KENTUCKY, USA — AP sources have claimed Democratic Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear is on a "short-list" to become current Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate.
Just across the East Tennessee border, voters did not choose Beshear to represent them as governor, however, he won the popular vote.
TJ Litafik from Pikeville runs a consulting firm in Lexington, KY, and has worked with both Democrats and Republicans. He said the appeal for Southeastern Kentucky voters to vote blue has changed since the Obama campaign.
"Historically, the Eastern Kentucky coal counties, with a few exceptions, voted strongly democratic. But ever since the the Obama administration, those counties have have voted strongly Republican in presidential elections," Litafik said.
Beshear's name is part of the conversation because he's a Democratic Governor in a red state.
"Any Democrat that can get elected statewide at this moment in a southern or Midwestern state is doing something right because the political headwinds are against them," Litafik said.
Litafik joins others in questioning Beshear's nod to a VP seat, especially since Kentucky is not historically a swing state.
"It's just a matter of who helps Kamala Harris get to 270 electoral votes, and that path is through the Rust Belt," he said. "As a political strategist, being as objective as I can, I would say that Governor Shapiro of Pennsylvania or Governor Walls of Minnesota would do much more to help the vice president win based on that."