Gov. Beshear calls for keeping American Dream alive, as GOP largely skips annual speech

FRANKFORT — Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear gave his annual State of the Commonwealth address Wednesday evening, but Republican lawmakers largely weren’t there to hear it. 

In his seventh annual address and final budget proposal, Beshear urged Kentuckians and Americans to keep faith in the American Dream even as he said Republican President Donald Trump’s policies make it seem unattainable. 

“Today, too many American families feel this dream is just a hallucination. The costs of groceries and health care are too high. The family vacation they took as kids just doesn’t fit in the budget,” Beshear said. “That first home for a young couple is simply unaffordable – maybe unattainable. As leaders, we have a responsibility to reignite and refuel the American Dream. For the sake of future generations, it must burn bright in the minds of our people.” 

The governor’s address is typically given to a joint session of the General Assembly in the House chambers, but the Capitol is closed amid a multi-year renovation. Lawmakers began meeting in temporary chambers with limited public access this week as they begin a 60-day session which will decide the next two-year state budget. 

Beshear, seen by some as a possible candidate for president in 2028, recalled words by LaRue County-born President Abraham Lincoln in his first inaugural address: “We are not enemies, but friends. … Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.”

“While the national media fixates on the rage, we focus on results. While social media lifts up the angry and judgmental, we must amplify kindness, acceptance and empathy,” Beshear told the crowd. “This polarized moment in our history won’t last forever. And, like Lincoln all those years ago, Kentucky can lead the way out of the darkness and into the light. It’s our job. It’s our duty. And we cannot leave a broken country to our children.” 

Secretary of State Michael Adams was the lone GOP constitutional officer in the crowd. Speaking to reporters, Adams noted that the governor and the other officers have been sparring over executive branch budget cuts the governor has requested to cover revenue shortfalls in the current fiscal year.

“He’s an excellent speaker,” Adams said of Beshear. “Obviously, this speech was more about 2028 than 2026, but I respect that.”

The General Assembly’s top two Republicans — House Speaker David Osborne and Senate President Robert Stivers — told reporters Wednesday afternoon before the 5:30 p.m. speech that they planned to not attend. 

“I’ll be in my office, watching it on TV,” Osborne said, adding that the address wouldn’t be given in the House chambers, but instead across town at the Kentucky Historical Society’s Thomas D. Clark Center. 

Osborne added that “because of the access issues and the limited number of people that we can accommodate in the temporary space, (Beshear) elected to do it over there.” He later added that the speech would be “poised as a budget address, but we know its political theater.” 

Scottie Ellis, spokesperson for Beshear, told the Lantern that the Beshear administration had spoken to legislative leadership “about where to hold the State of the Commonwealth Address, and it was recommended we plan an alternate location noting that the temporary chambers – designed by the LRC – do not have any form of seating for guests or media.”

“The Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History was selected based on its proximity to the Capitol and so that more people can attend,” she said. 

Osborne called it a “new version of normal in these temporary facilities.”

“Certainly, he could have done it here, but he chose not to, and so it will have the same impact,” he continued. “Hopefully, we will finally get to at least see some of the numbers that we’ve been asking for for months that have not been given to us.” 

In recent years, House Republicans have issued their budget ahead of Beshear’s proposals. However, it’s unlikely budget bills will be filed this week, Osborne said, as House members “haven’t gotten all the information that we needed despite multiple requests” made to the Beshear administration. 

While it’s a tradition for Kentucky governors to deliver State of the Commonwealth addresses to joint sessions of the House and Senate, the Kentucky Constitution requires only that governors “from time to time, give to the General Assembly information of the state of the Commonwealth” and recommendations on expenditures.

‘American Dream’

In his address, Beshear reiterated budget proposals that he had discussed in an embargoed briefing with reporters earlier Wednesday. Among them, he is asking the GOP-controlled General Assembly to approve $500 million in one-time spending to ease families’ “rising cost pressures.” 

Beshear was critical of Trump’s policies, particularly the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or as the governor calls it, the “big, ugly bill. Beshear raised concerns about the legislation’s cuts to Medicaid and how it will impact Kentuckians who rely on the assistance program. Beshear said the law could close 35 rural Kentucky hospitals and eliminate coverage for 200,000 Kentuckians. 

The governor’s budget proposal calls for more money for health care access statewide, including $100 million to lower the cost of coverage on kynect, Kentucky’s Affordable Care Act health insurance exchange, and a $125 million rural hospital fund. 

“The combination of these federal failures threatens the American Dream with lost jobs, higher costs, shorter lives and longer drives just to see the same doctor,” Beshear said. That’s why my budget pushes back, investing in our people and our health care. My budget fully funds Medicaid, even with the increasing cost.” 

Beshear defined the American Dream, a theme he revisited throughout the speech, as “ if you work hard and play by the rules, you can get ahead. You can build a better life. You can leave your kids better off.” 

Beshear said his family has lived the American Dream, as his grandfather could not afford to go to college, but saved money and ultimately bought a local funeral home and supported his kids through college, including former Gov. Steve Beshear, the current governor’s father. 

The governor said several guests at the event embody the American Dream, including representatives from GE Appliances, which announced a multi-million dollar business investment in Kentucky last year, and General Matter, which leased federal land in Paducah for a new uranium enrichment facility. Throughout his speech, Beshear heralded economic development in the state during his time in office. 

Beshear named other guests in the crowd, like Dr. Jason Smith, the CEO of UofL Health, and added he hoped Smith would see the governor’s budget “as a reflection that Kentucky believes in you and we believe in health care for all of our people.” 

Toward the end of the speech, Beshear spoke about what he views as the most important choice for lawmakers this legislative session: funding for universal preschool statewide. Beshear has led a coalition to garner support for what he calls “Pre-K for All” leading up to the session. 

“To members of the General Assembly: We were able to work together on medical marijuana, to make sports betting legal, to protect horse racing and gaming and our horse industry,” Beshear said. “Surely, we can come together for 4-year-olds.” 

Beshear also had a message for those who want to make universal pre-K political. 

“Let me remind you: 4-year-olds can’t vote. They aren’t registered,” he said. “So if you’re against this because you think it gives me a win, what you’re really doing is handing these kids a loss.” 

Stivers and Osborne have typically held a joint press conference before or after the governor’s speech. This year, they opted to issue a statement after the speech, saying that the remarks were received and they were “hopeful they will include the data and information we have requested of his administration for the last several months.” 

“Kentucky is well positioned because of the sound, fiscally responsible policies enacted by Republican supermajorities — often overriding gubernatorial vetoes to do so,” the GOP leaders said. “These policies have produced a record budget reserve trust fund and allowed us to responsibly lower the state income tax. Our legislative focus will remain on protecting core investments, ensuring responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars, and avoiding commitments the Commonwealth cannot sustain. We will continue to prioritize measured growth, accountability, and long-term stability.”

While most Republican lawmakers stayed away from the speech Wednesday, some were among the crowd. 

Sen. Phillip Wheeler, R-Pikeville, told reporters after the speech that Trump’s tariffs led to some of the economic developments Beshear touted, like Apple’s expansion of a glass manufacturing facility in Harrodsburg. Wheeler added that lawmakers should make sure rural hospitals are stable and have the ability to support their communities, and that would likely come up as lawmakers continue their budget session. 

As for universal pre-K, Wheeler did not think lawmakers would act on the governor’s request. 

“While I don’t think it’s a bad thing by any measure, clearly the cost has to be weighed with the benefit, and I don’t think that the benefit of that is probably something you won’t see the General Assembly act on this session,” Wheeler said. 

This article is republished under a Creative Commons license from Kentucky Lantern, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com. Follow Kentucky Lantern on Facebook and Twitter.