Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says his style of compassionate leadership in his home state is what Americans are looking for — for decency to trump the cruelty of recent years and kindness to prevail over corruption and meanness.
“I believe people are going to be looking for something better” in 2028, said Beshear, a potential Democratic presidential candidate who is to be in town Oct. 2 to talk about a new book in a conversation with U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C. “They’re going to want decency and they’re going to want kindness, though I would say never mistake kindness for weakness.”
Beshear packed three political events into Friday’s schedule before he addresses people at a 5:30 p.m. book event at Circular Congregational Church, 150 Meeting St. At 10 a.m. Friday, he’ll be with state Rep. Jerry Govan, D-Orangeburg, at New Faith Community Church in Santee. Just after noon, Statehouse candidate Clay Middleton will welcome him to the Miller Bridge Event Center in Ravenel. And later in the day, he’ll stop by First District congressional candidate Nancy Lacore’s Mount Pleasant office to inspire volunteers with the midterm elections less than five weeks away.
But there’s more going on than rallying 2026 Democratic candidates. Beshear is clearly looking at running for president in 2028. His success in winning three statewide elections in a Kentucky that voted three times for President Donald Trump seems to give him keys to the political car of understanding how to win in GOP territory. Visits to South Carolina make sense, politically, since it is host to the nation’s first Democratic primary in January 2028.
In his just-released book, Go and Do Likewise: How We Heal a Broken Country, Beshear frequently reminds readers about the biblical parable of the good Samaritan to “go out and show kindness, not cruelty, to one another and to the world.”
He wrote that he wondered about whether Trump had ever read and understood the parable, because it teaches that real power isn’t about toughness or strength.
“America shows her greatness not through political bluster or military parades, but when her people live out the words of Jesus when he said, ‘No go and do likewise,’” Beshear wrote. “This is real patriotism: caring for my neighbor even when they are very different from me, even when they are a member of the ‘wrong’ group, even when people like Donald Trump tell me I should hate them.”
Throughout the book, Beshear describes how he learned as Kentucky’s attorney general to put kindness before cruelty in dealing with his predecessor, a Trump-Lite governor named Matt Bevin who took power before Trump’s first term. Beshear later beat Bevin in 2019 by about 5,000 votes.
Now, it’s time for Trump’s MAGA to suffer losses at the polls in 2026 and 2028, Beshear says. And to do so, the country needs to focus on the kinds of lessons learned during his years as governor — to invest in people, hospitals, roads, education and jobs.
“Right now, we have the opportunity to do a Great American Reset, where we move from beyond red and blue, right and left, Democrat and Republican, and commit ourselves to reviving the American dream for all Americans,” he wrote.
In an exclusive interview, Beshear, a lawyer, described how he’s coming to South Carolina again to listen to the challenges that people face with housing, education and high prices on gas, food, power and health care.”
“I always just love listening,” he said. “There’s always something new that comes up. And so while, while I’ll be looking to learn more about the specific challenges the folks in South Carolina face, I’ll look forward to the opportunity to hear any story — and oftentimes you get stories of people out there doing really good things, and even a job like mine, those can lift you up and help move you forward.”
And at the book event Friday, he’ll also likely share some ideas to make America kind again. Among them:
Making housing more affordable. “If you can’t afford a home before you’re 40, do you think the system’s broken?”
Make health care more affordable. “I think we need to directly negotiate the cost of pharmaceuticals through Medicaid and Medicare and offer that price to every American, regardless of their coverage or whether they’re covered at all.”
Repeal tariffs. Especially on groceries.
Pass constitutional amendments. He says the nation should consider amendments to outlaw partisan gerrymandering, create term limits for Congress and the Supreme Court, ban stock trading for government leaders, overturn the Citizens United case that splashed corporate money into elections and consider the direct election of the president.
“Whoever our candidate is, the candidate has to have the big ideas about how to make government and the economy work again.”
IF YOU WANT TO GO: Beshear will be at Circular Congregational Church at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 2. Admission, which comes with a book, is $35 and available through citypapertickets.com. Blue Bicycle Books is coordinating the event.
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