FAIRFIELD, Ohio (AP) 鈥� Although President is the top Democratic nemesis, some of the party鈥檚 most ambitious leaders are increasingly looking past him and at Vice President .
In the latest example, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear traveled to Vance鈥檚 home county in Ohio, where on Saturday night he said the vice president had abandoned the communities that he wrote about in the memoir that made him famous.
Beshear said 鈥淗illbilly Elegy,鈥� which detailed Vance’s hardscrabble upbringing, had 鈥渢rafficked in tired stereotypes.鈥�
鈥淗is book 鈥楬illbilly Elegy鈥� was really hillbilly hate,鈥� the governor said at a Democratic fundraiser in Butler County. 鈥淚t is poverty tourism, because he ain鈥檛 from Appalachia.鈥�
The broadside was not only a sign of Beshear鈥檚 own potential presidential aspirations, but a reflection of Vance鈥檚 status as the Republican heir apparent to the coalition that twice elected Trump to the White House.
鈥淲ith every day that passes, we get closer to a day when Donald Trump is no longer president. And we need to prepare for that day,鈥� said Lis Smith, a Democratic strategist. 鈥淩ight now, JD Vance is a clear front-runner for the 2028 nomination. And so we should begin defining him 鈥� not in 2027, not in 2028 鈥� but today.鈥�
Vance spokesperson Taylor Van Kirk brushed off Beshear’s criticism as coming from a flawed messenger.
鈥淓very time Andy Beshear attacks the vice president to try to get himself publicity, he ends up , but maybe that鈥檚 something he鈥檚 into?鈥� she said.
An early foil for Democratic contenders
U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna of California was among the first Democrats to begin focusing on Vance last year. Khanna stopped at the City Club of Cleveland and Yale University, where he and Vance studied law, and gave speeches that attempted to cast Vance as more extreme than Trump.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, another potential presidential contender in 2028, singled out Vance in November while making the argument that the Trump administration did not care about working people.
鈥淎t least with Donald Trump, he鈥檚 transparent about that,鈥� Shapiro said. 鈥淛D Vance is a total phony.鈥�
Some Democrats have coalesced around California Gov. Gavin 草莓传媒om as a strong candidate because of his aggressive strategy in going after Republicans.
He coined the nickname 鈥淛D 鈥楯ust Dance鈥� Vance” on social media, and he has mocked the vice president’s appearance, saying Vance 鈥済rew a beard and lost his spine.”
Smith, the strategist who led Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 presidential campaign and still works with the former Biden administration transportation secretary, said every line of criticism of Vance is an audition.
鈥淭here’s definitely value in taking on Vance to show Democrats, hey, this could be me on the debate stage against him,鈥� said Smith.
Vance often invokes his working-class roots
The vice president was born and raised in Butler County’s Middletown, and he rose to prominence with the publication of in 2016. The book earned Vance a reputation as someone who could help explain Trump’s appeal in middle America, especially among the working class, rural white voters who helped Trump win the presidency.
Vance carried that reputation to the U.S. Senate, winning election in 2022, and later to the vice presidency. That same background is likely to be central to any future presidential run 鈥� and it is precisely what Democrats are now working to undercut.
At Saturday’s Democratic fundraiser, the mere mention of Vance’s name drew a chorus of boos from the audience.
鈥淚 don’t think he’s got the magic that everybody looks at with Trump,鈥� said Theresa Vacheresse, a retired physician and business owner who attended the event. 鈥淚 think when Trump is gone, the Democrats might have a chance. My god, I hope so.鈥�
The focus on Vance is not unusual for a vice president widely seen as a potential future nominee, particularly one as young as 41. Republicans went after Kamala Harris early in her tenure under President Joe Biden to undermine her political future.
Jamal Simmons, Harris鈥� communications director in 2022 and 2023, said vice presidents can be vulnerable.
鈥淭he party is built to defend the president more than it is the vice president,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he vice president’s kind of out there on their own, to defend themself, and find friends where they can.鈥�
Republicans, including Vance, frequently tied Harris to some of the Democratic administration鈥檚 most politically difficult issues, such as immigration and border security.
鈥淏eing vice president is a very mixed blessing,” said David Axelrod, who was a top adviser to Democratic President Barack Obama. 鈥淵ou often don’t have the assets of the president, but you inherit all of the president’s record. The good, the bad, and the ugly.鈥�
Beshear has had success in Trump country
Beshear is the rare Democrat to lead a red state, and he is positioning himself as someone who can reach voters who have tuned out his party.
He said Democrats can 鈥渁ctually go and win back those voters that JD Vance is so condescending to鈥� if they stay focused on such as affordable health care and public safety.
鈥淲e’ve gotta start talking to people and not at them,” he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how I won counties in eastern Kentucky that normally vote for Republicans by large margins 鈥� including Breathitt County. That’s the county JD Vance pretends to be from. Donald Trump won it by 59 points. I won it by 22 points the year earlier.鈥�
The audience appeared delighted with Beshear’s message.
鈥淚 think he’s first-rate,鈥� said Mark Kaplan, who lives in Butler County. 鈥淲hat he’s got is compassion, empathy, charisma and intellect, but he’s also down-to-earth.鈥�
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Cappelletti reported from Washington.
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