The deep West Side suburbs of Cincinnati are pretty conservative. This is the blue-collar part of town and traditional Republican stronghold. But if my family reunion is any indication, Kentucky’s Andy Beshear is the one vice presidential candidate who resonates across party lines and has the potential to radically change the electoral map this fall.
When I was growing up, we never talked much politics in my family. But with the Reds slumping and interest in my run for the Kentucky House of Representatives, Beshear was the hot topic in my cousin’s backyard on Shady Lane recently. Former Donald Trump voters are turned off by his actions and words since the 2020 election. My aunts find J.D. Vance weird and demeaning to women. The younger generation has no interest in an out-of-touch boomer’s incoherent rambling.
More: Kentucky Gov. Beshear apologizes to Diet Mountain Dew. ‘Sometimes I have gone over the line.’
Again and again, all I heard from my family members is a desire for some type of normalcy; they want to elect practical, dignified, compassionate people to office. Someone they can sit and have a beer (or bourbon) with. There are lots of undecideds and disaffected Republicans out there in places like Ohio that Vice President Kamala Harris can win over. She should reach out to them and earn their vote. And the best messenger for this job is Gov. Andy Beshear, or just “Andy” as we call him in Kentucky.