Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear to speak at Democratic National Convention
Gov. Andy Beshear will address the Democratic National Convention in Chicago Monday night.
“Tune in to the @DemConvention tonight to hear my message of hope, freedom and unity,” Beshear post on X, the website formerly known as Twitter, Monday morning.
He did not specify a time for his remarks, but prime time convention programming will air live from the United Center in Chicago from 6:30-11 p.m. Eastern Monday.
Beshear said he’ll be “talking about how we’ve got to elect Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States.”
The 46-year-old Kentucky governor was among a handful of Democrats who was vetted to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, but she ultimately chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, with whom Beshear has a close relationship through the Democratic Governors Association.
At a breakfast event for Nevada Democrats, Beshear gave a hint about his focus on Monday.
“I’m going to be speaking on reproductive freedom,” he told the group.
It would not be the first time. Railing against Kentucky’s near-total ban on abortion was a central plank on Beshear’s successful reelection platform where he beat Trump-backed Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron by five points.
In the months since, Beshear joined forces with Hadley Duvall, a woman whose story about being raped and impregnated by her stepfather at 12 years old has been featured in Beshear commercials as well as Biden and Harris campaign materials.
Duvall will speak immediately before Beshear, according to a lineup released by the DNC Monday afternoon. Duvall will share the stage with Kaitlyn Joshua of Louisiana and Amanda and Josh Zurawski of Texas, who have all also been outspoken about their struggles accessing reproductive health care after the fall of Roe v. Wade.
Beshear has also, despite missing out on the so-called “veepstakes,” continued to train his fire on GOP vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance, R-OH. On CNN Sunday night, Beshear lampooned Vance for bringing up Jeffrey Epstein in a criticism of Harris’ record on inflation.
“For this guy to mention Jeffrey Epstein when he has encouraged women to stay in relationships with domestic violence and when he called someone getting impregnated through rape as inconvenient is really something,” Beshear said.
Harris is expected to speak Thursday, and Walz will speak Wednesday.
Also expected on the stage Monday is President Joe Biden, who will be delivering the keynote address. Biden’s wife, First Lady of the United States Jill Biden, will also be speaking. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson will give the welcome address Monday. Prominent union leader UAW President Shawn Fain will also speak.
The convention stage is seen as a proving grounds or launchpad for Democrats with national ambitions. Such was the case for former President Barack Obama, who made headlines with his 2004 speech as an Illinois state senator; that speech helped catapult him to the 2008 presidential nomination.
The official live stream of the 2024 Democratic National Convention will be available at DemConvention.com. It will also be available on a variety of platforms, including on AppleTV, RokuTV, FireTV and these social media sites:
Amazon Prime Video
Beshear is also slated to appear at a host of DNC-sponsored events in Chicago throughout the week, with engagements with the committee’s Labor Council, Rural Council and Small Business Council.
This story was originally published August 19, 2024 at 10:04 AM.
