In a Washington Post Op-Ed released on Monday, November 24, 2025, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, a potential 2028 Democratic Presidential Candidate, called on Democrats, still celebrating their election victories earlier this month and political triumphs following the government shutdown to not just be the party of affordability but also the people that will promote aspiration.
This is a theme being picked up by other potential 2028 Presidential aspirants.
Senator Ruben Gallego spoke about the need to appeal to Americans aspirations in interviews last July.
Former Chicago Mayor, White House Chief of Staff, Japanese Ambassador, and Representative Rahm Emanuel penned an op-ed in the Wall Street called on Democrats to emphasize renewal of the American Dream.
It is a winning optimistic message that successful Democratic Presidential Candidates like Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden have well articulated.
In his op-ed Governor Beshear, in an appeal for Democrats to target rural communities betrayed by Trump and taken for granted by cultural warrior Republicans for decades, wrote:
“Tackling affordability is not enough. To truly lead again, Democrats must be the party of aspiration.
When I look at our country, what worries me is the widespread belief that the American Dream is unattainable, even dead. This is the same American Dream — the promise that if you work hard and play by the rules, you can get ahead — that has inspired generations and lifted America to great heights…”
“Democrats should be the party that will make it possible to build a better life — one in which you’re not just making ends meet but setting your family up for long-term success.”
“Trump has given Democrats a huge opening. He is making it so much harder for people to even get by. During the government shutdown, he was willing to use the hunger of Americans — including children and seniors — as a bargaining chip. It was cruel and wrong, and, importantly, it backfired. His One Big Ugly Bill will kick 17 million Americans, including 200,000 Kentuckians, off their health care and threatens to close 35 rural hospitals in the state, and 338 nationwide. His tariffs are jacking up prices across the board — for no reason.”
“Let’s look at that ugly bill, the worst bill I’ve seen in my lifetime. It’s a slap in the face to rural America. Rural maternal health centers will be forced to close, which means that women will have to drive hours to give birth. Workforce productivity will drop as people who used to be able to see a specialist in their community are forced to travel, at the cost of a day’s work, for an appointment. In Kentucky alone, Trump’s bill could translate into lost jobs for 20,000 health care workers. Rural economies — countless coffee shops, local banks, insurance agencies — will take a hit.”
“All of that moves the American Dream even further out of reach. By focusing on reviving it, Democrats can win back voters who have been leaving the party in droves…”
After speaking about how programs he championed in rural Kentucky communities paid political dividends for him, the Governor, like Senator Gallego, called on Democrats to speak authentically, straight, and less like a college professor or statistician, offered:
“…We’re not going to win the messaging battle if we say that Trump’s policies make people “food insecure.” No, they make people hungry. Kentucky was hit hard by the opioid epidemic. I didn’t lose friends and acquaintances to “substance use disorder”; I lost them to addiction. Addiction is hard, it’s mean, and it kills people. So when people triumph over it, we should give them the credit they deserve by calling it what it is…”
Beshear concluded his piece by stating, again drawing from experience, that Democrats need to be better at answering the question why, conveying:
“…Finally, we have to start communicating our “why.” For me, it’s my faith. I vetoed the nastiest piece of anti-LGBTQ legislation in the country knowing full well that the Republicans in the Kentucky legislature passed it to use in an election year. But tens of millions of dollars of misleading attack ads against me didn’t work. Why? Because I gave Kentuckians the respect of explaining my veto — that I believe all children are children of God and that I didn’t think the legislature should be picking on vulnerable kids. Democrats are good at explaining our “what.” Let’s get good at explaining our “why.”
Commenting to Blog for Arizona on Governor Beshear’s op-ed, Third Way Senior Communications Director Kate deGruyter wrote:
“Beshear is right that Democrats have a real opening to reconnect with rural voters, who are being slammed by rising costs, saddled with unwanted tariffs, and abandoned by the Trump Administration. We can do that if we focus on their priorities and jettison the elitest language and therapy-speech that turns off the middle.
China, the world’s largest buyer of soybeans imported no soybeans from the US in September and is now buying more from Argentina and Brazil instead of the US. Beef prices now sit at an unheard of $6.32 per pound for ground beef. Rural Americans, who have higher rates of heart disease, cancern, injury, and suicide death rates than urban Americans suffer the consequences of a devastating health gap that will be made worse by Republican health care cuts in Trump’s big ugly bill.
When we do those things, voters respond. Governors-elect Spanberger and Sherrill both were able to put up double-digit victories by moving Trump-voting counties back toward the Democrats and they both won over 7% of Trump supporters. For Democrats to win critical battleground states and races, we’ll need follow their example and focus on costs with ideas that can win the middle. That requires a positive vision to reward hard work so Americans can earn a good life where they live.”
The 2028 Democratic candidate that the people feel speaks most authentically about American Renewal of the American Dream where people have an opportunity to realize their aspirations to be successful and a productive citizen and family member is the person most likely to win the party’s nomination.
We at the Blog of Arizona wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and Holiday season.
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