Governor Beshear and Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman each renewed their oath of office shortly after midnight during a private ceremony in the Kentucky's Capitol Rotunda.

They were surrounded by family, friends and supporters.

The theme for the inauguration was forward together.

In his first speech of his second term, Beshear touched on some familiar themes and struck a positive tone to start his second term.

I am honored to have just taken the oath of office to continue to serve as your governor.

One of the most difficult challenges before us is that politics and sometimes even our governance has become poisonous and toxic.

What's supposed to be an exchange of ideas has devolved into grievances and attacks.

Some appear to think that it's just a game that no target is off limits, that no lie is too hurtful.

We see strategies and even commercials meant to make one American, one Kentuckian an enemy of another, trying to accuse them of horrible things to dehumanize them so as to some turning people against their neighbors just to have one more elected official with a certain letter behind their name.

I ran for office to leave a better world for my children, for all of our Kentucky children.

And this is our chance, Kentucky's chance to be different and to make a difference, to be both an economic and a moral leader for this country.

So we must face this challenge the way we always do together.

Together, we will not meet hate with hate or anger, with anger or even frustration with frustration.

Instead, we'll meet them with the same love, empathy, and compassion that has guided us through so much.

For me, those values are grounded in my faith.

It teaches me to love my neighbor as myself, to not judge lest I be judged that what I do to the least of thee I do to hey, my faith teaches me that all human beings, every single one, deserve true dignity and opportunity, and that we can come together simply by acknowledging our faith and our values.

Call on us to be better.

And for me, remembering that my Savior could have been the Prince of power, but chose to be the Prince of Peace, I pledge tonight to continue to be a governor who serves all our people, regardless of your party and regardless of who you voted for.

The eyes of the country are on Kentucky.

It's our chance to show this nation and the world how it's done.

So tonight, let us commit to being better and doing better.

The next four years are our chance to lead, to move forward together.

Let's make every day count.

Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman was sworn in next.

She drew a laugh when she recounted that unlike her first inauguration, she's not seven months pregnant this time around.

She then delivered her own speech, which echoed the theme of this historic day.

But as the governor and I revisited both the tragedies and the triumphs of the last four years, a saying that I often said as a coach came to mind, it's not what happens to you, it's how you react to it that matters.

So it won't be a global pandemic or historic tornadoes or catastrophic flooding that will define us.

It will be how we moved forward together.

I know that what I will remember is how Kentuckians sacrificed for each other through uncertain times, neighbors and even complete strangers showing up for one another in what had to be the darkest hour of so many families lives.

And local and state leaders fulfilling our promise to be there until every structure and every life is rebuilt.

The goodness of our people restored my faith in humanity over and over again.

It made me want to be better myself to make sure that I was showing it for you the way that you were showing up for each other.

And you can rest assured that that is what will shape our next four years together.