Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has raised $9 million for his super PAC over the past three years, as the current chair of the Democratic Governors Association dips his toes into a potential 2028 presidential campaign.
While prominent billionaires or corporations usually top the list of donors for such big money political action committees, Beshear’s top donor outpacing them is someone with almost no online footprint or public details of his life, other than his Pennsylvania address.
Ashish S. Patel has contributed $850,000 over the past year to In This Together PAC, the super PAC working to build Beshear’s national profile and political allies. Patel’s financial generosity to Beshear even extends well past In This Together, as he has also emerged as one of the top individual donors in the country to help elect Democratic governors — the mission of the DGA that Beshear now chairs.
The federal campaign filings of In This Together list Patel as a self-employed investor or business owner living at a home address in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Eric Hyers, the top political consultant for Beshear and his PAC, declined to provide any more details about Patel, including what type of industry his business is in and why he is so supportive of the Kentucky governor.
Searching through federal and state public records, Kentucky Public Radio and WITF were able to piece together more information about Patel, who has worked in the past as a licensed oral surgeon in California and more recently in Virginia. Over the past three weeks, Patel did not return numerous voicemails, emails and social media messages, and did not reply to a written message left at his Carlisle home.
Patel declined to speak to a reporter at his home Thursday morning, subsequently emailing a statement demanding that he not be contacted.
“I am a self-employed investor and a private citizen,” Patel wrote. “I hold no public office, am not employed by or authorized to speak for any campaign or political organization, and write solely in my personal capacity. My participation in public affairs is personal and reflects my concern for preserving our nation’s democratic institutions.”
While Patel declines to comment about his support of Beshear, an account on X that was registered under an email address associated with him has been a prolific booster and defender of the Kentucky governor over the past year, touting Beshear as the best presidential candidate among Democrats and pushing back against his critics. Within an hour of a reporter emailing Patel at the same email address and following him on X, the account was deleted.
Over the past year, federal and state records show Patel has contributed at least $532,000 to support Democratic gubernatorial candidates running in competitive races in nine different states. This includes $82,500 to the DGA, $130,000 to support the election of Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger last fall and $120,000 to elect Iowa governor candidate Rob Sand this year.
Patel was a regular political donor to Democratic campaigns ahead of last year — giving $92,000 to various federal candidates and PACs from 2018 to 2023 — but ramped up his contributions significantly in 2025.
In addition to the $850,000 to Beshear’s PAC and $532,000 to support the campaigns of Democratic governors since 2025, Patel has also contributed $360,000 in the past year to numerous federal and state candidates and committees. This includes more than $100,000 each to Emily’s List, which supports pro-choice Democratic candidates, and committees supporting former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who is running for U.S. Senate this year.
Social media account boosted Beshear as best 2028 candidate
The now-deleted pseudonymous social media account on X was registered with an email that belongs to an Ashish Patel at the same Carlisle address, according to a website registration from eight years ago. The X account posted at least 77 times about Beshear over the past year, with most of them making the argument that he would be the best Democratic presidential nominee in the 2028 election.
The first post referencing Beshear’s viability as a presidential candidate was last July, two weeks before Patel made his first $150,000 contribution to Beshear’s PAC.
Two weeks after that contribution, the account replied to a post about polling results among prospective Democratic presidential candidates, writing “Beshear is the only choice here if you want 270 (electoral votes).”
That was also the account’s main argument in dozens of other posts throughout the rest of 2025 until this summer, as it insisted to other accounts that Beshear was the most electable Democratic candidate in a general election due to his record, moderation and proven ability to win over rural red state voters.
“Beshear is the most capable of becoming the candidate to appeal to a variety of swaths of our diverse electorate,” the account posted in January. “Don’t underestimate him meeting the moment.”
The X account linked to Patel often countered users dismissing Beshear as too boring or not having the “rizz” to be a viable candidate, telling one user who compared him to Mr. Rogers that “these times demand a winner, not emotional pandering to your bases.”
“Beshear can get the electoral votes,” he wrote. “More so than any other candidate. That’s all that matters.”
The account also dismissed the viability of other potential presidential candidates like Democratic governors Gavin Newsom of California and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, while touting Maryland Gov. Wes Moore as the best potential running mate for Beshear. Moore is up for reelection this year, and Patel contributed $6,000 to his campaign and $20,000 to his super PAC.
Over the past month, the account linked to Patel has also rigorously defended Beshear from posters who criticized his handling of Sen. Mitch McConnell’s extended absence due to health issues. Beshear has pressed McConnell to release more information about his health, but has no legal power to replace him or call a special election unless he resigns or dies — despite many calls for him to do so on social media.
National political journalist David Schuster wrote that Beshear looked “impotent” by not forcing McConnell into releasing more information or visiting his hospital room to investigate, saying his “2028 presidential chances are dying.” The account’s reply called Schuster “an ass clown.” It also called veteran Kentucky journalist Al Cross a “goofy old man” for his take on Beshear’s constitutional powers.
In the days leading up to the account being deleted, it also defended Beshear from users criticizing his social media post after the Fancy Farm political event, in which the governor wrote that Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul doesn’t have any “balls.”
Patel’s contributions rival that of billionaires
While Patel’s wealth and net worth are not known, he tops all other donors to Beshear’s PAC and his contributions to help elect Democratic governors rivals that of prominent billionaire donors.
Over the past year, Patel has combined to give $1.7 million to In This Together, the DGA, gubernatorial candidates and other state and federal candidates.
Trailing Patel in contributions to Beshear’s PAC is Andrew Schwartzberg, a real estate developer who focuses on affordable housing and owns parts of the Charlotte Hornets, San Francisco 49ers and the Leeds United Football Club. Schwartzberg has given $575,000 to In This Together, making him the second-largest donor.
Deborah Simon, an heir of a billionaire shopping mall developer whose family partly owns the Indiana Pacers NBA franchise, has contributed $500,000 to In This Together and is the top individual donor of the DGA over the past two years, giving $1.5 million.
Other top individual owners to the DGA over the past year include billionaire LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman and Lisa Mennet, the ex-wife of billionaire video game developer Gabe Newell, who each gave $1 million. Family members of billionaire hedge fund manager Henry Laufer also combined to contribute $900,000 to the DGA.
Federal filings for In This Together show it has spent millions of dollars to help other Democratic candidates and PACs across the country, in addition to paying for political consultants and Beshear’s flights and travel to visit other states for speaking engagements and fundraisers.
In This Together PAC spent more than $1 million to defeat an education ballot initiative and help elect a state Supreme Court justice in Kentucky’s 2024 election. It has also directed money towards early presidential primary states, including $175,000 to “In This Together New Hampshire” and $45,000 to the South Carolina Democratic Party. Beshear has already visited these two states multiple times to attend and speak at political events.
Beshear’s PAC has also contributed $150,000 to the DGA and $75,000 to the super PAC of Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, who is up for reelection this fall.
Beshear also has a 501(c)(4) “social welfare” organization, which are often called “dark money” groups due to IRS rules not requiring them to identify donors. Named “Heckbent,” the group reported raising $1.3 million from anonymous donors in 2024, spending most of those funds on races within Kentucky.
Two of the top individual donors from Kentucky who supported Beshear’s reelection in 2023 were both indicted this year.
Former London Mayor Randall Weddle, who donated well over half a million dollars to PACs supporting Beshear, was indicted for allegedly making illegal contributions to Beshear’s campaign and the Kentucky Democratic Party.
Former Addiction Recovery Care CEO Tim Robinson contributed nearly $200,000 to the main PAC spending for Beshear in 2023, then gave $35,000 to his inauguration fund. The FBI launched an investigation on ARC in 2024 for potential Medicaid billing fraud, with the company agreeing to a $16 million settlement this summer, just a month after Robinson was indicted for alleged money laundering and wire fraud related to the company’s loans.
*Editor's note: This story was co-reported by Kentucky Public Radio and WITF in central Pennsylvania.
