Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear in a social media post Tuesday morning said it was an honor to have been considered as a possible vice presidential nominee and pledged his support to the Harris-Walz ticket.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ choice of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate ended speculation about Beshear’s chances of getting the nod and kicked off speculation about whether he would have a place in a Harris administration.
Beshear called Walz “a great friend and a great choice. I fully support this new ticket and will work to elect Kamala Harris as our next President of the United States,” he said on X.
Andy Westberry, a spokesperson for the Republican Party of Kentucky, called the news unsurprising. “With the Kentucky Democrats’ echo chamber in the local press and social media coming to an end, it’s no surprise Kamala Harris took a pass on Andy,” Westberry said in a statement. “His years of controversy and lack of policy wins made choosing him a liability.”
Wesberry called the vice president’s pick of Walz “a liability to our nation’s economy.”
Kentucky Democratic Party Chair Colmon Elridge applauded Harris’ choice and Walz’s “years of service in public school classrooms and as a congressman and governor. He said Walz is “a devoted champion for working families, and has protected access to affordable health care, cut child poverty, protected reproductive rights, guaranteed meals for kids in public schools, and more.”
Beshear, a two-term Democratic governor was mentioned in media reports as recently as the weekend as a longshot possibility for the vice presidential nod. Harris met Sunday with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Walz. Also mentioned as vice presidential prospects were Transportation Secretary Pete Buttegieg and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who took his name out of contention.
Beshear, who has repeatedly said he wants to serve until the end of his term in 2027, last month said “the only way I would consider something other than this current job is if I believed I could further help my people and to help this country.”
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