Democrat Beshear lashes into Vance in Ohio, escalating tensions ahead of 2028

In remarks Saturday evening at the Spring Gala in Butler County, Ohio -- the same county that Vice President JD Vance is from -- Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear assailed the vice president, calling him the "most arrogant politician" he has ever seen.

Beshear's comments come as Vance is viewed as a potential 2028 presidential candidate and the successor to President Donald Trump to lead the MAGA movement. Beshear is considered a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination.

"There is no one who will work harder -- no matter what I am doing that year -- to beat JD Vance in 2028," Beshear said. "He is the most arrogant politician I have ever seen -- and given his current boss, that's saying something," Beshear said in Ohio, according to a copy of his speech and audio obtained by ABC News.

During his remarks, Beshear accused Vance, whose memoir explores issues such as poverty and the lack of opportunity in Appalachia and the Rust Belt, of talking down to the people of Kentucky.

"I'll be honest. Your former and now our vice president burns me up. He wrote an entire book that trafficked this tired stereotypes about the people in my state," Beshear said. "Calling the people who mined the coal that powered the Industrial Revolution helped us to win two world wars. He called them lazy. He said that addiction is the fault of the people struggling, not the opioid companies that flooded our communities with thousands of pills for every individual."

Beshear went after Vance on social media ahead of Saturday's event, saying in an X post on Thursday that the vice president "pretends he's from Kentucky."

Vance came under attack from Beshear several times during the 2024 election.

Beshear, who supports abortion access, criticized Vance over his views on restricting access to the procedure, saying Vance should "go through" a pregnancy resulting from rape. Vance responded on social media by calling the Kentucky governor a "disgusting person."

Ahead of Beshear's remarks, Vance's spokesperson Taylor Van Kirk said in a statement to ABC News that "Every time Andy Beshear attacks the Vice President to try to get himself publicity, he ends up humiliating himself in the process, but maybe that's something he's into?"

Beshear also used his time Saturday to highlight his own record as a Democrat "who won in deep-red Kentucky in three consecutive statewide elections."

"The best way to push back against Trump is to show that when Democrats win, we stay focused on the issues that matter most to the people," he said. "As governor, I stand up for every one of my convictions. I push back against discrimination in any form, but I have a rule where I spend 80% of my time on things that matter to 100% of the people of Kentucky."

Beshear pointed to his electoral success in Kentucky as an example of why Democrats can win in red states and that the party's focus on affordability will lead them to success in November.

"Democrats have been outperforming everywhere and we've been doing so with a relentless focus on lowering costs and making people's lives better," Beshear said. "And in doing so we've sent a strong message to Donald Trump, and I know we're going to do this again in the midterms this year, when we take back the House of Representatives.

Beshear also gave a nod to former Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is running for reelection against Republican Sen. Jon Husted after losing his long-held Senate seat in the 2024 election to Sen. Bernie Moreno.

"And when we elect Sherrod Brown as your next U.S. senator, we're going to make a run [at] flipping that chamber," Beshear said.