Washington, Aug 17 (IANS) Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has called for abolishing the US Electoral College and directly electing the President and Vice-President, saying that the current system leaves most states outside the Presidential campaign.
Beshear, a Democrat considering a possible 2028 White House run, said on Sunday that candidates should have to seek support across the country instead of concentrating their campaigns on a handful of competitive states.
“I certainly think it’s time,” he told the CBS News.
Beshear said Kentucky rarely receives visits from Presidential candidates because the outcome in the Republican-leaning state is generally considered predictable.
“In Kentucky we will never see a candidate for President or Vice-President unless they’re from here,” he added.
“Why? Because people just expect that it’ll go one way or the other. It’s the idea that someone would get elected not just knowing about seven states, but having to earn votes all over the United States.”
Beshear included direct Presidential elections in a wider package of constitutional changes that he said could repair public confidence in the federal government.
His proposals included Congressional and Supreme Court term limits, a ban on partisan redistricting and constitutional protection for parts of the Voting Rights Act.
Beshear also called for overturning the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, which reshaped political campaign spending in the United States.
“It is time. It should outlaw partisan redistricting and enshrine part of the Voting Rights Act right there in the Constitution,” he said.
“It should create term limits for Congress and the Supreme Court. No more gaming those appointments. It should also overturn Citizens United, and I think call for direct elections of the President and the Vice-President.”
Beshear described the package as a major change that could make the government function more effectively and give Americans confidence that the system could improve.
The Kentucky Governor also said he had not reached a final decision on whether to seek the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2028.
He expects to decide after his term as Chairman of the Democratic Governors’ Association ends in December.
“I haven’t made any final decision on that,” he said.
Beshear described himself as a pragmatist and a pro-business Democrat.
He said the party must become competitive in Kentucky and other Southern states if it hopes to build a durable national coalition.
–IANS
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