Kentucky’s Democratic Governor Launches Universal Pre-K Program, Defying Republican-Controlled Legislature

Kentucky’s Democratic governor, Andy Beshear, is launching a universal pre-K program via executive order, sidestepping the Republican-controlled legislature, as he continues to make waves as a potential 2028 presidential candidate.Mr. Beshear has pushed the Republican-controlled legislature to approve his universal pre-K plan for years. But earlier this year, the legislature declined to provide funds for the program in the two-year budget.On Thursday, the governor issued an executive order to create a universal pre-K pilot program in two rural school districts, Rockcastle County Public Schools — which serves 2,600 students — and Robertson County Schools, which serves 430 students. “Unfortunately, the Republican supermajority refused to fund Pre-K for All this session, turning a no-brainer into a partisan issue,” Mr. Beshear said. “We will not accept that outcome, because Kentucky’s kids deserve better. So do our families who need childcare, and our businesses which need a strong workforce to remain successful.”He said the plan will rely on funds from economic development programs. However, the plan has angered state Republicans who have repeatedly rebuffed his calls for universal pre-K. In a statement, the Kentucky Senate president, Robert Stivers, questioned the funding source for the program, and how much it would cost if it were expanded statewide.“These are not political questions. They are fundamental questions of governance and budgeting,” Mr. Stivers said. “When taxpayer dollars are repurposed, Kentuckians are owed a clear accounting of where those dollars are coming from, what tradeoffs may follow and how those decisions are being made. That level of transparency is essential to maintaining public trust.”The House speaker, David Osborne, said Kentucky residents are “right to question if the governor understands his role in state government.”“The governor has continually failed to present a thoughtful, well-developed plan in a manner that garners even modest support from lawmakers,” he said. “Major commitments of taxpayer dollars should not be made by robbing one program to create another or without a plan for what happens when funding is exhausted.”The debate over Mr. Beshear’s decision to launch his pilot program without the legislature’s approval comes amid rising interest in his potential as a Democratic candidate for president in 2028.The governor, who won two terms in a traditionally red state, has a high favorability rating. A Morning Consult poll released in February found that 65 percent of respondents approve of his job performance, making him the third most popular governor in the country. Mr. Beshear, who frequently talks about his faith and has cast himself as a moderate Democrat, has not said whether he plans to run for president in 2028. However, he told MS NOW that he is “comfortable” being included in lists of potential candidates. He has had to contend with a Republican supermajority, which overrode several of his vetoes this year, pushing through legislation that would create provisional concealed carry permits for 18-to 20-year-olds and liability protection for the firearms industry. In recent years, Republicans have also pushed through legislation banning Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care and a ban on gender-affirming care for minors. Speaking to Politico in March, Mr. Beshear defended his decision to veto the ban on gender-affirming care for minors and tried to flip the script on conservatives, saying the bill would have taken away parents’ ability to make decisions about their children’s upbringing.“The bill I vetoed was prohibiting all trans care for youth — all of it. What it meant was a parent wasn’t going to be able to make the best decision they could for their kids, and I know parents that are going through this with their kids,” he said. “None of the decisions are easy, but they’re better being made by a parent than by a government that is trying to just shove its values on others.”As Democrats prepare for 2028 and are searching for ways to win back constituencies that have been slipping away, such as working-class voters and young men, Mr. Beshear is urging the party to drop the “advocacy speak.”Speaking at the Michigan Democratic Party’s Legacy Dinner, Mr. Beshear said the party lost voters by letting “advocacy speak seep into our Democratic language.”Specifically, he criticized Democrats for using words such as “food insecure” rather than “hunger” or talking about a “justice involved population” instead of inmates.“Sometimes these terms make it feel like we’re talking down to people, like we’re talking at them, instead of to them,” he said. “The idea was we reduce stigma. But we don’t reduce stigma by changing words. We reduce stigma by changing parts.”He also urged Democrats to focus on their policies and why they believe they will make voters’ lives better, saying, “When you are staring at the cost of your child’s next prescription, wondering how you can pay for it and put food on the table, nothing else is important, and the latest freakout in Washington, D.C., doesn’t even register.”

Kentucky’s Democratic Governor Launches Universal Pre-K Program, Defying Republican-Controlled Legislature

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