Kentucky Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear told reporters Monday that even though President Biden’s recent debate performance was “rough,” he has no intention of sliding into presidential contention unless Biden bows out of the race.

Reporters asked Beshear what he thought about Biden’s performance in last week’s debate and whether he should remain in the race.

“Well, the debate performance was rough. It was a very bad night for the president,” the Kentucky governor said. “But he is still the candidate. Only he can make decisions about his future candidacy, so as long as he continues to be in the race, that’s important.”

The question came just days after the first presidential debate between Biden and former President Trump, which left many Democrats shocked and concerned about the current president’s performance. Biden’s rambling answers and raspy voice raised concerns about his age, mental state and whether he is fit to serve another four years.

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Following the debate, multiple Democrat figures and media outlets called for the current president to step out of the race and allow another Democrat to take the party’s spot at the top of the ticket.

When asked if he would slide into the slot if Biden were to bow out of the race, Beshear reiterated that only the president can determine his future as a candidate.

“He is the candidate, and as long as he is, I’m supporting him,” Beshear said.

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Voters have expressed concerns over Biden’s age and capability to serve a second term after the debate. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images | Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

But he also told reporters that he was flattered when people mention his name as someone being considered to lead the party as a presidential candidate.

“I think it’s a reflection of all the good things going on in Kentucky. As compared to the rest of the country, the temperature’s been turned down here,” Beshear said.

He explained that state Democrats and Republicans are excited about the jobs the state has created as well as the record-low unemployment and decreases in overdose deaths, among other things.

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Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley/File)

Beshear said he thinks the rest of the country is turning to the things being done in Kentucky, and he talked about how a Democrat governor and a Republican general assembly can get good results.

“I think the answer to that is everything is not partisan, and people are tired of the clashes, day in and day out,” he said. “So, when they look at what we have done in Kentucky, they see a better future that’s beyond some of the back-and-forth that we see on the federal level.”

Biden has not bowed out of the race, though he was reportedly humiliated by his debate performance and “devoid of confidence,” according to an NBC News report that cited a person familiar with the president’s mood.

“It’s a mess,” the source reportedly told NBC News.

The outlet reported that several prominent Democrats expressed concern in private over Biden’s chances of beating Trump in November after his debate performance. However, they remain steadfast in their support for Biden in public.

During a speech at a New Jersey fundraiser on Saturday, the president acknowledged he didn’t have a “great night.”

“Research during the debate shows us converting more undecided voters than Trump did, in large part because of his conduct on Jan. 6,” he said. “People remember the bad things during his presidency.”

Biden’s campaign said it has raised $27 million since his debate performance.

Fox News Digital’s Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.

Title IX has long recognized biological differences between the two sexes, but the Biden administration insists that sex is effectively the same as “gender identity.” The implications of this redefinition aren’t just theoretical. 
 
We are both part of a lawsuit in which a federal district court in Kentucky recently stood up for the privacy and safety of women and girls, halting the Biden administration’s attempt to rewrite Title IX through a new rule that would have allowed men who identify as females into women’s locker rooms, restrooms, and showers. 
 
One of us is Patrick Morrisey, the attorney general of West Virginia. I count it a privilege to represent my state’s interest in protecting women’s safety and privacy. 

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The other one of us is Adaleia Cross, a 15-year-old female athlete represented by Alliance Defending Freedom who has competed in a variety of track-and-field events — including discus, pole vault, and shot put — since middle school.  

I was recently forced to compete against a male athlete identifying as a girl. Predictably, the male student beat me many times and bumped me from a conference championship I had worked all season to qualify for. 
 
Simply put, with a biological male competing alongside me, I began losing opportunities to compete because of the male student outperforming me. Until April 2023, I was in the top three on my team for discus, and I was usually in the top three or four for shot put as well. 
 
And when off the field, as I shared in my affidavit filed in court, other female teammates and I were forced to share locker rooms and restrooms with a male student. But women and girls should never be forced to face a boy when we change or shower in a restroom or locker room.  

In addition, we can all agree that no one should experience sexual harassment in these places. We must protect women and private spaces and ensure women are not put in uncomfortable situations, as I was. 

My affidavit contains a simple request, true to the heart of Title IX: “I want girls to have an opportunity to compete on a level and safe playing field, and I know that will never happen if boys are allowed to compete on girls’ sports teams. It seems that people have forgotten the whole point of making girls’ sports separate. It was impossible for girls to compete in boys’ sports safely and competitively. Letting biological males into women’s sports defeats the whole purpose of even having them in the first place. We simply cannot compete with men.” 
 
West Virginia state officials rightfully recognize biological reality. Our legislature passed the Save Women’s Sports Act to buttress Title IX’s protections and defend women’s sports. Yet the Biden administration’s new rule would override even that law. 
 
In the face of this not-so-slight-of-hand erasure of women’s rights, we (West Virginia and Adaleia) sued the Biden administration in May. Joining us was a coalition of states — Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Virginia — and Christian Educators Association International, also represented by ADF. 
 
Title IX is simple: It demands that girls and women get their fair share of opportunities in education, and its regulations make clear that this can be accomplished in school athletic programs by having “separate teams for members of each sex.”  

And because of the enduring physical differences between men and women and importance of privacy, Title IX has always allowed the sex-specific spaces — like bathrooms and locker rooms — that are ubiquitous across the nation. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION 
 
The administration’s notion to include “gender identity” in its definition of sex deprives girls of the opportunity to continue to get a fair shake. The rule forces states like West Virginia to accept radical gender ideology in their schools. And this administration has done so in blatant defiance of Congress’ repeated refusal to extend Title IX’s protections to anything other than sex. 
 
The sweeping Title IX mandate by the Biden administration would upend schools’ long-lawful practices protecting student privacy, unfairly undermine women’s academic and athletic achievements and related advancements in society, and punish states for following their laws. Federal bureaucrats have no right to rewrite the statutes Congress passes, let alone fundamentally change what it means to be a man or a woman. 
 
Allowing such a mandate would be a shame because the impact of Title IX on women’s sports has been profound. Before the law, just one in 27 young women played sports. Today, that figure is 10 in 25. 

West Virginia state officials rightfully recognize biological reality. Our legislature passed the Save Women’s Sports Act to buttress Title IX’s protections and defend women’s sports. Yet the Biden administration’s new rule would override even that law. 

In the guise of confronting “gender identity discrimination,” the administration’s Department of Education is, simply put, attempting to abolish sex-based distinctions in educational activities and programs. 

 
In the end, Title IX is about basic fairness. We must honor and defend this law to guarantee future generations of girls and women benefit from its many protections. Rest assured we will fight these radical changes to Title IX with every available tool in our arsenal. 
 
Women deserve nothing less. 

Adaleia Cross is a 15-year-old student in West Virginia. 

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM PATRICK MORRISEY

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM ADALEIA CROSS

Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky on Friday announced the passing of his wife, Rhonda. 

“Yesterday my high school sweetheart, the love of my life for over 35 years, the loving mother of our 4 children, the smartest kindest woman I ever knew, my beautiful and wise queen forever, Rhonda went to Heaven,” the Republican wrote on X. “Thank you for your prayers for our family in this difficult time.”

Massie said just prior to Rhonda’s death, “We spent last week touring Mt Rainier with our grandson.”

“She was valedictorian at our high school where we went to the Prom together, accepted at MIT and Harvard, earned a Mechanical Engineering degree from MIT, and devoted her life to our family,” he added, sharing images of the couple and their family.

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Rhonda Massie’s cause of death was not immediately available.

Massie represents Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, which encompasses more than a dozen counties near the cities of Louisville and Lexington.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., speaks during a House Rules Committee hearing to discuss a bill that would sanction the International Criminal Court on Capitol Hill on June 3 in Washington, DC.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“I am deeply saddened by the passing of Rhonda Massie, the beloved wife of my friend and colleague, Thomas Massie,” fellow Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr wrote on X. “Rhonda’s warmth, kindness, and dedication to her family and community touched everyone who had the privilege of knowing her.”

“My thoughts and prayers are with Rep. Thomas Massie and the entire Massie family following this terrible loss. Rhonda was an incredible woman,” added Rep. Brett Guthrie.

Rep. James Comer also said “Rhonda was a beautiful person both inside and out.”