Laura Kelly

An experienced leader fighting for Kansans

Gov. Laura Kelly is an experienced leader and public servant who has dedicated her career to fighting for Kansas kids and families. Growing up in a military family, Gov. Kelly was taught the importance of serving her community at a young age. She served as the executive director of the Kansas Recreation and Park Association for over a decade, advocating for public parks across the state. In this role, she also sought to make communities healthier by improving the state’s recreation services. Before that, she worked with disadvantaged adolescents, providing mental health services and recreational therapy to patients in need. Kelly was elected to the Kansas state Senate in 2004 and has been a leader on issues dealing with the state budget, public schools, early childhood programs, health care, and more. She was first elected governor in 2018 with the support of the EMILY’s List community and has been a champion for working families and growing the Kansas economy. Gov. Kelly lives with her husband in Topeka and has two grown daughters.

A champion for Sunflower State working families

She first ran for governor to help Kansas families recover from the disastrous Brownback tax plan that had destroyed the state’s economy, and she has made significant progress in moving Kansas forward. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Gov. Kelly was quick to respond and to provide strong, unwavering leadership informed by science in order to meet the unprecedented challenges. “This isn’t like any other moment,” she has said. “We’re being tested like never before.” The issues Kelly ran on have only become more urgent. “If we’ve learned anything [since the pandemic began], it’s that every Kansan deserves health care they can afford, good health care facilities near their homes, and for our rural neighbors and friends, more access to telehealth services. That’s why I’ll continue to push, over and over again, for what 38 states across the country have done – to expand Medicaid to cover another 165,000 Kansans, to ensure that our rural hospitals remain open, and inject billions of dollars into our economy,” Gov. Kelly has said. She continues to be a fierce advocate for students and teachers, increasing educational opportunity for all Kansas public school students. Gov. Kelly established Kansas’ first Office of Broadband Development and distributed nearly 50 million dollars in Connectivity Emergency Response Grants to communities across the state. She has taken a series of strategic steps to keep our economy open, “But open isn’t good enough,” Gov. Kelly has said. “We need to make sure it’s growing, with Kansans not just getting back to their old jobs, but also finding new, better-paying jobs.”

A critical governorship we helped defend

In her first term, Gov. Kelly faced an unprecedented pandemic with courage and steady, experienced leadership. She is a fierce champion for Kansans, and her tireless work on their behalf has served as a powerful example of the positive impact Democratic pro-choice women can make in executive leadership positions.  We showed Gov. Kelly the full support of the EMILY’s List community and helped reelect this champion for Kansas working families.

Governor Laura Kelly is an experienced leader and public servant who has dedicated her career to fighting for Kansas kids and families. Growing up in a military family, Laura was taught the importance of serving her community at a young age. She served as the executive director of the Kansas Recreation and Park Association for over a decade, advocating for public parks across the state. In this role, she also sought to make communities healthier by improving the state’s recreation services. Before that, she worked with disadvantaged adolescents, providing mental health services and recreational therapy to patients in need. Laura was elected to the Kansas state Senate in 2004 and has been a leader on issues dealing with the state budget, public schools, early childhood programs, health care, and more. She was elected governor in 2018 with the support of the EMILYs List community and has been a champion for working families and growing the Kansas economy. Laura lives with her husband in Topeka and has two grown daughters.

A champion for Sunflower State working families

Laura first ran for governor to help Kansas families recover from the disastrous Brownback tax plan that had destroyed the state’s economy, and she has made significant progress in moving Kansas forward. When the COVID-19 crisis began, Laura was quick to respond and to provide strong, unwavering leadership informed by science in order to meet the unprecedented challenges. “This isn’t like any other moment,” she has said. “We’re being tested like never before.” The issues Laura ran on have only become more urgent. “If we’ve learned anything [since the pandemic began], it’s that every Kansan deserves health care they can afford, good health care facilities near their homes, and for our rural neighbors and friends, more access to telehealth services. That’s why I’ll continue to push, over and over again, for what 38 states across the country have done – to expand Medicaid to cover another 165,000 Kansans, to ensure that our rural hospitals remain open, and inject billions of dollars into our economy,” Laura has said. She continues to be a fierce advocate for students and teachers, increasing educational opportunity for all Kansas public school students. When she took office, the state was still reeling from a disastrous tax experiment that absolutely crushed Kansas public schools, even forcing some to go to four-day school weeks. “We fixed our public schools once already – bringing Republicans and Democrats together to constitutionally fund education for the first time in many years,” Laura has said. “And now that the pandemic has created a new set of challenges – I want you to know that we’re going to get every Kansas student back in the classroom as soon as possible and provide their teachers with the tools and resources they need to get our kids back on track.” Laura established Kansas’ first Office of Broadband Development and distributed nearly 50 million dollars in Connectivity Emergency Response Grants to communities across the state. She has taken a series of strategic steps to keep our economy open, “But open isn’t good enough,” Laura has said. “We need to make sure it’s growing, with Kansans not just getting back to their old jobs, but also finding new, better-paying jobs.”

A critical governorship we must defend

In her first term, Laura has faced an unprecedented crisis with courage and steady, experienced leadership. She is a fierce champion for Kansans, and her tireless work on their behalf has served as a powerful example of the positive impact Democratic pro-choice women can make in executive leadership positions. As she faces reelection to this critical governorship, Republicans are sure to do everything in their power to take this governorship back and undo the progress Laura has worked so hard to make. Laura never backs down from a tough challenge, especially when so much is at stake, and we know that she has what it takes to win with our help. Let’s show Laura the full support of the EMILYs List community and reelect this champion for Kansas working families.