Andy Beshear in 2019 KY Governor's race

On Energy & Oil: Climate change is real; develop renewables

Beshear : Yes. "Climate change is real, but you don't have to take my word for it, ask any farmer here in Kentucky or ask the U.S. Military which is preparing for it each & every day." Unclear on specific greenhouse gas regulations.

Bevin: No. "The idea that somehow we created this solely & need to fix it solely is an absolutely preposterous assumption of the authority & power of man as related to the planet."

Renewable Energy: Support development of renewable energy?

Beshear: Need to diversify & include "as many renewables as possible." Specific renewables plan not found.

Bevin: No. Opposes tax-payer subsidies of renewables; calls powering the world through them "unrealistic."

On Tax Reform: Add new revenue sources like casino gambling

Beshear: Opposes shift from income to sales taxes. Limit tax incentives for outside corporations. Add new revenue sources like casino gambling & legalizing & taxing medical marijuana. End tax incentives for companies that don't pay a living wage.

Bevin: Signed $106 million tax cut for banks & other institutions. Would shift revenue base to sales taxes: "I think the state income tax & state corporate tax should be zero." Offer tax incentives for corporations.

On Jobs: Repay miners who remain unpaid due to mine bankruptcy

In a joint letter sent yesterday, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring & Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear asked the Office of the United States Trustee to ensure the "immediate repayment" of paychecks owed to workers. "All workers who have labored for the company and are owed back wages should be made whole. And they should be made whole immediately," the attorneys general wrote.

Herring & Beshear said Blackjewel's poor financial planning led to its "haphazard" bankruptcy wherein it issued paychecks backed by insufficient funds.

"Despite knowing for years of its precarious financial situation, the Debtor did nothing to prepare itself or its workforce for this month's bankruptcy," the letter said.

On Abortion: Endorsed by NARAL; will defend women's right to choose

"Kentucky women and families deserve someone who will fight for them as governor, and Andy Beshear has always been there to defend Kentuckians' rights and freedoms," said the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. "Kentucky is one of several states that passed an extreme ban on abortion this year, criminalizing abortion before many women even know they're pregnant, in large part due to anti-choice governor Matt Bevin."

Beshear's running mate for lieutenant governor, Jacqueline Coleman, says she now supports abortion rights but ran in 2014 as a "pro-life Democrat."

On Abortion: I'm pro-choice and I support Roe v. Wade

A: Yes, I'm pro-choice and I support Roe v. Wade. I have consistently taken action to stand up to the legislature and Matt Bevin when they have pushed to undermine women's reproductive freedom. I think the parameters set forth in Roe v. Wade have the balance about right and I would not support changes to them. As governor I would move to codify Roe v. Wade into state law if the Supreme Court overturned the decision.

On Corporations: No consumption tax on basic needs; but ok on luxury goods

A: No. I'm not going to work to jack up the price of milk or bread for a family that is already seeing their bills go up while their wages stay stagnant. The solution to Kentucky's fiscal problems is not to put more of the tax burden on working families. The solution to Kentucky's fiscal problems is not to put more of the tax burden on hardworking Kentuckians and take it off those who have already benefited from corporate tax giveaways. I'm focused on reforms that will crack down on tax incentives to corporations that don't pay a living wage and closing unnecessary loopholes like tax breaks for private jet purchases. If you can afford a private jet, or a luxury boat, you can afford to pay a little sales tax on it. What doesn't work is the Matt Bevin approach--calling people names, bullying anyone who disagrees with him. We are better than this.

On Crime: Justice for cold cases with backlog of untested rape kits

As an example, when I became attorney general, more than 3,000 untested rape kits had been identified. Sadly, we found 2,000 more. That's 5,000 survivors of a horrible crime who the justice system had left behind. But after three and half years of hard work, we've tested every single one of those kits and created a Cold Case Unit to fight for justice. The first indictment from the backlog was from a rape in 1983--the survivor is now 88 years old, but she deserves justice and closure.

On Families & Children: Use A.G. office to rescue victims of human trafficking

On Health Care: Protections for pre-existing conditions; stop lifetime caps

On Social Security: No cuts to government pensions; find other revenue

A: Our educators, first responders, city, state and county employees already sacrifice so much. They work their whole lives to make Kentucky a better place to live. The last thing they should sacrifice is the pension they've earned. The best way to fix our state retirement system is to find new sources of revenue like closing tax loopholes for luxury items like private jets.

On Civil Rights: Government works best with a wide range of voices

On Civil Rights: Marriage equality for whomever you love

On Drugs: Legalize medical marijuana; maybe it'll replace opioids

On Energy & Oil: Focus on "all-of-the-above" and low utility bills

On Government Reform: Fight for every Kentuckian's right to vote

On Jobs: Grow our economy with skill training, not CEO giveaways

We must prepare our workforce for the 21st century in jobs well-suited for Kentucky in fields like agritech, automation, data analytics and healthcare; we can build an economy and workforce for the future. In a global economy, it's vitally important that skills training continue after high school. As governor, I'll promote apprenticeship training. In order to attract businesses to our state, we need an educated and highly-trained workforce.

On Jobs: Wrong that women make significantly less than men

On Jobs: Support prevailing wage law; oppose Right-To-Work laws

On Civil Rights: 60% of AG leadership were women or minorities

Adam Edelen said the issue stems from police departments that don't reflect the diversity of the communities they represent.

Beshear's representative said 60% of Beshear's leadership in the attorney general's office are women and people of c

On Environment: Clean air and clean water underlie everybody's success

On Immigration: Intimidation and fear of deportation comes out of DC

Beshear's representative said he doesn't know what Andy Beshear thinks about undocumented people getting driver's licenses. He blamed the fear of deportation on the hatred and intimidation coming from Washington.

Adam Edelen admitted that he wasn't aware of the problem. "I have a campaign where we have Dreamers working on our campaign. I'm ashamed that I've never thought about the human impact on a basic level of people just trying to live their lives."

On Drugs: Sue opioid manufacturers & distributors who flood market

On Education: Committed to a world-class public education

On Government Reform: State government operates in secret: push for transparency

On Health Care: Protect ObamaCare: lives hang in the balance

"With Kentuckians facing so many needs, we cannot allow a Texas court to strip coverage away from our Kentucky families," Beshear said in a statement. Beshear said "lives hang in the balance" and that he plans to file a legal challenge. "For so many families it is a matter of life and death," Beshear said. "If Kentuckians understand what is at stake, then they'll be supportive of us overturning this ruling."

Beshear listed the loss of mandatory coverage for pre-existing conditions, expanded Medicaid, and children being able to stay on a parent's insurance until age 26 among his top concerns.

On Education: Don't change teacher pensions to 401(k)-style plan

Beshear has made fighting the pension law his main priority and has frequently advocated against it as he challenges Bevin for the governor's seat in 2019. Highlights from Beshear's press conference:

• Beshear has targeted Bevin's pension bill from the beginning, filing lawsuits in conjunction with teacher advocacy groups. His main sticking point was that it was done in secret, by slipping the pension bill into an unrelated sewer bill.
• Beshear, looking ahead to the next legislative session, said the high court ruling will force lawmakers to be more open with their bills.
• Beshear has said repeatedly that the "inviolable contract" of pensions, the idea that you get the benefits that you entered a job with, was harmed under Bevin's bill, which proposed a new 401(k)-style plan.

On Local Issues: Supports state gaming to pay for state pensions

Beshear is eager to jump on board with gambling, but Bevin has said he does not want that.

On Social Security: State gaming will cover $43B unfunded state pension plan

Republican Gov. Matt Bevin has opposed legalizing casinos. Bevin called the proposal "a tired tenet" of the Democratic Party.

Beshear's letter makes familiar arguments for expanding gambling--primarily that Kentuckians are already wagering big money at casinos in five neighboring states, including Indiana. It does not estimate how much money legal casinos would generate for Kentucky, but he wrote, "Commercial gaming in Indiana last year alone netted over $600 million in direct tax revenue." He said legalized sports betting could raise "an additional $30 million" in annual revenue.

Kentucky's eight pension plans recently reported having $42.7 billion in unfunded liabilities, including both pension and health plans.

On Principles & Values: Kickback investigation resulted in deputy's resignation

Andy Beshear will argue he has fought to help needy Kentuckians in many ways, stressing his efforts to combat the opioid epidemic that includes lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and creation of an opioid disposal program. He'll also talk a lot about what he is mostly known for--filing court actions against what he says have been illegal actions of a Republican governor and General Assembly.

On Drugs: Funding for prevention; focus on opioid disposal & treatment

"These [lawsuits] give us the possibility, if these companies will be responsible and accountable, at having that moment where, maybe, we can put this crisis behind us," Beshear said. "We can have the funding for prevention, for opioid disposal, where we can clean out every single medicine cabinet in Kentucky, where everyone who needs treatment can get it, and then we have the services and recovery to keep people well."

On Education: Only legislature can implement charters, not Governor

On June 16, 2017, the Attorney General Beshear filed a lawsuit, arguing that the executive orders exceeded the governor's authority. The court ruled that a part of Bevin's executive order related to the Education Professional Standards board was unconstitutional, since it required teachers to appeal disciplinary decisions to the state board of education instead of the state court system [and the rest were all legal].

On Education: Only legislature can cut state college budget, not Governor

On May 19, 2016, the Franklin County Circuit ruled against Beshear. The decision stated that the constitution did not prevent Bevin from instructing colleges to spend less money, as he did in the executive order, but did prevent him from altering the funding they receive. Beshear appealed the ruling and on September 22, 2016, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that Bevin did not have the authority to control the budgets of public colleges and universities without the legislature's approval. This reversed the lower court's decision.

On Families & Children: Prosecute 31 active human trafficking cases in Kentucky

Beshear says there are currently 31 active human trafficking cases in the state. He noted that the AG's office has helped provide training and services to law enforcement and prosecutors to help crack down on the issue.

"Just this year, in the first 11 months, we had more arrests of human traffickers, we had more saves of victims than any two or three year period in our commonwealth's history," Beshear noted. "Even better, we now have more services for those survivors, for those victims."