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Not to get too deep on Kentucky politics here — last week, you’ll remember, we sang the praises of Rand Paul as a potential longshot Republican nominee — but Andy Beshear is not getting enough respect from Kalshi and Polymarket in the 2028 Democratic Nominee markets. He’s currently at 3-4%/3-4¢ on Kalshi and Polymarket:
And he didn’t get a big bump after getting borderline rave reviews from his appearance at Al Sharpton’s National Action Network last week (although he did jump from 3% to 4% on Kalshi!). Sharpton had a lot of good things to say about Beshear following the event.
““If there was one that was an eyebrow raiser, it was Beshear,” Sharpton told The New York Times. He added this:
If you want a quick flahsback to 1992, when a southern moderate Democratic governor stormed up the field to win the presidency… this is from the Miami Herald on October 17, 1991 (thanks to newspapers.com):
And it wasn’t just an aggregation of the NYT column. This had fresh Al Sharpton quotes — some of them far more exciting for Beshear backers:
“The overwhelming majority of delegates there and people I’ve talked to around the country are determined to win,” Sharpton said. “They see a Southern governor from a red state that relates to them as something that’s appealing.”
“They think he can win and he’s had the courage to stand up on certain issues,” Sharpton added. “I think it’s that kind of, ‘I like so and so, but I think this guy can win.’”
“I think he comes across as very personable and gives the feeling of being direct and honest,” Sharpton said.
“He may not be the flashy guy right now that people on TV are paying attention to, but that could have a nice, slow steady climb as actual voters start meeting and hearing him,” said Democratic strategist Eddie Vale.
And then this banger from Sharpton: “I wouldn’t sleep on him. The Beshear I saw at NAN is a Beshear that should not be ignored.”
And look, yes, this is just one event and it’s Al Sharpton, one person… but he’s been around a long time and has seen people come and go. He has a good sense of public sentiment and possesses elite media awareness. If Beshear can catch people off-guard and make them nostalgic for 1991-92 — when everyone was happier and Kurt Cobain was still alive — he will get momentum. He’ll raise eyebrows like he did with Al Sharpton and the NAN attendees. And that 3¢ stock will be 50¢ and then 60¢ and up up up it will go into the primaries and caucuses.
This is from the Boston Globe on April 13, 1992:
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One quick note for all the Survivor 50 fans out there — Dane Martinez and Nando Di Fino have been doing a weekly podcast, “The Antenna,” where they track the markets of the castaways. Aubry is slowly shrinking, Cirie is building momentum, and Ozzy — despite dominating in almost every facet and having a strong alliance and an idol — is head-scratchingly static. If you’re a fan of the show (or the markets), you can check it out here:
…and if you aren’t, just slide in there and give it a thumbs up to help with the algorithm PLZ and thank you!
Enjoy your weekends! See you again soon when we dig into another Kentucky politician!