Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday that Democrats have a better chance of connecting with rural voters in his home state and elsewhere when they talk about the things people need and the ways they can help them.

“When we think about how do we communicate with our rural families, the first thing is to care about them,” the Democratic governor said in an interview with The Associated Press at the state Capitol. “And to show that you care about them, and to earn their trust that you do truly care about them.”

Beshear said his party’s candidates need to show up with a core message centered on good-paying jobs, access to quality health care and good public schools — all issues that he sees as resonating with rural voters who have abandoned the party in droves in recent elections.

Beshear, who faces his own tough reelection fight next year in a state dotted with small towns and farms, is better positioned than most Democrats to talk about connecting with rural voters. He has maintained strong job approval ratings in a state where the GOP has become the dominant party.

The Kentucky governor’s race, falling as it always does in the year before a presidential election, has been flagged as the Democratic Governors Association’s top priority in 2023. GOP candidates, including several who have battled Beshear on legal and political fronts during his first term in office, are lining up for the chance to challenge Beshear.