TOPEKA – The Kansas City Star Editorial Board strongly endorsed Governor Laura Kelly for the November 8th Kansas Gubernatorial election. Citing her successful execution of her 2018 plans and vision for the future, the Kansas City Star editorial board argued that Governor Kelly has proven herself to Kansas voters and deserves to be re-elected. The Kansas City Star knows that Governor Kelly will remain focused on Kansas, not national partisan politics, to address real issues for real Kansans.
Read more about what the Kansas City Star had to say below:
- “Kansans should not forget the disaster Kelly inherited when she took office in 2019. The state was still reeling from the tax cut “experiment” of former Gov. Sam Brownback, which led to cratering revenues and underfunded schools…As governor, Kelly ended the chaos by rightsizing the budget, repaying debt and shoring up the state’s credit.”
- “Now, under Kelly’s leadership, Kansas fully funds its schools, has stopped raiding the transportation fund and will soon end the state sales tax on food, which helps the poor and middle class. Those are solid accomplishments.”
- “And an important element of those wins is the fact that she found common ground with mainstream Republicans who control the Legislature, and without whose support she would have gotten little done legislatively. That’s not a blotch on her report card, but rather a shining feature of the benefits of a state where political power is divided among the parties. It’s something Kansas would be wise to continue.”
- “She has had other successes. Sports gambling has come to Kansas, providing additional revenue for the state. She worked with the Legislature to provide more than $800 million in incentives for a battery plant near DeSoto, which, despite its flaws — especially its failure to set specific salary and hiring thresholds — will greatly help the state.”
- “But we think Kelly, 72, is far better-positioned to achieve these goals than her Republican opponent, Derek Schmidt, the current attorney general. He declined to speak with us about his candidacy.”
- “Kansas has made strides in the past years under Gov. Kelly. Schmidt’s politics-first, substance-free campaign, and his performative use of his office as attorney general, raise significant doubt that if he wins this new office, he’ll take its responsibilities seriously.”
- “A second term for Gov. Kelly, on the other hand, would ensure Kansas remains focused on the bottom line, while addressing real issues for actual people. That’s what Kansans want and need.”
- “In her first four years, Laura Kelly has steered the state through a budget crisis and a pandemic. She’s committed to making Kansas a better place over her next term. She deserves reelection, and we strongly urge voters to keep her in office.”
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