Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear defended the state’s elections Thursday afternoon ahead of a primetime speech where President Donald Trump is expected to spread more voter fraud allegations tied to the 2020 election.
“In 2020, President Trump lost,” Beshear, a Democrat, said. “And now he’s lying to you—over, and over, and over, and over.”
Calling Kentucky’s elections “secure,” Beshear said years of conspiracy theories, allegations of fraud and tampering, and resulting legal battles—which Trump has been on the losing end of—have “eroded trust” in the nation’s election system.
“It was a full and fair election,” Beshear said. “That’s a fact, period. Right? There are facts in this world.”
Experts, pundits, and Democrats believe Trump’s speech will be part of a bigger effort to weaken trust in the country’s elections ahead of the 2026 midterms, should Republicans lose in November.
A recent review of election-related legal rulings from MS NOW found at least 21 times federal judges, including some appointed by Trump, have ruled against the Trump administration’s steps around elections and voter data during his second term.
Trump has attacked mail-in voting options and sued states—including Kentucky—in attempts to get private voter data.
Kentucky has voted for Trump all three times he was on the ballot, and is solidly red despite having a Democratic governor. But that hasn’t stopped Kentucky from bucking trends following the 2020 election.
While other Republican-heavy states sought out more stringent voting rules pushed by election deniers, Kentucky—led by Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams—expanded voting access in 2021. Adams was named the 2024 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage winner for his work around election integrity.
Beshear, who also leads the Democratic Governors Association, said, “You can’t just continue to disagree with people and lie about it.”
“The Democratic governors, at least, are ready to protect our elections, and if he’s gonna try to take them from us, he’ll have to come through us.”
