# Beshear tells MS NOW he’s ‘comfortable’ with being among Democratic names for 2028  
**Published:** 2026-05-07T14:05:46.000Z  
**Source:** [Kentucky Lantern](https://kentuckylantern.com/briefs/beshear-tells-ms-now-hes-comfortable-with-being-among-democratic-names-for-2028/)  
**Republished from:** [Kentucky Lantern](https://kentuckylantern.com/briefs/beshear-tells-ms-now-hes-comfortable-with-being-among-democratic-names-for-2028/) (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)  
**Canonical:** https://kentuckylantern.com/briefs/beshear-tells-ms-now-hes-comfortable-with-being-among-democratic-names-for-2028/

By McKenna Horsley, [Kentucky Lantern](https://kentuckylantern.com) · May 7, 2026

![](https://kentuckylantern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/image002-1024x565.png) (Gov. Andy Beshear speaks during and interview with MS NOW’s Ali Vitali. (Photo provided by MS NOW))

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said he’s “comfortable” with being among the names of potential Democratic candidates for the 2028 presidential election.

In [a recent interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8UzA7rSNxw)with MS NOW’s Ali Vitali, Beshear said his focus will remain on elections while he is the chair of the Democratic Governors Association.

“Again, I haven’t made any final decision, and I won’t until I’m done being DGA chair, but I certainly at least want that conversation that’s out there to be one that’s focused to where whoever is the nominee can win,” Beshear said. “This next election for Democrats, isn’t a need to win. It’s an absolute have to win.”

Beshear added that he thinks Republican Vice President JD Vance, who could potentially run on the Republican side in 2028, is “just as if not more dangerous than Donald Trump.”

Beshear is term-limited in Kentucky, as he is serving in his second term as governor.

In the MS NOW interview, Beshear also spoke about gubernatorial primary elections, like [Amy Acton](https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/05/05/democrat-amy-acton-and-republican-vivek-ramaswamy-advance-in-ohio-election-for-governor/) becoming the Democratic nominee in Ohio and Rob Sand, who is the sole Democratic candidate in Iowa and whose [Republican opponent](https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/05/05/qa-iowa-gop-gubernatorial-candidates-on-abortion-eminent-domain-esas/)will be decided in June. Beshear said governor races could “create the map for 2028.” He added that if Acton and Sand win, that puts Ohio and Iowa in play for Democrats.

“So for Democrats, it is hugely important to retake the House and to make a run at the Senate, but if we want to compete in more than seven states or five states with zero margin of error in the future, in what will be a critical election, it’s not just flipping the House seat in Des Moines,” Beshear said. “It’s flipping the governor’s mansion in Iowa.”

Beshear also addressed a point of contention among Democrats — whether or not the Democratic National Committee should release [the autopsy report](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5858141-democrats-demand-2024-election-autopsy/) of the party’s 2024 losses. The governor said Democrats have since performed well in other elections, but he said “I’d read the autopsy” though he has not personally asked for it.

President Donald Trump won the last election, Beshear said, because “he convinced that last group of undecided voters that he would work harder on what we’re calling affordability.” However, recent price increases nationwide have created “a big feeling of betrayal that’s out there from a lot of his voters.”

“We can be the party, Democrats on all levels, that say you can disagree with us on a couple of different issues, but we are going to actually work to bring those prices down, to bring your wages up,” Beshear said.

On Tuesday, Beshear signed [emergency orders](https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/05/05/beshear-says-hes-signing-emergency-measures-to-freeze-lower-gas-tax/) to freeze Kentucky’s sales tax on gasoline starting in July and declare a state of emergency that could lower the tax by 10 cents a gallon starting next week.

## Sources

- [Kentucky Lantern](https://kentuckylantern.com/briefs/beshear-tells-ms-now-hes-comfortable-with-being-among-democratic-names-for-2028/)