Governor Andy Beshear is reportedly on a shortlist of potential picks to join the presidential ticket with Vice President Kamala Harris following President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race Sunday. That leaves Kentucky asking – what happens if he is chosen, and then, what happens if the Democratic ticket wins?
If selected as the candidate for vice president, state officials say Beshear would still be allowed to serve as Kentucky’s governor until at least Jan. 20, 2025 – the date of the next presidential inauguration.
Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman would become acting governor if a potential Harris-Beshear ticket is elected and would serve as both governor and lt. governor for the remaining three years of Beshear’s current term, Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams told LINK nky Monday.
Kentucky does not have “resign to run” laws that require a candidate to resign elected office to run for another, including the U.S. vice presidency, said Adams. That means Beshear would likely remain governor unless and until he becomes vice president or for the remainder of his gubernatorial term should he not be elected to federal office, he told LINK.
“Simply being nominated does not create a conflict. He will still be the governor while running for vice president and if that ticket were unsuccessful, he would still be the governor and nothing would change,” Adams said. “It’s only if you win the incompatible office that you have to leave your prior position to accept the new office. If he were to become vice president, he would have to resign as governor to accept that office.”
The Kentucky state constitution prohibits a governor from holding the office of governor and being U.S. vice president – what Adams said is an “incompatible office” under the state constitution – at the same time.
A Harris-Beshear ticket, for now, is purely speculative. Harris is not yet the Democratic presidential nominee; the nominee won’t be formally announced until the party’s national convention scheduled for Aug. 19-22 in Chicago. President Biden was the party’s presumptive nominee based on his primary election wins until he withdrew from the race on July 21.
Beshear was elected to his second term as governor in 2023, defeating Republican and former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron. His second term began last December. In recent weeks, the governor’s name has been floated along with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as potential running mates on a Harris ticket.
On Monday, Beshear wholeheartedly endorsed Harris for the party’s nomination in an interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.
“I’m excited to fully endorse Vice President Harris for the next president of the United States. The vice president is smart and strong which will make her a good president. But she’s also kind and has empathy, which can make her a great president. And the contrast between her and those running on the other side couldn’t be clearer,” said Beshear. “She has my full endorsement and I’m going to do everything I can to support her.”
When asked if anyone from the Democratic party had reached out to him about possibly joining the Harris ticket, Beshear demurred, telling MSNBC, “I don’t know how that process is going to work. It’s flattering to be a part of it.” Asked if he were open to the possibility of being on the ticket, the governor was a bit more candid. “I think if someone calls you on that, what you do is at least listen.”
Beshear then made some pointed remarks about former President Donald Trump’s current running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance.
Vance – the author of the bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy that explored Vance’s Appalachian roots – was announced as Trump’s nominee at the RNC in Milwaukee last week. The memoir, released in 2016 and made into a 2020 film, was met with both acclaim and controversy for its depiction of the Appalachian people.
“I want the American people to know what a Kentuckian is and what they look like because let me just tell you J.D. Vance ain’t from here,” he said.
As for Coleman, any potential move to acting governor should Beshear exit would be the first time since the gubernatorial resignation of late U.S. Sen. Wendell Ford (D-Ky.) that a Kentucky lieutenant governor has taken over long-term as the state’s top executive. Late Kentucky governor and state senator Julian Carroll became acting governor when Ford left the governorship for Washington in 1974; Carroll was elected to his own gubernatorial term the next year in 1975.
If Beshear leaves, Coleman could potentially serve as acting governor for almost three years, the remainder of Beshear’s second term, Adams, a Republican, told LINK. That may cause some consternation in both the Democrat and Republican parties, he said, but that’s how he sees it right now.
“I think the Democrats, if (a Beshear resignation) happens, would want her to be able to appoint a lieutenant governor. I think some Republicans would want there to be a special election in 2026, the first regular election after the vacancy, and I think they would not be happy with my opinion,” he told LINK. “I’m kind of in the middle; I think she would get to serve for three years but she would not get to appoint a lieutenant governor.”
LINK asked the Kentucky Senate Republican office for a statement about a potential Harris-Beshear ticket after Biden dropped out Sunday. The following statement from NKY Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ryland Heights, centered on the Biden presidency was sent in reply:
“I thank the President for his career in public service. However, with record-high inflation resulting in increased costs for groceries, home prices, energy bills, and everyday items that Kentucky families need as well as international weakness resulting in foreign instability, the President’s actions have led to a point where this decision was inevitable,” the statement read.