How Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear Thinks Democrats Can Win Rural America

And I also believe that sustainability isn’t
primarily being driven by government policy. It’s being driven by the demands
of the private sector. Every company that comes to Kentucky with their power
wants affordability, wants reliability, and then wants sustainability. And so
for me, being pragmatic, I’ve got to deliver all three, which means we need
greener, more sustainable power production. We need greener jobs, because
that’s what the private sector and ultimately consumers are demanding. So no, I
don’t think that we have to back away from beliefs about climate change, but I
do think within those beliefs, we have to deliver a better life for our people.
That means, if you can bring in good, paying green jobs, people of all
political ideologies will work in them because it makes life better and easier
for their family.

M.P.: One of the
things that I thought that President Joe Biden was underappreciated about was
that he did make a big effort to bring new plants, especially to red states,
and to reform American industrial policy through the Inflation Reduction Act.
He did talk a lot about the day-to-day economic concerns that people had. He
walked with unions, and he tried to reach out to workers. Why do you feel like
that message wasn’t convincing, even when Vice President Kamala Harris took it
up in her race in 2024?

A.B.: Well, I think
two things. First, as Democrats, we got to get dirt on our boots, and we’ve got
to show up in the areas where our policies are creating new jobs, new
opportunities, more accessible health care, safer infrastructure, better
schools. The signing in the Rose Garden isn’t real anymore. A signing of a bill
in Frankfort [Kentucky’s capital] doesn’t directly impact people on that day.
So we’ve got to be there at the announcement, at the groundbreaking. And you
know, people make fun of it, [but] the most important one is the ribbon cutting.
Why? Because the jobs are there, because the future is better for families.
We’ve got to make sure that people in rural America see Democrats and see the
results of the policies that we’re pushing for.