(The Center Square) – With his re-election campaign finally behind him, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has reclaimed the title of the most popular Democratic governor in the United States.
Morning Consult released their quarterly poll late Monday, showing Beshear had a 65% approval rating, which was the fourth highest among the 50 state chief executives. The data intelligence firm polled registered voters in each state through the first quarter of the year.
As recently as last July, Beshear held the top spot among Dems in the report, but his ratings did take somewhat of a hit beginning last summer as he waged a re-election campaign against then-Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron.
Last November, Morning Consult found Beshear’s popularity had dropped from 64% last summer to 59% just before the general election. With a net popularity of 23%, Beshear was ranked the 17th most popular governor in the country.
In the first quarter of this year, Beshear had a 30% disapproval rating, giving him a net popularity of 35%, an increase of more than 52% from last fall.
Throughout his tenure in the governor’s mansion, Beshear has sought to fashion himself as someone who looks beyond partisan politics. He and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman are the only Democrats among Kentucky’s elected state officers. The General Assembly also is controlled by Republicans, which are almost always able to override Beshear’s vetoes.
In the 2024 legislative session, which concluded last week, GOP lawmakers were able to override 20 of the governor’s 23 full vetoes on bills and resolutions.
Beshear has also presided over Kentucky at a time of record economic growth, in terms of new jobs and business investment. That has continued into his second term.
Late last month, he announced Century Aluminum prefers northeastern Kentucky as the site to build the first primary smelter in the U.S. in 45 years. The project, which federal officials said would double the amount of aluminum produced in the country, received $500 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. It would create 1,000 permanent jobs and 5,500 construction jobs.