Kentucky governor looks beyond virus to post-pandemic world

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Gov. Andy Beshear says political rancor has ratcheted up since his father was governor, but he's holding out hope for bipartisan progress and thinks Kentucky's economy is primed to come roaring out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Democratic governor of a Republican-leaning state offered a rosy outlook — and a possible template for navigating through an era of divided government — in an interview with The Associated Press.

His optimism comes despite a bruising legislative session.

Kentucky's Republican-dominated legislature clipped Beshear's executive powers and overrode his vetoes on issues ranging from pension changes for future teachers to scholarship tax credits to pay for private school. Much of his agenda stalled and he faced impeachment petitions, which ultimately fizzled, in the backlash against his coronavirus restrictions.

But bipartisan agreements to expand early voting in Kentucky and appropriate massive amounts of new federal relief aid have Beshear feeling cautiously optimistic about sustaining some newfound cooperation.

"I hope we can move beyond politics, not just in the pandemic, but on those every day, kitchen table issues that keep people up at night,” Beshear told the AP this week in a phone interview.

Some Republicans say Beshear could have done more to promote bipartisanship while issuing executive orders to combat the pandemic.

“He had a chance to hold onto his early COVID popularity and build lasting goodwill but squandered it with overreach," said Scott Jennings, a Kentuckian and former adviser to President George W. Bush. “A little humility and common sense would’ve gone a long way.”

Beshear is aware of the shifting tone of the public discourse, and said cutting through myriad challenges has become more...