All posts tagged "andy beshear"

Harris set to name V.P. pick ahead of swing state tour

Kamala Harris will name her running mate as soon as Monday, as she prepares for a tour of US battleground states aimed at turning excitement over her presidential bid into durable support that can power her to victory.

All paths to the White House run through a handful of swing states, and Harris will kick off her five-day run Tuesday in the largest — Pennsylvania — as she builds momentum for her showdown with Republican Donald Trump on November 5.

“At this moment, we face a choice between two visions for our nation: one focused on the future and the other on the past… This campaign is about people coming together, fueled by love of country, to fight for the best of who we are,” she posted on X.

Fresh from winning enough delegate votes to secure the Democratic nomination, the country’s first female, Black and South Asian vice president heads into the national convention in Chicago in two weeks in total control of her party.

In a campaign that is barely two weeks old, the 59-year-old former prosecutor has obliterated fundraising records, attracted huge crowds and dominated social media on her way to erasing the polling leads Trump had built before President Joe Biden quit the race.

Next on the agenda is a vice presidential pick, with an announcement expected any time before her rally Tuesday evening alongside the mystery nominee in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s largest city.

The Keystone State is the most prized real estate among the closely fought battlegrounds that decide the Electoral College system.

It is part of the “blue wall” that carried Biden to the White House in 2020, alongside Michigan and Wisconsin — two states where Harris is due to woo crowds on Wednesday.

Pennsylvania is governed by 51-year-old Democrat Josh Shapiro, a frontrunner in the so-called “veepstakes” shortlist that also includes fellow state governors Tim Walz and Andy Beshear, as well as Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

‘Freedom’

Later in the week, Harris will tour the more racially diverse Sun Belt and southern states of Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina, as she seeks to shore up the Black and Hispanic vote that had been peeling away from the Democrats.

Just a month ago, Trump was in cruise control, having opened a significant lead in swing state polling after a dismal debate performance by Biden, with the Republican tycoon keeping the country in suspense over his own vice-presidential pick.

Trump’s White House bid was upended on July 21 when 81-year-old Biden, facing growing concerns about his age and lagging polling numbers, exited the race and backed Harris.

Energetic and two decades younger than 78-year-old Trump, the vice president has made a fast start, raising $310 million in July, according to her campaign — more than double Trump’s haul.

While Biden made high-minded appeals for a return to civility and the preservation of democracy, Harris has focused on the future, making voters’ hard-fought “freedom” the touchstone of her campaign.

She and her allies have also been more aggressive than the Biden camp — mocking Trump for reneging on his commitment to a September 10 debate and characterizing the convicted felon as an elderly crook and “weird.”

While she has disavowed some of the leftist positions she took during her ill-fated 2020 primary campaign, Harris hasn’t given a wide-ranging interview since jumping into the race, and rally-goers will look for more detail on her plans for the country.

Meanwhile Trump and his Republicans have struggled to adapt to their new adversary or hone their attacks against Harris — at first messaging that she was dangerously liberal on immigration and crime, before suggesting she was lying about being Black.

What history says about V.P. picks: senator, governor or wild card?

We know this much: Vice President Kamala Harris will pick her running mate before accepting her party’s presidential nomination in August at the Democratic National Convention.

Harris also has a short list of about a dozen potential candidates she’s vetting, according to CBS News.

So should she choose a U.S. senator, governor, U.S. House representative — or someone else?

Let’s examine the historical record to see which type of vice presidential candidates have helped — or hurt — a presidential ticket.

Since 1945, presidential candidates have made 31 vice presidential picks — not counting vice presidential renominations.

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Of these 31 picks, 19 most recently served in elected office as U.S. senators, four were governors and seven had prior electoral experience only from the House of Representatives, such as Dick Cheney and George H. W. Bush. One did not have experience in any of those offices.

Of their 18 vice presidential selections, Democrats have chosen a U.S. senator in 16 cases since 1945. The Republicans are a little more diverse in their selections, with four U.S. Senate picks — including Donald Trump’s selection of J. D. Vance — four gubernatorial picks and six selections from the House of Representatives.

There’s the adage that a vice president can only hurt you, and he or she can’t help you. Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, who Gerald Ford selected when he replaced President Richard Nixon as president, was not renominated by Ford when he unsuccessfully ran for his own term in 1976 — not that it mattered much in the end.

Historical evidence indicates that the prior job of the running mate makes little difference in victory or defeat — if he or she is a senator or governor. U.S. senators nominated for vice president have won nine times and lost eight times. Governors as vice presidential nominees are split, winning twice and losing twice.

But those without gubernatorial or senatorial experience fare poorly. Picking a candidate from the House of Representatives has only been successful two times in seven tries.

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The one candidate without experience as a governor, senator or representative, Sargent Shriver, lost in 1972 as Democrat George McGovern’s ticket partner.

Republicans picked Vance, and their record with U.S. Senate vice presidential nominees is pretty good: two wins (Richard Nixon and Dan Quayle) and one loss (Bob Dole).

Democrats, however, have seven wins with U.S. senators (Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Al Gore, Walter Mondale, Hubert Humphrey, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Alben Barkley) against seven losses (Tim Kaine, John Edwards, Joe Lieberman, Lloyd Bentsen, Edwin Muskie, Estes Kefauver and John Sparkman).

Republicans are the only ones since World War II who have picked a governor as a running mate. Two (Mike Pence, Spiro Agnew) won, while two (Sarah Palin and Earl Warren) lost.

U.S. House representatives have largely failed for both parties, with the GOP picking two winners (George H. W. Bush and Dick Cheney) and four losers (Paul Ryan, Jack Kemp, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., and Bill Miller). Democrats picked one (Geraldine Ferraro) and she lost.

It should also be noted that Bush — UN ambassador, CIA director — and Cheney — secretary of defense, CEO of Halliburton — both had extensive experience in other realms between their stints as House members and selections as vice presidential candidates.

Trump has already made his pick. What should Harris do?

It’s a flip of a coin based on the historical record, so long as she doesn’t pick a U.S. House member.

At present, senators and governors top her shortlist, including Harris can choose North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, California Gov. Gavin Newsom or even Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Some new names include Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, as CBS reports.

Given that the record shows all things are equal in vice presidential picks, it is probably best to select a running mate from a state that will help you. That would put those candidates from swing states, such as Kelly (Arizona), Shapiro (Pennsylvania), Whitmer (Michigan) and even perhaps Cooper (North Carolina), at the top of the list.

Had Gore picked popular Florida U.S. senator and former Gov. Bob Graham for his VP, he would have very likely won the 2000 election, given Florida’s overriding significance in that race. Taking a running mate from Connecticut in 2000 — Joe Lieberman — made little difference.

Ford might have done better in 1976 with a Texan such as George H. W. Bush instead of a Kansan in Dole, given that Ford lost the Lone Star State to Democrat Jimmy Carter.

For John McCain in 2008, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge would have been a far better choice than Palin, of then-deep red Alaska. McCain lost the Keystone State (and some Obama-backing moderates).

In a close presidential race, particularly now, vice presidential candidates from swing states may matter more, regardless of prior office experience.

John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. His views are his own. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu. His “X” account is JohnTures2.

Major donor believes Democrats 'squandered' chance to draft party's next 'Lebron James'

A big-time donor for President Joe Biden thinks the Democrats missed a big opportunity by passing the ball to Vice President Kamala Harris without a convention, and he won’t be funding her run.

John Morgan, a Florida attorney and major donor for previous Democratic candidates, shared his views with Fox News host Neil Cavuto on Tuesday afternoon on why he’s not giving the Democratic presidential nominee any money.

“Harris brings a lot of great things to the table,” Morgan said. “Is she the best messenger? Is she the best person? Is her way the best way to go forward? And for me, I don’t think so.”

He compared the convention process to a fantasy basketball draft, noting that any smart player’s top draft should be a no-brainer.

“We would pick Lebron James,” Morgan said. “We had that type of opportunity but they seem to be squandering it by taking a lesser pick.”

Cavuto pressed Morgan on who he thinks his party’s Lebron James is, and he listed off several party favorites: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Witmer – noting that a vetted combination of star players would be the strongest choice.

But that ship has sailed, Morgan said, adding that whoever she picks as a running mate is irrelevant at this point.

“The deal is done. I don’t think there’s anything more that can be done,” Morgan said. “People vote for president, they don't vote for vice president.”

Watch the clip below or at this link.

Kentucky’s Democratic governor would rather not talk about climate change

This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist's weekly newsletter here.

Kentucky’s Democratic governor, Andy Beshear, has been called the state’s “consoler-in-chief.” He’s presided over a period of extreme weather in the state, from tornadoes that leveled entire towns in the farmlands of western Kentucky, to record flooding that washed out thousands of homes in its mountainous Appalachian east. Through it all, voters have taken note that the governor has made a habit of personally visiting disaster sites and committing to funding their recovery.

But when it comes to the root causes of the state’s weather troubles, Beshear is quieter.

“I wish I could tell you why we keep getting hit here in Kentucky,” said in a media briefing after the floods. “I can’t give you the why, but I know what we do in response to it.”

Though climate scientists and environmental advocates have drawn a link between the disasters and human-caused climate change, Beshear has avoided discussing the topic at length. Now, he’s up for reelection, against a Republican cut from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s cloth.

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On Tuesday, Kentucky voters will be choosing between Beshear and challenger Daniel Cameron, the state’s Republican attorney general. Beshear, a Democrat, upset staunch Republican (and climate denier) Matt Bevin in 2019 in a deep-red state that is still mainly controlled by right-wingers at the local levels and in the state legislature. Cameron, who has reliably come out against environmental regulation at many turns, is appealing for a return to Republican hegemony. As the state has been both pummeled by climate disaster and remains politically enmeshed with the coal industry, Beshear has toed a careful line, one that at times appears self-contradictory, in order to keep his poll numbers strong.

Beshear is among the most popular Democratic governors in the country, and he’s currently polling just ahead of Cameron. He’s accepted endorsements from the United Mine Workers union and high-profile coal mine operators, and he’s eschewed endorsements from major environmental groups that might typically support a Democratic candidate. He’s acknowledged that climate change is real, but in a state that was once ranked third in the country for coal production, connecting fossil fuels specifically to climate change can be tricky.

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Kentucky experienced a 65 percent drop in coal production between 2013 and 2022, and eastern Kentucky is reeling from the rapid decline of the industry and resulting layoffs and bankruptcies. Nonetheless, coal still holds cultural significance and exerts economic pull in the state. There are still plenty of active coal mines in both east and west, and the state is still one of the top five coal-burning states in the country.

It’s unclear what actions a re-elected Beshear, or Cameron, would take to speed up the transition to clean energy. Kentucky has been found to be “dead last” in the race to decarbonize, running far behind other states in wind and solar production. Both candidates support an “all-of-the-above” approach to energy.

Beshear, alone among Democratic governors, turned down millions in Inflation Reduction Act money for climate mitigation earlier this year, saying that Kentucky cities could still accept the funds. Though the state’s municipalities all are eligible, the move may leave behind rural communities with fewer resources, since application can be arduous.

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In 2021, Beshear and the state’s Energy and Environment Cabinet unveiled a program called “E3,” which lists gas and oil as essential parts of a diverse energy portfolio, makes no commitments toward decarbonization, and does not mention climate change once. Kentucky’s last climate action plan was created in 2011 — by Steve Beshear, the state’s last Democratic governor and Andy Beshear’s father.

When discussing the energy transition, Beshear tends to focus on something that might be more tangible to his voters: jobs. News releases from the administration center on Kentucky’s record-low unemployment rate and tout thousands of potential jobs in the state’s electric vehicle sector.

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Lane Boldman, the executive director of a bipartisan advocacy group called the Kentucky Conservation Committee, says that in red states like Kentucky, it’s crucial for Democratic leaders to keep the focus away from controversial topics that could provoke a knee-jerk negative reaction in voters. “I think it’s a matter of the language you use, versus what your actions are on the ground,” Boldman said.

Boldman pointed to recent investments in utility-scale solar on abandoned eastern Kentucky strip mines, and new electric vehicle battery plants slated for construction across the state, as evidence of progress under Beshear’s administration. She also noted that the administration is going after separate funding within the Inflation Reduction Act for workforce development in the energy-efficiency sector. One report showed that Kentucky’s clean energy sector workforce grew faster than that of any other industry in the state in 2022. If Beshear wants to win, Boldman said, it’s better to keep his head down when it comes to talking about climate change.

“The actions he’s taking are, I think, pretty pro-environment for a state where the politics are very, very conservative,” she said.

Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.

Kentucky governor’s race on track for new fundraising record

This article originally appeared in OpenSecrets. Sign up for their weekly newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.

The Kentucky governor’s race has been nothing short of a financial juggernaut, with gubernatorial candidates collectively raking in more than $36.8 million in contributions, a new OpenSecrets analysis found.

The booming fundraising puts the race on track to set a new record in the state. The most ever collectively raised by gubernatorial candidates in a prior election year was $37.1 million in 2007.

As money continues to pour into this year’s gubernatorial race, incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear has a hefty cash advantage after raising over three times as much as his Republican rival in the general election, Attorney General Daniel Cameron.

Beshear is leading the pack in fundraising with an eye-popping $17.3 million raised so far this election. About $10 million of that was raised for the general election, new campaign finance disclosures filed Sept. 12 show. The incumbent governor’s campaign has already spent more than $10.7 million on the general, with $4.2 million cash on hand at the start of September.

After winning the Republican primary in May to become the first major-party Black nominee for governor in Kentucky’s history, Cameron raised about $2.8 million for the general election. His campaign’s total fundraising this cycle has topped $4.6 million, according to new campaign finance filings submitted Sept. 12.

During the general election period, Cameron has spent about $1.4 million and had about $1.4 million cash on hand at the start of September.

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While incumbents and top fundraisers are often at an advantage in elections, Cameron has won races where he was outraised before.

The top fundraiser in the 12-candidate Republican primary field was Kelly Craft, who served as United Nations ambassador in former President Donald Trump’s administration, though her campaign was heavily self-funded. Craft’s campaign brought in over $12.3 million ahead of the May primary including the candidate’s self-financing — over $10 million more than Cameron raised during the primary. But Trump ultimately endorsed the Kentucky attorney general, and he went on to win the nomination.

Both Beshear and Cameron took money from political action committees. But Beshear has benefitted from more than twice as much PAC money as Cameron, with the candidates having taken $134,000 and $69,900 respectively

The bulk of Beshear’s political action committee contributions during the 60-day pre-general election period have come from PACs affiliated with unions. He has also taken from several corporate PACs affiliated with companies in the healthcare industry including $2,100 from Eli Lilly And Company’s PAC, $1,000 from Genesis Healthcare Corp PAC, $2,000 from Molina Healthcare’s PAC, $2000 from Centene Corp. PAC and $2,000 from Elevance Health PAC.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (Shutterstock)

Beshear also took $2,000 from a PAC affiliated with WalMart, $2,100 from Duke Energy’s PAC, $2,100 from Deloitte PAC, $2,100 from CSX’s PAC, $2,000 from Dell Technologies’ PAC, $2,100 from Atmos Energy Corp’s PAC and $2,100 from a PAC affiliated with Nucor, a steel company.

Kentucky’s identity is intrinsically linked to bourbon, and the alcoholic beverage industry wields influence far beyond barrels of booze. Beshear’s campaign tapped into this, securing financial support from key industry players including $2,100 — the state’s campaign contribution cap — from Beam Suntory’s PAC, $2,100 from the Kentucky Distillers’ Association’s PAC and $2,100.00 from Diago North America’s PAC.

Cameron also enjoyed his share of corporate PAC support. His campaign’s top corporate contributors include PACs affiliated with Koch Industries, Home Depot and Lifepoint Health, which each gave $2,100 to his campaign — the legal limit in the state.

Cameron also received $2,100 from Save America, Trump’s PAC.

Some PACs played both sides. For example, the Kentucky Land Title Association gave $2,100 to each candidate.

Political ads flood Kentucky governor’s race

Political advertising has flooded the airwaves in Kentucky as a part of the hotly-contested gubernatorial race with abortion emerging as a key issue.

On Sept. 20, Beshear’s campaign released an attack ad targeting Cameron on abortion rights.

“Anyone who believes there should be no exceptions for rape and incest could never understand what it’s like to stand in my shoes,” the woman in the ad says, sharing a story about being sexually assaulted by her stepfather.

Earlier this month, Beshear launched another ad campaign describing Cameron’s previously stated opposition to exceptions for rape as “extreme” and “dangerous.”

While Cameron previously expressed opposition to exceptions to abortion bans, he indicated on Sept. 18 that he would sign legislation that allows exceptions for rape and incest. Cameron also announced that he supports birth control.

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Planned Parenthood Action Kentucky, a PAC largely funded by the political arm of Planned Parenthood’s national organization, also launched a six-figure ad campaign attacking Cameron over his anti-abortion rights stance.

While Beshear has an edge over Cameron when it comes to campaign fundraising and the support of several PACs, outside groups have poured big money into the race supporting both candidates.

School Freedom Fund, a super PAC allied with the conservative Club For Growth, is one group that has been heavily involved in opposing Beshear with spending reaching around $3 million.

The super PAC recently launched an ad claiming that Beshear’s decision to release some prisoners early during the COVID-19 pandemic allowed a man convicted of sodomizing a child to “roam free” — a claim that has been debunked. Multiple ads bankolled by School Freedom Fund have raise questionsand been debunked.

School Freedom Fund was almost entirely bankrolled by Jeff Yass, the billionaire founder of Susquehanna International Group, during the 2022 cycle. The School Freedom Fund super PAC is also affiliated with Club For Growth, a pro-free market group co-founded by billionaire GOP megadonor Harlan Crow – whose close relationship with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has received recent scrutiny – and largely funded by Yass and Republican-aligned billionaire shipping magnate Richard Uihlein.

Bluegrass Freedom Action, another PAC supporting Cameron’s run, spent more than $4.4 million to help Cameron in the Republican primary and has continued to spend during the general election — racking up more than $1.43 million in ad buys by the first week of September, according to Lexington Herald-Leader reporting using numbers from ad tracking firm Medium Buying.

The largest contributor to the pro-Cameron PAC has been the Concord Fund, a “dark money” group previously named Judicial Crisis Network that does not disclose its donors. Concord Fund is part of a shape-shifting network of secretly-funded conservative nonprofits working to reshape the federal judiciary. It is connected to Leonard Leo, a powerful leader in the conservative legal movement who helped shape Trump’s unprecedented effort to stack the federal judiciary with conservative judges.

Defending Bluegrass Values, a PAC tied to the Democratic Governors Association, has also raised and spent big money on the Kentucky gubernatorial race. The PAC has reported more than $4 million in contributions in campaign finance filings and has made $13.7 million in ad buys supporting Beshear’s reelection campaign as of the first week of September — more than every other PAC spending on the race combined, according to Lexington Herald-Leader reporting.

OpenSecrets is a nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit research and news organization tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy.