Gov Beshear // Governor.ky.gov

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Over the last several weeks, a slew of Democrats have staked out anti-trans positions in anticipation of the 2026 midterm elections. Many of these Democrats have capitulated on sports, using terms like “biological males” and “boys” to refer to transgender girls. Some have gone further, such as Marcy Kaptur in Ohio, who released an ad boasting that she voted “to keep transgender ideology out of our schools.” But one red-state Democrat has been known for his relatively stalwart opposition to anti-trans laws: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who famously vetoed a sports ban in 2022 in a state Trump would go on to carry by 30 points, fiercely defending his veto at the time. Now, in a CNN interview, Beshear had one message for Democrats taking part in anti-trans hate: “We don’t throw anybody under the bus.”

In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Jake Tapper asked Beshear, “Four years ago, you vetoed a bill in Kentucky that would have banned transgender students from participating in girls and women’s sports. There are a bunch of super PAC ads running against Democratic candidates right now on transgender issues. And in addition to that, some of the Democrats in red states and districts have responded, in some cases saying trans girls should not participate in girls sports. What’s your take on that?”

He responded, “Well, sports need to be fair and there should be no unfair advantage. But in Kentucky, we already had rules in place with our Kentucky High School Athletic Association that prevented any of the things that you saw ultimately in colleges or the rest. In Kentucky, we only had one trans athlete. She was a seventh grader that started a field hockey team in her middle school to make friends. But that bill you’re talking about didn’t just do that. It banned all trans care for youth, any and all, and removed the ability of any parent to make decisions on the healthcare for their children. So it was sweeping. But here’s my take. We don’t throw anybody under the bus. That is not the party that we are. We start as a party of compassion and empathy. And I tell you what, if we want to ruin sports, put the government in charge of them.”

You can see the video here:

This is not nearly the first time Beshear has had this message for Democrats, although it may be the most important given the way some Democrats have faltered on transgender people. Six days after the 2024 election, the Democratic governor wrote a guest essay for The New York Times in which he refused to blame anyone for the loss and explained how he had won his own reelection in a deep-red state the year before, regardless of his vetoes: he stayed true to his principles and values. “Even if some voters might have disagreed with the vetoes, they knew that the next day I would be announcing new jobs, opening a new health clinic, or finishing a new road that would cut 20 minutes off their commute,” Beshear wrote, adding, “I vetoed anti-LGBTQ legislation last year because I believe all children are children of God. And whether people agree with my decision, they know why I’m making it. They know where I am coming from.”

In private, Beshear has been even less reserved. At a fundraising event hosted by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in August 2025, Beshear drew his biggest applause, according to Axios, when he explained his 2023 veto of SB 150, the sweeping bill that banned gender-affirming care for transgender youth as well as sports and bathrooms, calling it “the nastiest anti-trans bills in the nation, and I vetoed it.” He added: “There are some things worth losing over.” That said, Beshear did not lose: he went on to win reelection by five points that November, in a state Trump would carry by 30 a year later, despite heavy anti-trans campaigning against him.

Andy Beshear’s record is not spotless. In the same interview, he praised the Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s policy as having already “prevented” the problems the sports ban claimed to address. Likewise, in 2025 Beshear declined to veto a bill barring state funding for gender-affirming care for incarcerated people, allowing it to become law without his signature, though the legislature’s veto-proof majority would have overridden him regardless. Still, Beshear has been a prominent voice in a deeply red state telling Democrats that capitulation on transgender rights is not the answer, and that principled stances are the right response to the attacks. He has his own reelection to show for it.

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