Dem
47
GOP
53
Presidential campaigns have historically not started until after the midterms, but they are in full swing already. Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) just visited the Iowa State Fair. Maybe he has never had a pork chop on a stick and always wanted to try it. Now Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY) showed up at a big fundraiser in California. After all, Torrey Pines, CA, north of La Jolla, is just a hop, skip, and a jump from Frankfort, KY. He might even have gotten lost on the way to the barbershop and ended up there by accident.
He wowed the big donors and vulnerable House Democrats by telling them they needed to stick to their values. Faking it doesn't work. He told them that when the Kentucky legislature passed one of the nastiest "bathroom bills" in the country, he vetoed it and went on to win reelection later in the year by 5 points anyway. The message was that voters value authenticity, even if they don't like your position on something.
Another point he made is to speak like a normal person, not like someone whose speech was written by a carefully vetted politically correct campaign consultant. Like if someone has an addiction, don't talk about substance abuse disorder. It turns people off and makes you look like a phony.
Beshear is clearly testing the waters, meeting donors and Democratic muckety-mucks. All of them are well aware that Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton were moderate small state governors nobody ever heard of until they were suddenly president. The older ones may remember that from time to time the Democrats have run progressives for president. George McGovern was very progressive and also a World War II combat veteran. He was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1972 and carried Massachusetts. Richard Nixon won the other 49 states. In 1984, the Democrats ran the progressive Walter Mondale. He didn't even win Massachusetts. Fortunately, he did win his home state of Minnesota, so it wasn't a shutout. Ronald Reagan won the other 49 states. Expect to hear these stories often as Beshear travels around the country in the next couple of years.
Other speakers at the gathering were DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene, Joe Biden's NSA Jake Sullivan, and Susan Rice, a top Biden adviser. Even more important was Democratic pollster David Shor, who told the donors that their priorities didn't always align with the voters'. He also told them that young people (especially male noncollege young people) and minorities are fleeing the Democratic Party in droves and they better get the message soon. (V)