With Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Democrats eye a VP pick who can win over blue-collar voters

Even if not directly stated, Andy Beshear knew why he was on MSNBC's "Morning Joe": an audition.

About halfway through an 11-minute interview Monday morning, the 48-year-old Kentucky governor, who comes from the state's political royalty, seamlessly turned his attention to Ohio Sen. JD Vance, who last week was picked as Donald Trump’s running mate.

“I want the American people to know what a Kentuckian is and what they look like, because let me tell you, JD Vance ain’t from here,” Beshear said.

Beshear’s jab was no accident.

Vance’s selection last week was viewed, in part, through the lens of geography. He is from a small, poverty-stricken town in Ohio and seen as someone who could solidify the Trump campaign in key swaths of the Midwest and Pennsylvania.

After President Joe Biden made the historic decision to get out of the 2024 presidential race on Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris became the party’s likely nominee and started the process to pick a running mate. Her shortlist includes many white governors from politically important states, including Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, Minnesota’s Tim Walz and Beshear.

Unlike the others, Beshear’s red-hued state is likely not in play in 2024. The two-term red-state governor, though, won re-election last year in a state Trump won by more than 20 percentage points in 2020. He also won by 22 percentage points in the eastern Kentucky county that Vance referenced in his Republican National Convention speech, a county Trump claimed by 52 points in 2020. In a region where Democrats are still fighting for votes, he is seen as someone with a bipartisan reputation who can serve as a counterbalance to Vance.

“People know that he is someone who can