LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The annual Kentucky Country Ham Breakfast -- a tradition that draws in the state's top politicians -- was missing its chief executive at the State Fair on Thursday.
Republicans, including former Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson, took notice.
"Fifteen hundred to sixteen hundred people there, [but] governor's not here. He's at the convention," Grayson told WHAS11. "That's one of the risks of doing all this national is you take yourself away from your constituents, from your people."
All week, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has been in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention, where he spoke in prime time ahead of President Joe Biden on Monday.
"In Kentucky we put reproductive freedom on the ballot last November, and I beat Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell's hand-picked candidate by more than five percentage points," Beshear said as part of his five minute speech.
RELATED: Andy Beshear says Trump's policies 'give rapists more rights than their victims' during DNC speech
Kentucky House Speaker David Osborne, a Republican, watched Beshear's address, noting "he's certainly fine-tuned his skills as a speaker and was speaking to a friendly crowd.
"And even in the heat of the conversation about him being a potential VP candidate, while it creates noise, it really doesn't impact us legislatively," Osborne said.
Republican State Senator Robby Mills said Beshear's speech left more to be desired.
"He could have talked about a lot more things than just abortion, and I was sorry to see him just focusing in on that one particular issue," Mills said.
Beshear put his biggest focus on reproductive rights, a major driver of voters to the polls.
State Senator Gerald Neal, a Louisville Democrat, called it "a major issue across the country."
"He was talking to a national audience, not just Kentucky -- and Kentucky was an example," Neal said.
Beshear was introduced on stage by Owensboro native and abortion rights advocate Hadley Duvall, who is a rape survivor. At the DNC, she called Beshear "a leader who has fought for me and so many others."
Duvall sat down for an interview with WHAS11 in Chicago.
"He has never -- not one time -- showed that he doesn't have his best interests for women," Duvall said.
It was the governor's biggest national appearance to date, but where does it lead him?
In an interview in Chicago on Monday, Beshear told WHAS11 a cabinet position in D.C. is "off the table."
And the reality is a potential run for president in 2028 has gotten more complicated.
"I think we're going to elect Kamala Harris as our president; I think she's going to be up for reelection in 2028," Beshear said.
Grayson acknowledged the question then becomes 'how do you stay relevant?'
"He's term limited here," Grayson said. "He had this window, which I think is why he pursued it so aggressively. It's just not clear to me what that pathway looks like, whether it's at the national level or a state level."
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.