In official statements, Beshear has been his usual cautious self, saying he's "honored to be considered" for the VP slot. But standing on the back of a pickup truck in front of an enthusiastic crowd in Georgia, he sounds every bit a man on the campaign trail.
"I'm the guy that last November beat Donald Trump's hand-picked candidate," he reminds the crowd. "And together, we're going to help Kamala Harris beat Donald Trump this November."
Beshear also served as the keynote speaker at an annual Democratic fundraiser in Iowa Saturday and has used media appearances to make it clear he's eager to go head-to-head with Republican VP nominee J.D. Vance.
While the Democrat looks to make an impression on the national stage, he's careful to balance the themes that helped him win a second term in a reliably red state — often speaking to issues that "aren't red or blue" — while shifting gears to match the sharpened-up rhetoric that defines nationwide politics in a highly polarized era.
Back in the commonwealth, it's Beshear's surrogates who are taking over duties at local press conferences. Monday, his senior adviser, Rocky Adkins, was in Lexington to hand out one of those big cardboard checks.
"I think the more people that know our governor (are) going to know him the way the people of Kentucky know him — as a good person that has a strong backbone, that leads with courage, but also does it with compassion," Adkins told reporters. "And I think that's just feeding over into other states as he goes through this vetting process."
Asked about Beshear's chances in the veepstakes, Adkins says, "Who knows?" But he does think Beshear's national exposure is good for the state, no matter the outcome.
State law permits Beshear to remain governor and campaign out-of-state at the same time. If he’s selected for the national ticket but Democrats are unsuccessful, he would remain governor for the remainder of his term.
