LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear appears to be making his most clear pitch yet to Vice President Kamala Harris, who is vetting the 46-year-old among others as potential running mate candidates.
At an annual Democratic fundraising dinner in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday, Beshear again took aim at former President Donald Trump’s VP pick – Sen. JD Vance of Ohio.
“He said it was weird that I attacked – and this is in his words – his ‘origin story.’ Fictional characters have an origin story. Real people have childhoods,” he told the sold-out crowd of 450 Iowa Democrats.
Before delivering his keynote address, Beshear spoke to WHAS11 in an exclusive interview in Des Moines.
When asked who’d win in a debate between him and Vance, Beshear answered quickly, “I would. Every day, all day.”
Beshear continued, “Listen, I’m a person of real conviction. I’m a person who believes what he says, and I care deeply about our people in Kentucky. This is somebody who exploited us – who used to come for weddings or funerals or a couple weeks in the summer to see his kin, and I respect that. But to claim that you know our culture and then to insult our people is just wrong.”
Since President Biden withdrew from his reelection campaign, Beshear has taken repeated jabs at Vance.
It started with his appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe where Beshear said Vance wasn’t from Kentucky, calling him a phony who paints Eastern Kentuckians out as lazy in his best-selling novel ‘Hillbilly Elegy.’
Vance wasn’t born in Kentucky but has roots in the Bluegrass state. At the RNC in Milwaukee, Vance noted his grandparents were laid to rest in Kentucky, saying he and his family plan to one day be there as well.
Beshear has upped his messaging on national issues in the last week, touting VP Harris’ record and calling out Trump as being unfit to serve as the Republican presidential nominee.
Political experts have called Beshear’s recent public appearances and speeches an audition to be Harris’ VP pick, leaning into the attack dog mentality that vice presidential candidates are often tasked to embrace on a ticket.
On Sunday, Beshear headlined a campaign rally on behalf of Harris in a Republican-leaning county of swing-state Georgia, just outside of Atlanta.
Beshear told WHAS11 it was Harris’ campaign who reached out to him about the appearance.
“I am happy to work with the campaign in any form or fashion, and I want her to optimize her time to win this election,” he said.
Beshear did not reveal if he and Harris have had further conversations since the phone call after President Biden withdrew from the race.
When pressed whether he’d be meeting Harris in Atlanta (she is set to appear there Tuesday) or if he saw this as another try out to be her running mate, Beshear answered, “I’m honored to be considered, and regardless of what happens, I’ll work every day to make sure we elect Kamala Harris as the next President of the United States.”