In his victory speech Tuesday night, governor-elect Andy Beshear shared his vision for Kentucky’s future.

One part of that vision he shared — unity among Kentuckians — is something we also long for and hope to see restored in the coming years.

“Team Kentucky is a team whose mission is rooted in our shared values of faith, hard work and a belief in a bigger, brighter tomorrow,” he said. “These Kentucky values transcend any and all party lines.”

As one campaign season ends, another is already on its heels and ready to rev up even more over the next year.

During times of heavy campaigning, we are often bombarded with hateful rhetoric, untruthful claims, bickering and even name-calling. And this all comes from the people we are expected to entrust our faith in to lead our cities, our state and our nation.

It is past time for the nastiness of politics to end.

And voters should stand up against it.

We believe it is more critical than ever for Kentuckians to become united.

We need to start looking past the ideas that it is us vs. them; that we have to remain divided by our political viewpoints and consider our common values, like Beshear said.

No matter how you voted Tuesday, a decision was made for our state. The people have spoken, and the election is over.

It is our desire that Kentuckians will begin to be more united by the things we have in common — our desire for a better future for our children, a hope for better jobs for ourselves and our loved ones, a commitment to our public servants, a passion for a better economy, a dedication to hardwork, honesty and integrity.

If we focus on those, our state’s future will surely be brighter.

If we can’t, we’ll continue to see more hate and division in our state.

Editorials represent the opinion of the newspaper’s editorial board. The board is comprised of publisher Michael Caldwell and Bluegrass Newsmedia editors Whitney Leggett and Ben Kleppinger. To inquire about a meeting with the board, contact Caldwell at 759-0095.