Gov. Andy Beshear and First Lady Britainy Beshear greet attendees before the State of the Commonwealth address at the Capitol in Frankfort, Jan. 8, 2025. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Arden Barnes)
FRANKFORT — In his annual State of the Commonwealth address to Kentucky’s Republican-controlled General Assembly, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear renewed talk of economic wins and a need to overcome division while also calling on lawmakers to “stop the attacks on our public school system.”
Beshear addressed a joint session of the House and Senate for more than 40 minutes Wednesday evening. He recognized business investors in Kentucky’s economy, top education officials at postsecondary institutions and crew members from the commonwealth who aided in response to cleaning up debris and making repairs following Hurricane Helene in North Carolina last year — a situation he compared to the Western Kentucky tornadoes and Eastern Kentucky floods during his first term in office.
“Let’s let our positive actions speak louder than the nasty words we hear on TV or read online,” the governor said. “And we can do this by focusing on the core areas where we can and should find common ground.”