Vulnerable incumbent Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) doubled down on her decision to veto various Republican-led bills and called on voters to elect more Democrats to stymie GOP lawmakers in the state legislature.
In Sept. 7 audio obtained exclusively by Breitbart News on Friday, Kelly told attendees at the Olathe Democrats Field Office Opening that while she wants to be reelected, she needs more Democrats in the statehouse to better defend her leftwing agenda and outnumber GOP lawmakers who would seek to override her vetoes.
“We’ve got some other terrific candidates down ballot. Of course, I want to win. But what I also need from you is to elect some Democrats to the statehouse. In my first term, I have vetoed 28 bills. And we have been able to sustain all but 9 of them. And I’m going to tell you that Kansas is a very different place than if we had not been able to get those vetoes sustained,” Kelly said.
“In the Primary, there were, some Republicans who would come over and help us sustain those vetoes. By and large, they were defeated in the primary. They’re not there. So we got to replace them with Democrats who will sustain these vetoes because there will be bad bills,” she continued.
Some notable Kelly vetoes include the Parents Bill of Rights, which would have required Kansas school districts to keep parents informed about school instructional materials, and the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which would bar males from playing on female sports’ teams sponsored by public educational institutions. She also vetoed a bill that would have increased work requirements for welfare benefits and vetoed several tax cuts.
Breitbart News reached out to Kelly’s reelection campaign about her statements and asked if she stands by her decision to veto the Parents Bill of Rights and the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, among other measures. Kelly did not respond by the time of publication.
Kansas’ state legislature has been red for two decades, although the governorship has wavered between Republican and Democrat. A GOP win in November , combined with maintaining Republican control in the state House and Senate, could make for a Republican trifecta in 2023. Trump-endorsed Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has risen to the challenge and is seeking to snag Kelly’s seat in what political analysts are calling a toss-up race.
Schmidt has been heavily focusing on Kelly’s pandemic response, school closures, and her embrace of gender ideology and rejection of parental rights. The pair are set to face off in their first debate on Saturday morning.
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