Andy Beshear

With Kamala Harris‘ ascension to the top of the 2024 presidential ticket, there’s been some good-natured joking about a characteristic shared among many of her rumored VP contenders.

They’re white men, or in the words of one clever Twitter Gay™: “Radioactively caucasian!”

But as queer people, we know about the ills of listening to stereotypes. Though Kamala’s possible VP picks may look conservative, they all boast strong records on LGBTQ+ issues.

Kentucky governor Andy Beshear is said to be at the top of the list, especially given his status as a Democrat in a deep-red state. Politicians in Beshear’s position sometimes run away from LGBTQ+ issues; but the two-term gov is trying something different.

He’s embraced them, and won re-election by more than five points over his Republican opponent. As we said: don’t judge a book by its cover!

Beshear, whose father also served as Kentucky governor, won his first gubernatorial race in 2019. Shortly after arriving in office, he posed for pictures with drag queens who were at the capital for an LGBTQ+ rally.

Naturally, Republicans pounced on him for his welcoming gesture, with one state senator calling on him to resign. But rather than back away from the controversy, Beshear affirmed his support for queer people. He said “spreading intolerance is antithetical” to the role of a representative.

The Republican, Phillip Wheeler, wound up backtracking…

When Beshear talks about LGBTQ+ issues, he often highlights the themes of kindness and compassion. His political philosophy appears to be in line with the Golden Rule: treat others as you would like to be treated.

While he was running for re-election last year, Beshear vetoed ant-trans legislation, and proudly stood up for trans kids.

“All children are children of God. That’s what my faith teaches me, and I was going to stand up for the most marginalized children who didn’t deserve either a state legislature or an entire campaign picking on them,” he said in a November interview with MSNBC.

He continued, “I did it, because it was the right thing. But I will say, the way these Super PACs and my opponent went about their campaign was just mean. And it was gross. And it was cruel. And people don’t like that. That is not who we are.”

A religious man, Beshear leans on his faith when talking about why he’s pro-LGBTQ+ (opposed to many conservatives, who use religion as a homophobic shield).

“Think about what some people are doing. Trying to dehumanize other human beings. Trying to turn people against each other. To foster hate and anger towards another American, another Kentuckian. Why? So you can elect one more person with a certain letter next to their name?” he said.

“This can’t be a ruleless type of game, because it’s so much more than a game. Ask any of these kids.”

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From speaking at Pride events to naming an out gay poet laureate, Beshear is a steadfast ally. As a result, the gays have his back!

It doesn’t hurt that he’s… kinda cute? For a politician. And in a Dad/Mr. Rogers sorta way.

In recent TV interviews, Beshear has turned his steely glare towards JD Vance, a certified antigay creep who’s weirding everybody out. In efforts to seem cool and relatable, the Peter Thiel-backed Ohio senator has been riffing about… Diet Mountain Dew being racist?

Despite only being in the spotlight for one week, Vance seems completely lost. Perhaps that’s because the former Trump hater holds no core beliefs and has no idea what to say or how to land a joke.

Beshear articulated the argument quite well on CNN.

“JD Vance is a phony. He’s fake,” he said. “He first says Donald Trump is like he’s Hitler. Now he’s acting like he’s Lincoln. The problem with JD Vance is, he has no conviction. But I guess his running mate has 34.”

Gurl… our new favorite piece of white bread ATE!!! JD Vance is now nothing but skin and bones!

Andy Beshear is congenial in the streets, and harsh in the sheets in front of the camera. We’re impressed!

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