Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear wants his party to start talking “like real human beings” and get away from what he called “sanitized” language and messaging.

“We got to talk to people like real human beings,” Beshear told Blue Light News’s Elena Schneider at Blue Light News’s Governors Summit on Thursday. “We’ve sanitized different language so significantly that, you know, people don’t feel like we’re talking to them.”

Beshear cited a few specific examples of language he thinks has been wrongfully embraced by Democrats, homing in on terms like “substance use disorder” instead of the more colloquial “addiction” or “justice-involved populations” to refer to incarcerated people.

“It’s hard to communicate when you’re not using some normal language,” he said.

Beshear has been one of the most successful red-state Democrats in the Trump era, having won two governor’s races in a state President Donald Trump carried by 30 points in 2024 over then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

“When people believe that you are actually improving their lives, and they see it and they feel it. Now they’ll change the way they vote,” he said.

Beshear also danced around a question about his political future once his second term is up, saying “we’ll see,” and highlighted his role as vice chair of the Democratic Governors Association. Beshear was floated as a possible running-mate for Harris last year, and his state is anticipated to have an open Senate race next year.

“I love this country and I hate to see how divided it is,” he said. “If there is an ability or another opportunity to [fix America’s problems], it’s something I’d consider.”

In his wide-ranging interview, Beshear touched on the floods currently affecting the Bluegrass State, which have killed 14 people, as well as immigration and some federal services that impact Kentuckians, like Medicaid.

In particular, he called out billionaire Trump ally and de-facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency Elon Musk for not understanding how the federal funds DOGE has frozen really work.

“I see Elon Musk’s tech interns or tech bros running around D.C. They may understand AI, but they don’t understand funds like AML,” Beshear said, referring to the Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program, which is housed within the Interior Department.

He said DOGE’s effort to freeze funds for the program is specifically halting an effort that would bring clean drinking water to nearly 1,600 homes in two Kentucky counties.

“These actions require that people actually know what they’re doing, that they learn the people that they might hurt,” Beshear said.