19, the December 2021 tornadoes that killed 81 people in western Kentucky, and the 2022 floods that devastated Appalachia. More than 150,000 people gave $52 million to the relief fund he launched for tornado survivors.

Along the way, his administration landed the largest economic development projects in Kentucky’s history and posted the largest budget surplus and rainy day fund the state has ever recorded.

The record

Results you can check.

Every line here happened. Sources are listed at the bottom of the page.

  1. Elected Attorney General

    Wins by about 2,200 votes and makes child protection, the opioid crisis and consumer fraud his priorities.

  2. Takes on the opioid industry and protects pensions

    Files nine lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors. Sues to block a pension law cutting teachers’ benefits; the state supreme court strikes it down.

  3. Elected Governor

    In his first week, cancels planned Medicaid cuts that threatened coverage for roughly 100,000 people and restores voting rights to Kentuckians with nonviolent felony convictions who completed their sentences.

  4. Leads through COVID-19, relaunches kynect

    Daily briefings keep the state informed. Brings back Kentucky’s health insurance marketplace.

  5. Bipartisan wins and the biggest investment in state history

    Signs early voting reform and a $30 monthly cap on insulin costs. Ford and SK On announce a $5.8 billion, 5,000-job battery complex. In December, leads the response to deadly tornadoes.

  6. Relief at the pump and the DMV, recovery in Appalachia

    Freezes vehicle property tax hikes and the state gas tax. Extends Medicaid postpartum coverage to 12 months and adds dental, vision and hearing care. Leads flood recovery in eastern Kentucky and lands a $2 billion battery plant in Bowling Green.

  7. Medical cannabis, an income tax cut, re-election

    Signs medical cannabis into law, signs a cut in the state income tax rate to 4 percent, and wins re-election by five points.

  8. Protecting data, recruiting allies’ investment

    Signs the Kentucky Consumer Data Protection Act. Leads job-recruiting trips to Germany, Switzerland, Japan and South Korea, and proposes an 11% raise for every public school employee.

By the numbers

An economy built to last.

Figures from the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, as of July 2024.

$32BPrivate investment announced
54,700+New jobs announced
1,000+New and expanding projects
$13BInvestment from Asia-based companies, including 13,000 jobs

Issues

Where Andy stands.

For every issue, you’ll find what Andy has already done and what he’ll do as president. Where a governor had little to say about national policy, the plan says so plainly and builds on how he has governed.

Economy

Good jobs in every zip code, not just a few.

What Andy has done

  • Announced more than 1,000 new and expanding projects, about $32 billion in private investment and over 54,700 jobs (as of July 2024).
  • Landed the largest project in Kentucky history, Ford and SK On’s $5.8 billion battery complex, plus Envision AESC’s $2 billion plant.
  • Posted the largest budget surplus and rainy day fund in state history.
  • Opposes Kentucky’s right-to-work law and joined UAW workers on the picket line in 2023.

As president

  • A national manufacturing strategy that brings supply chains home and puts new plants in small towns and rural counties, not only big metros.
  • Training partnerships between employers and community colleges so workers can step into the jobs being created.
  • Protect workers’ freedom to organize and bargain.
  • Finish the infrastructure work families notice: bridges, broadband, clean water.

Cost of living

Lower the bills families actually pay.

What Andy has done

  • Froze vehicle property tax increases in 2022 when used-car values spiked, about $340 million in relief.
  • Stopped a scheduled state gas tax increase in 2022 and pushed for a temporary sales tax cut.
  • Signed a bipartisan law capping insulin at $30 for a 30-day supply on state-regulated plans.
  • Vetoed a 2024 bill letting landlords turn away tenants who pay with housing vouchers, and directed $223 million to build nearly 1,000 rental homes in tornado-hit western Kentucky.

As president

  • Cap insulin at $35 a month for every American, on every plan.
  • Build more housing that working families can afford, and stop discrimination against renters using assistance.
  • Universal pre-K, so child care stops costing families a second rent payment.
  • Enforce price-gouging laws when emergencies hit.

Taxes

Relief that reaches working families first.

What Andy has done

  • Signed a 2023 law lowering Kentucky’s income tax rate to 4 percent, citing record revenues that could sustain the cut.
  • Vetoed a 2022 tax overhaul because it extended the sales tax to many everyday services.
  • Argued that a sales tax cut would help more Kentuckians than an income tax cut alone.

As president

  • No tax increases on working and middle-class families.
  • Target relief where it reaches the most people: families, workers, small businesses.
  • Ask the largest corporations and the wealthiest to pay their fair share, and keep budgets responsible.

Scope of government

Government that works, measured by results.

What Andy has done

  • Governed alongside a Republican supermajority, passing bipartisan bills on voting, insulin, medical cannabis and data privacy.
  • Left Kentucky with its largest rainy day fund on record.
  • Used executive action when families needed help fast, from vehicle tax relief to voting rights restoration.

As president

  • A government that answers the phone, especially in disasters: faster federal recovery aid and less red tape for families rebuilding.
  • Judge every program by whether it delivers for people, and fix or end the ones that don’t.
  • Work with governors and Congress of both parties as partners, not props.

China

Out-build, out-innovate and out-ally our toughest competitor.

What Andy has done

  • Barred TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, from executive branch devices in January 2023, then signed the law making it permanent.
  • Signed Kentucky’s consumer data protection law in 2024.
  • Launched Supply Kentucky in 2024 to make Kentucky companies’ supply chains more secure.
  • Recruited billions in investment from allies Japan and South Korea.

As president

Andy’s full China strategy rests on four commitments: compete, protect, deter and engage. Read the plan.

Russia

Stand with Ukraine. Make aggression fail.

What Andy has said

  • On the day of the invasion, called Russia’s attack unprovoked and backed the severe sanctions imposed to stop it.
  • Told Kentuckians that higher gas prices were a small price to pay to stop the aggression, and called for Americans to stand united.
“It’s time for America to be united.”February 24, 2022

As president

  • Keep military, economic and humanitarian support flowing to Ukraine alongside our allies.
  • Maintain and tighten sanctions, and close the loopholes Russia uses to evade them.
  • Strengthen NATO’s eastern flank so Putin never mistakes our resolve.
  • Protect American energy prices while Europe ends its dependence on Russian fuel.

Middle East

Security for Israel, safety for civilians, a path to lasting peace.

What Andy has said

  • After Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, ordered flags lowered statewide to honor the victims of terrorism in Israel.
  • As a governor, Andy has not set Middle East policy. His approach as president follows the same values he has stated.
“Every family deserves safety from violence.”October 9, 2023

As president

  • Stand by Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas and bring every hostage home.
  • Get food, water and medicine to civilians in Gaza, and work for a ceasefire that holds.
  • Pursue a lasting peace with security for Israelis and dignity for Palestinians, including two states.
  • Never allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.

U.S. and international coalitions

Allies make America stronger. Andy has seen it firsthand.

What Andy has done

  • Kentucky is home to about 200 Japanese-owned facilities employing 47,000 people.
  • Since he took office, 88 projects from Asia-based companies, nearly $13 billion and 13,000 jobs (as of July 2024).
  • Led economic missions to Germany and Switzerland in spring 2024 and to Japan and South Korea that July; attended the 2024 World Economic Forum.

As president

  • Rebuild trust with NATO and our Pacific partners, and treat allies as partners in American prosperity.
  • Build trusted supply chains with democracies for batteries, chips and critical minerals.
  • Bring allied investment and good-paying jobs to every region of the country.

Military and national defense

The strongest military in the world, and a promise kept to those who serve.

What Andy has done

  • As commander of the Kentucky National Guard, mobilized Guard members for tornado and flood rescue and recovery.
  • Authorized Guard deployments to the southern border; about 850 Kentucky Guard members served there.
  • Kentucky is home to Fort Knox and Fort Campbell.

As president

  • Keep our military ready and modern, and rebuild the industrial base that supplies it.
  • Take care of military families: housing, child care, spouse employment.
  • Make sure every veteran gets the health care and benefits they earned, without the wait.

Immigration and border security

A secure border and an immigration system that works.

What Andy has done

  • Authorized Kentucky National Guard deployments to the southern border during his first term; about 850 Kentucky Guard members have served there.
  • Has repeatedly said strong national security requires strong border security.
  • Called for a balanced approach: stop illegal immigration and recognize the jobs legal immigration fills.
  • Condemned dehumanizing anti-immigrant rhetoric in December 2023, warning it makes a border deal harder.
“A strong national security requires strong border security.”As reported by the Associated Press, December 2023

As president

  • Sign bipartisan border security legislation: more agents, more immigration judges, and technology to stop fentanyl at ports of entry.
  • Fix the legal immigration system so employers can fill jobs lawfully.
  • Enforce the law with competence and treat people with dignity.

Voting

Easy to vote. Hard to cheat. Proven in Kentucky.

What Andy has done

  • Signed bipartisan House Bill 574 in 2021 with a Republican secretary of state: three days of no-excuse early voting, including a Saturday, voting centers, paper-ballot backups and a ban on ballot harvesting.
  • Restored voting rights to Kentuckians with nonviolent felony convictions who completed their sentences.
“Today is a day of bipartisan action.”On signing HB 574, April 2021

As president

  • Take Kentucky’s model national: early voting everywhere, paper records for every vote, real security.
  • Restore voting rights to citizens who have served their sentences.
  • Fund and protect the local election officials who run our elections.

Second Amendment

Respect lawful gun owners. Keep guns from people in crisis.

What Andy has done

  • Supports the Second Amendment and has said he does not support an assault weapons ban.
  • After a close friend was killed in the 2023 Louisville bank shooting, called for a court-ordered red flag law.
  • Allowed a 2023 Second Amendment sanctuary bill to become law without his signature.
“This protects everybody’s Second Amendment rights.”On red flag laws, April 2023

As president

  • Protect the rights of law-abiding hunters, sport shooters and gun owners.
  • Help every state adopt crisis-intervention orders with full due process, so courts can temporarily remove guns from people in crisis.
  • Invest in mental health care and in local police.

Social issues and equality

Every person is a child of God, and deserves to be treated that way.

What Andy has done

  • Vetoed a 2022 abortion ban that had no exceptions for rape or incest.
  • Vetoed 2023’s Senate Bill 150, which restricted care for transgender youth.
  • Signed an executive order in September 2024 restricting conversion therapy for minors.
  • Made Juneteenth a state holiday and barred hairstyle discrimination in state hiring in 2024.
“Rape and incest are violent crimes.”Veto message, April 2022

As president

  • Restore the protections of Roe v. Wade, and make sure no survivor of rape or incest is forced to carry her attacker’s child.
  • Protect LGBTQ Americans from discrimination.
  • Lead with faith and decency, and lower the temperature of our politics.

Digital rights, AI, data privacy and data centers

Your data is yours. New technology should work for you.

What Andy has done

  • Signed the Kentucky Consumer Data Protection Act in 2024, giving residents rights to see, correct and delete their data and opt out of its sale and targeted ads.
  • Barred TikTok from state devices and networks over national security concerns.
  • Built his legal career, and his attorney general’s office, around consumer protection.

As president

  • A national privacy law built on the same rights Kentucky now guarantees, with the strongest protections for children.
  • Clear rules for AI: label deepfakes, crack down on AI-powered scams aimed at seniors, and keep AI out of election fraud.
  • Welcome data center investment on fair terms: it pays its own power costs instead of passing them to families, and communities get a real say.

Health care

Health care is a human right.

What Andy has done

  • Protected Medicaid expansion and canceled planned cuts that threatened coverage for about 100,000 Kentuckians.
  • Relaunched kynect, Kentucky’s health insurance marketplace, in 2020.
  • Extended Medicaid postpartum coverage to a full year and added dental, vision and hearing care in 2022.
  • Signed the $30 insulin cap in 2021 and medical cannabis into law in 2023.
“Health care is a human right.”March 2021

As president

  • Protect and strengthen the Affordable Care Act and coverage for pre-existing conditions.
  • Lower prescription drug prices, starting with a $35 insulin cap for everyone.
  • A year of postpartum coverage for every new mom, and support for rural hospitals.
  • Treat addiction as the public health crisis it is.

Education

Public dollars for public schools, and pre-K for every 4-year-old.

What Andy has done

  • Proposed an 11% raise for every public school employee, from teachers to bus drivers, in his 2024–26 Education First plan.
  • Has called for universal pre-K for every 4-year-old, paired with support for child care providers.
  • Opposes sending public school funding to private schools, and campaigned against 2024’s Amendment 2.
  • As attorney general, won the court fight over teachers’ pensions.

As president

  • Partner with states to raise teacher pay and end the teacher shortage.
  • Universal pre-K, built with states and child care providers.
  • Expand career and technical education tied to the jobs being created.
  • Keep public money in public schools.

Climate and clean energy

All of the above, made in America.

What Andy has done

  • Accepts that climate change is real, and backs an all-of-the-above energy approach that includes coal alongside renewables.
  • Oversaw the largest renewable energy buildout in Kentucky’s history and made Kentucky a leader in EV battery production.
  • Vetoed a 2024 bill adding new hurdles to retiring power plants, saying it contradicted an all-of-the-above energy policy.
  • Rebuilt flood-ravaged communities on higher ground in eastern Kentucky.

As president

  • Keep power affordable and reliable while adding clean energy, built by American workers.
  • Make America the world’s leader in batteries and clean-energy manufacturing, not China.
  • Never leave coal and energy communities behind: new industries, pensions and black lung benefits protected.
  • Help communities prepare for floods, tornadoes and wildfires before they hit.

America and China

Compete to win. Never stumble into war.

The Chinese government is our toughest competitor. Andy’s approach is the one he used to make Kentucky the battery capital of America: build here, build with allies, and protect what’s ours.

Compete

Win the industries of the future on American soil.

  • Batteries, semiconductors and critical minerals made in America and allied nations.
  • Enforce trade rules against dumping and subsidized overcapacity that kill American jobs.
  • Invest in research, workforce training and manufacturing towns.

Protect

Keep Americans’ data and America’s technology secure.

  • A national privacy law that keeps Americans’ personal data out of adversaries’ hands.
  • Tight export controls on advanced chips and other sensitive technology.
  • Screen adversary-linked investment in critical infrastructure, farmland and sites near military bases.

Deter

Peace through strength, with allies at our side.

  • Deepen alliances with Japan, South Korea, Australia and the Philippines.
  • Maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and oppose any change to the status quo by force.
  • Keep a ready military presence in the Pacific.

Engage

Talk directly, especially when we disagree.

  • Keep military-to-military channels open to prevent accidents and miscalculation.
  • Press Beijing to stop the flow of the chemicals used to make fentanyl.
  • Speak plainly about human rights.

What Andy has already done

A governor doesn’t set foreign policy. But Andy has acted where a governor can.

  • Barred TikTok from executive branch devices in January 2023 and signed Senate Bill 20 to put the ban into law.
  • Signed Kentucky’s Consumer Data Protection Act in April 2024.
  • Launched Supply Kentucky in 2024 to strengthen the security of Kentucky companies’ supply chains.
  • Recruited the battery plants and allied investment, including from Japan and South Korea, that help America compete in electric vehicles.
  • As attorney general, sued the companies that flooded Kentucky with opioids. He knows what fentanyl does to families.

Get involved

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Fact check

Check the record yourself.

Every claim about Andy’s record on this site comes from public reporting and official records through 2024.

Biography and elections
Economy, taxes and cost of living
Health care and education
Voting, guns and equality
Security, the world and technology