LOUISVILLE, Ky. — After spending the day in eastern Kentucky visiting with those devastated by the floods of 2022, Gov. Andy Beshear is headed to Iowa to be a keynote speaker at an annual Democratic Party fundraiser.
This trip was planned earlier in the summer, before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race. And now, with Vice President Kamala Harris looking for a running mate, Beshear's out-of-state address is expected to hold even more weight.
"You know, we’ve had candidates like Barack Obama come out of Iowa; we definitely love to see people come through Iowa," Iowa Democratic Party Communications Director Paige Godden said. “A candidate can come in with pretty much nothing and they can figure out how to win this state.”
Iowa is known in the political world as a launch pad for those seeking a run at the White House, where past presidential candidates have kickstarted their momentum.
Godden said they invited Beshear to be the keynote speaker for their annual Liberty and Justice fundraiser after his decisive win in November.
"We weren't quite at the sold out capacity yet before Kamala Harris announced her candidacy this past weekend," she said. "Since then, we've definitely seen a large influx of ticket sales, and we've seen excitement."
The speech is Saturday night, and its unclear if he will continue to make headlines with comments about the former President Donald Trump or his running mate Sen. JD Vance.
On June 8, WHAS11 asked Beshear, why Iowa?
“Well, I want to help; I want to help make sure we elect good people, and that we are competitive even in tough states," he said.
Godden said she's hoping Iowa can "replicate his success and get voters fired up."
Andy Piester has lived in Iowa since 2000 and keeps up with politics. WHAS11 talked to him in Downtown Des Moines on Friday.
"He's gotten a lot of coverage through the past few years after various floods," Piester said, when asked if anything stands out to him about Beshear. "I’ve seen him after many of those things, so when you talk about empathy, that’s one of those things that I do pair him with – that quality."
For the event Saturday night, the ballroom will be packed with 450 Iowans, made up largely of labor union membership.
On Friday, Beshear tweeted, “No matter what the future holds. Kentucky is my home. That will never change, because I’m one proud Kentuckian."
Late Friday night, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that Beshear is headed to Atlanta, Georgia on Sunday to campaign for Harris as part of what's called a "weekend of action." It's more than 170 campaign events around Georgia.
WHAS11's sister station, WXIA, reported she will be in Atlanta next Tuesday.