A poll taken from mid-July to mid-October 2021 gave him overall approval of 54 percent, about the same rating as the 2020 poll gave him on jobs and the economy, with many undecided. People were hungry for facts and guidance, and Beshear and Health Commissioner Steven Stack did a generally good job of delivering both.Ī poll in October 2020, after Beshear issued a mask mandate, showed his pandemic work was approved by more than 2 to 1. In a state fractured by 10 television markets, most dominated by other states, state-government news is often scant, but Beshear’s daily pandemic press conferences became appointment video, even online. But early in the pandemic, Kentuckians got to know Andy Beshear, perhaps in a way no Kentucky governor has ever been known. Some of that criticism was warranted, such as legislators’ complaints that Beshear wasn’t consulting with them, despite his inaugural pledge to “lead with an outstretched hand,” and that he bungled the huge surge in unemployment claims, spurning their offer of staff help. When Beshear sent state troopers to noncompliant churches to put notices on cars telling people they should quarantine themselves, Republicans began criticizing Beshear, and they haven’t stopped. Gerth: What was Andy Beshear thinking proposing Waterfront Park expansion without GOP support?Īnd these were powers no governor had ever used statewide: closing schools and nonessential businesses, ordering citizens to wear masks, and prohibiting gatherings – even church services. In the twinkling of an eye, Beshear was in command, like governors of old, with extra emergency powers the governor’s office got in 1998, the last time Democrats ran the legislature. So, when the son took office, as a Democrat in a Capitol with Republican supermajorities in both legislative chambers, expectations were not high.īut just as the General Assembly was ready to steamroll Beshear on the budget and other issues, the coronavirus arrived and turned politics upside down. He had been attorney general, but that office had never directly produced a governor before.īeshear’s main asset was his last name – his father had been a recent two-term governor – and his main advantage was that he was running against Matt Bevin, who made more enemies than friends in the term that followed Steve Beshear’s. Andy Beshear lacked the experience and political following usually needed to be an effective leader of a diverse and often fractious state. Two years ago Friday, Kentucky inaugurated the nation’s second-youngest governor, a lawyer just turned 42.
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