Sixty Kansas Republicans, including five former members of the state Legislature and a former lieutenant governor, are endorsing Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly in her reelection bid.
Kelly’s victory over former Secretary of State Kris Kobach in 2018 was fueled in part by support from a broad range of Kansas Republicans — including former Gov. Bill Graves and former U.S. Sen. Nancy Kassebaum. Kobach was considered too far to the right by many moderate Republicans.
Graves and Kassebaum have not yet weighed in on Kelly or her likely Republican challenger Attorney General Derek Schmidt.
But Kelly’s campaign, looking to display bipartisan appeal again in 2022, unveiled support Thursday from 60 Republicans, including former lawmakers and business and community leaders.
“Working across the aisle to get the job done for Kansans is how I’ve always operated, and I’m honored to receive broad support from these Kansas Republicans,” Kelly said in a statement.
Thursday’s list included former Senate President Steve Morris, former Lt. Gov. Gary Sherrer, former Senate Majority Leader Lana Oleen and former lawmakers Charlie Roth, Sheryl Spalding and Audrey Langworthy.
The list also included Clyde Toland, the father of Kelly’s running mate Lt. Gov. David Toland. Cindy Koger, who is also on the list, is a registered Democrat.
In a statement, Morris said his support came from years of working alongside Kelly in the Senate.
“The Governor has always been willing to work with both sides of the aisle to get things done for Kansans. She is the steady leader we need to keep our state on the path forward,” Morris said.
A list of the Republicans can be found here.
This story was originally published March 03, 2022 12:58 PM.
