Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear opened his campaign for reelection with a statewide bus tour ahead of the state's general election in November.
Gov. Beshear stopped in Bowling Green on Friday evening, following visits to Elizabethtown, Henderson, Owensboro, and Paducah earlier in the day. Beshear will head to Lexington and several eastern Kentucky counties on Saturday before concluding the tour Sunday in Louisville and northern Kentucky.
The incumbent Governor was greeted with chants of, “four more years” as he spoke to a packed house of supporters that spilled out the door of Spencer’s Coffee in downtown Bowling Green.
Gov. Beshear said the western Kentucky region will be important in his efforts for reelection and encouraged supporters to help his campaign by canvassing, donating, and getting to the polls to vote in the general election.
“I’m here tonight because I love Bowling Green, but because we need your help,” Beshear said. “We’re going to need every bit of effort you’ve got.”
Gov Beshear highlighted his commonwealth’s record unemployment rate, which has dipped below 4% for the first time since 1976, and his work in creating job growth and investment in the state’s private sector, including an electric battery plant expected to generate job opportunities in Warren County.
He said the combination will create ample job opportunities for Kentuckians.
“We are at that moment, where we can have a good job for every single Kentuckian,” Beshear said. “We can make sure no one is left out, no part of our state is left out, no neighborhood in our cities are left out and groups of people that are far too often left out are included in the coming prosperity.”
Beshear was joined by Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman at the event. Together they spoke about the importance of educators in the state and promised to continue investing in increasing teachers' pay and universal pre-K.
Beshear is coming off a primary election victory where he handily defeated two candidates for the Democratic nominee for governor. The November general election win will pit him against Attorney General Daniel Cameron, the Republican nominee. Cameron defeated a crowded Republican field in this week’s primaryfollowing a contentious primary campaign.
Beshear said he will run his campaign on values that appeal to voters, and avoid partisan issues.
“Investing in things like clean drinking water which isn’t Democrat or Republican, upgrading our infrastructure isn't red or blue; a new job isn't partisan at all,” Beshear said. “While we’re leading with compassion and trying to include everyone, what do you hear from the other side? You hear people stoking fear and division. You hear people trying to turn each other against each other. You hear name-calling. If you wonder why you still see bullying with our kids it's because some adults are showing them how to do it. I think people are going to be able to see how we run and who talks about the future, versus who talks about the other candidate and they’ll know who lives out their faith and values.”
The Governor has enjoyed favorable approval ratings making him one of the most popular governors in the nation.
Kentucky voters will decide who will serve the next four years as governor in the general election that concludes Nov. 7.
