Poll: six in 10 Kentuckians approve of Governor Beshear’s job performance

The data collected late last year shows an 86% approval rating from democrats, while 46% of republicans approve

FRANKFORT, Ky (WTVQ)- The May primaries are just months away as voters get ready to hit the polls for several state office candidates, including governor.

A new poll shows Governor Andy Beshear with a 60% approval rating in the state. The Democratic Governors Association is pushing the poll, which ranks Beshear among the nation’s top ten governors and the most approved democratic governor.

The data collected late last year shows an 86% approval rating from democrats. While many republicans give Beshear negative marks, about 46% approve of the job he’s done.

“He’s like Joe Biden. He kind of has like a comforter-in-chief vibe going on. If you think back to the early days of the pandemic, people were pouring their cocktails and having ‘happy hour with Andy’, while they watched the press releases. And then you have the two natural disasters in west Kentucky and east Kentucky and he’s out there comforting people and hugging people and appearing like a steady hand on the wheel through those incidents,” says Political Analyst Tres Watson.

However, Watson says those numbers don’t always represent an easy path to reelection.

“What I would caution first of all is that approval ratings are not reelect numbers, it’s not an election poll. It’s a snapshot of what you think about a person, not do you want them to come back to the job,” says Watson.

The governor’s race will have national attention, with both parties interested in the outcome. The party of the candidate who wins could have momentum into the 2024 presidential election.

“Andy Beshear is well-liked. I feel like there’s a lot of people who think he’s done a good job handling the pandemic, handling the natural disasters that have hit the state. There’s a lot of feel good out there. But at the same time, he hasn’t been hit. Nobody’s run negative ads against him. People put out statements and said stuff but politics- its not real until its on t.v,” says Watson.

Watson says he believes there are a few potential candidates who could give Beshear a challenge.

“You’ve got a bunch of candidates who are kind of from the same wing of the party. And generally all like each other, get a long well with each other. So I don’t think you’re going to see a lot of rab-arrousing. You’re not going to see a lot of confrontation because they all hold relatively similar positions on issues. I think its going to be about background and who best suited to beat Andy Beshear in the general election.”

As for who that GOP candidate could be, Watson says there are some that stand out.

“It’s really a test of Tip O’Neill’s old axiom “all politics is local.” If that holds true, Ryan Quarels is your primary winner. He’s the republican nominee. He’s got all the local support and the local activists and people who really know where the votes are out in the counties. He’s got them all lined up,” explains Watson.

“If we’re moving on to a new phase of politics, away from all politics is local to where all politics is national, which kind of, if you follow social media and talk to your friends, it seems kind of like where we are, then Kelly Craft is the most likely person to be the nominee because she’s going to talk about broader larger national issues and she can advertise on those issues, which fit better into a thirty second tv bit than talking about road funding for rural roads in bell county,” says Watson.

Watson says the question remains where is the future of Kentucky headed.

“Elections are about policy. I think that’s where the rub is going to come is how do people feel once advertising is done and there’s somebody running against them offering other solutions to problems the state has. How much can he hold on to those good feelings for things he did in the past versus policy proposals and where the state is headed,” says Watson.

We reached out to the Kentucky Republican Party for comment about the poll. They responded saying quote:

“The only poll that matters is the one taken on election day. We have a strong field of candidates and the republican party stands ready to support our nominee once the primary process is concluded in may. We look forward to electing a republican governor who, unlike Andy Beshear, will work with our super majorities in the general assembly to deliver for Kentucky’s families, workers, and small businesses.”