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Kentucky Gov. Beshear: State's economic future stronger than ever. Challenge now is to rise above differences

Alex Acquisto, Lexington Herald-Leader on

Published in News & Features

In his fifth annual address, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear touted the state’s historic private-sector economic investment and encouraged residents — and lawmakers — to rise above political and ideological differences and see each other first as neighbors, not adversaries.

A year into his second and final term as Kentucky’s governor, Beshear painted an optimistic picture of Kentucky’s financial future Wednesday night at his fifth State of the Commonwealth address.

The governor, widely considered to be on his party’s shortlist for a presidential contender in 2028, repeatedly emphasized the need to “set politics aside,” instead highlighting “everyday issues” that matter most to Kentuckians, like affordable health care, jobs and infrastructure — a theme that was in keeping his year-in-review December interview with the Herald-Leader.

“Every day, we are welcoming more businesses, more families and more visitors to our New Kentucky Home,” the governor said in the House chambers Wednesday.

“We are making progress like we have never seen before, and the rest of the country is noticing. Right now, all eyes are on Kentucky,” he said, touting the more than $35 billion in private sector investment and 59,800 full-time jobs over the last five years.

As the state celebrates its flourishing economy, “Let’s push out all the toxic noise we hear on TV and social media. Let’s all show more compassion and forgiveness to one another. And we can do this by focusing on the core areas where we can and should find common ground, ” Beshear said.

Beshear repeatedly referred to “our new Kentucky home” as a “place where we are focused on our people.”

“This starts with recognizing that when most Kentuckians — and when most Americans — wake up in the morning, we aren’t thinking about politics. We wake up thinking about our jobs and whether we make enough to support our families. We wake up thinking about the next doctor’s appointment for ourselves, our parents or our kids. We wake up thinking about the roads and bridges we’ll drive on that day.

Beshear’s speech came on the second day of the Kentucky General Assembly’s 30-day regular session. Lawmakers have already filed close to 200 bills, including a proposal to lower the state income tax from 4% to 3.5%, a proposal to require the Ten Commandments be displayed in all public K-12 classrooms, a bill to make water fluoridation optional, and a bill to invalidate Beshear’s executive order last year limiting the controversial and largely-discredited practice of “conversion therapy” on LGBTQ minors.

Beshear used a plural pronoun — “we” — when referencing Kentucky’s economic status. But after the speech, Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said the governor took too much credit for accomplishments that aren’t solely his own.

“I think he should turn around and talk about the legislature when he talks about all the indices,” Stivers said on KET. “That all really started in 2016,” when Republicans took back the majority on the heels of the first election of President Donald Trump. “The person who got to the benefit of announcing these types of situations, not necessarily because of the efforts, has gotten to be this governor.”

House Speaker David Osborne praised Beshear for delivering a “great speech — he really has become a very skillful orator and does a great job of communicating,” he said.

 

But, “I still believe the true test of the state of the commonwealth is not something that is dictated to the people of Kentucky. I think every single person in Kentucky understands what their state of the commonwealth is. I think that’s what continues to drive our policy, and that’s what continues to drive voter habits.”

Beshear’s big ask

“For Kentucky to reach its full potential,” Beshear said, Republicans must “stop the attacks on our public school system.”

Instead, he said, the legislature should raise teacher salaries and implement universal pre-kindergarten, which, he said, “provides proven, life-long gains,” and “is the single most impactful policy that can boost our workforce.”

The state’s overwhelming rejection of Amendment 2 — a GOP-backed measure to change the state constitution to allow the legislature to spend tax dollars outside the public school system on private, religious and charter schools — is a “mandate to prioritize public education.”

“Let’s stop with the attempts to defund; let’s stop with the voucher nonsense; let’s stop the end-runs through tax shelters,” Beshear said.

In his nearly 40-minute speech, Beshear touched on important and tragic milestones in recent state history, including the West Kentucky tornadoes and East Kentucky flooding; he touted the state’s still-declining rate of fatal drug overdose rates; said he was proud to hopefully be the last governor who works on the four-lane Mountain Parkway, which runs from Campton to Salyersville and for which work began during his father’s administration; and his work establishing the Cleaner Water Program to bring clean drinking water to all 120 counties, as well as approving projects to bring high-speed internet to all households.

The governor ended by encouraging Kentuckians to “be thoughtful,” and for lawmakers to “be thoughtful, even prayerful, about the legislation you choose to pass this session.”

When a neighbor loses someone they love, “we are there to lend a hand or a hug. We don’t ask who they voted for,” Beshear said. “When a person who attends your church is sick, we don’t check their social media before asking if we can help. When your child’s friend needs a ride to an event or a practice, we don’t ask to see their parents’ voter registration. When someone gets hurt, you keep checking in on them, without asking whether they watch Fox News or MSNBC.

“These small acts of love – they grow. The kindness we show others compounds. So, Kentucky, this year, let’s double-down.”

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©2025 Lexington Herald-Leader. Visit kentucky.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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