Andy Beshear

Andrew Graham Beshear (born November 29, 1977) is an American attorney and politician who has served as the 63rd governor of Kentucky since 2019.

A member of the Democratic Party, he is the son of former Governor Steve Beshear.

He graduated in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude.

He then attended the University of Virginia School of Law, receiving a Juris Doctor in 2003.

In 2005, Beshear was hired by the law firm Stites & Harbison, at which his father was a partner.

He represented the developers of the Bluegrass Pipeline, which would have transported natural gas liquid through Kentucky.

The project was controversial; critics voiced environmental concerns and objections to the use of eminent domain for the pipeline.

His father's office maintained that there was no conflict of interest with the son's representation.

Beshear also represented the Indian company UFLEX, which sought $20 million in tax breaks from his father's administration, drawing criticism from ethics watchdogs over a potential conflict of interest.

His father, a lawyer and politician, was the governor of Kentucky from 2007 to 2015.

After high school, Beshear studied anthropology at Vanderbilt University, where he was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity.

]] In November 2013, Beshear announced his candidacy in the 2015 election for Attorney General of Kentucky, to succeed Democrat Jack Conway, who could not run for reelection, due to term limits.

Beshear defeated Republican Whitney Westerfield with 50.1% of the vote to Westerfield's 49.9%.

The margin was approximately 2,000 votes.

Beshear sued Governor Matt Bevin several times over what he argued was Bevin's abuse of executive powers during Beshear's tenure as attorney general and while he was campaigning against Bevin for governor.

Beshear won some cases and lost others.

Beshear was elected the 50th attorney general of Kentucky in November 2015 and served from January 2016 to December 2019.

[[File:Kentucky attorney general election results, 2015.svg|thumb|Results by county {{legend|#7996e2|Beshear}}

{{legend|#7996e2|50–60%}}

{{legend|#6674de|60–70%}}

{{legend|#E27F7F|Westerfield}}

{{legend|#E27F7F|50–60%}}

{{legend|#D75D5D|60–70%}}

{{legend|#D72F30|70–80%}}

{{legend|#C21B18|80–90%}}

In April 2016, he sued Bevin over his mid-cycle budget cuts to the state university system.

The Kentucky Supreme Court issued a 5–2 ruling agreeing with Beshear that Bevin did not have the authority to make mid-cycle budget cuts without the Kentucky General Assembly's approval.

Also in 2016, the Kentucky Supreme Court unanimously sided with Bevin when Beshear sued him on the grounds that Bevin lacked the authority to overhaul the University of Louisville's board of trustees.

In 2017, the Kentucky Supreme Court threw out a lawsuit Beshear brought against Bevin, holding that Bevin had the power to temporarily reshape boards while the legislature is out of session; Bevin called Beshear's lawsuit a "shameful waste of taxpayer resources".

In April 2018, Beshear successfully sued Bevin for signing Senate Bill 151, a controversial plan to reform teacher pensions, with the Kentucky Supreme Court ruling the bill unconstitutional.

Bevin said Beshear "never sues on behalf of the people of Kentucky. He does it on behalf of his own political career".

As attorney general, he sued Governor Matt Bevin several times over issues such as pensions, and defeated Bevin by just over 5,000 votes in the 2019 gubernatorial election.

Beshear was reelected to a second term in 2023 by a wider margin of 5%.

As of 2024, Beshear and Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman are the only Democratic statewide elected officials in Kentucky.

Beshear was born in Louisville, the son of Steve and Jane Beshear.

He graduated from Henry Clay High School in Lexington, Kentucky.

Throughout October 2019, Beshear filed nine lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies for their alleged involvement in fueling Kentucky's opioid epidemic.

Beshear forwent a run for a second term as attorney general to run for governor against Bevin.

He resigned from the attorney general's office on December 10, 2019, before his inauguration as governor the same day.

By executive order, Beshear appointed Attorney General-elect Daniel Cameron to serve the remainder of his term.