Laura Kelly facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Laura Kelly
Official portrait, 2018
48th Governor of Kansas
Incumbent
Assumed office January 14, 2019
Lieutenant	Lynn Rogers David Toland
Preceded by	Jeff Colyer
Member of the Kansas Senate from the 18th district
In office January 10, 2005 – January 14, 2019
Preceded by	Dave Jackson
Succeeded by	Vic Miller
Personal details
Born	Laura Jeanne Kelly (1950-01-24) January 24, 1950 (age 75) New York City, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Ted Daughety ​ (m. 1979)​
Children	2
Residence	Cedar Crest
Education	Bradley University (BS) Indiana University Bloomington (MS)
Website	Government website

Laura Jeanne Kelly (born January 24, 1950) is an American politician. She is currently the 48th governor of Kansas, a position she has held since 2019. Before becoming governor, she was a member of the Democratic Party. She represented the 18th district in the Kansas Senate from 2005 to 2019.

Kelly was first elected governor in 2018. She won against Republican candidate Kris Kobach. She was reelected in 2022, winning closely against Republican candidate Derek Schmidt.

Laura Kelly's Early Life and Education

Laura Kelly was born in New York City on January 24, 1950. Her family was a military family, which meant they moved around a lot. They even lived in other countries.

She went to Bradley University in Illinois. There, she earned a degree called a Bachelor of Science in psychology. Later, she studied at Indiana University and earned a Master of Science degree. This degree was in a field called therapeutic recreation.

Kelly has been honored by Bradley University. She received a special award and was welcomed into their Centurion Society. Before her political career, she was the executive director of the Kansas Recreation and Park Association.

Laura Kelly's Start in Politics

Laura Kelly began her political journey when she was elected to the Kansas Senate in November 2004. She represented the northern part of Topeka. During her time in the Senate, she held important roles. One of these was serving as the Minority Whip, which is a leadership position.

From 2005 until she became governor in 2019, she was a key member of several committees. These included the Ways and Means Committee, which deals with money, and committees focused on health and welfare.

Becoming Governor of Kansas

Running for Governor: The 2018 Election

On December 15, 2017, Laura Kelly announced she would run for governor of Kansas. In the Democratic primary election, she competed against two other candidates. These were former Wichita mayor Carl Brewer and former Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Josh Svaty.

On May 24, 2018, Kelly chose State Senator Lynn Rogers to be her running mate. A running mate is the person who runs for Lieutenant Governor alongside the governor candidate. On August 7, she won the primary election, getting 51.5% of the votes.

Many people supported Laura Kelly. Former Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius endorsed her. She also received support from 28 current or former Republican government officials. This was unusual because Kelly is a Democrat. These Republicans included former Kansas Governor Bill Graves.

Governor Graves explained his support. He said he had known Laura for over 30 years. He believed she had the qualities needed to lead Kansas during a difficult time. He also said she would bring Kansans together to solve problems.

Kelly said her goal was to fix problems from the previous governor's time. She wanted to improve the state's money situation and schools. On November 6, 2018, Laura Kelly won the election. She defeated Republican candidate Kris Kobach, receiving 47.8% of the votes.

Running for Governor: The 2022 Election

Laura Kelly ran for a second term as governor in 2022. On November 8, 2022, she won the election again. She defeated Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt by a small difference. She received 49.2% of the votes, while Schmidt received 47.7%.

Governor Kelly's Cabinet Members

The governor's cabinet is a group of people who lead different state departments. They help the governor manage the state. Here are some of the people in Governor Kelly's cabinet:

Governor Kelly's Time in Office and Her Views

Budget and Money Matters

Kelly meeting with businessman Anthony Pratt, October 2022.

Governor Kelly has often talked about the state's budget. She has worked to make sure Kansas has enough money for schools, roads, and public safety. She led a group of politicians from different parties to balance the state's budget. They did this without raising taxes.

In 2019, Kelly stopped two bills that would have cut state income taxes. She said Kansas could not afford these cuts. She believed they would cause money problems for the state. Her decision, along with higher state income, led to Kansas having $1.1 billion in cash savings by 2020. She wanted to use some of this money to pay off debts. In 2022, she signed a law to slowly lower the sales tax on food. This tax will be completely gone by 2025.

Responding to COVID-19

When the COVID-19 pandemic started, Governor Kelly took steps to slow the spread of the virus. She declared a state of emergency in March 2020. She also banned large public gatherings and stopped utility shutoffs.

To protect students, she ended all in-person school classes for the rest of the school year. Kansas was the first state to do this. She later issued a "stay at home" order. This order asked residents to stay home unless they needed to go out for essential work or things like groceries.

Some people criticized how Kansas handled the vaccine rollout. However, others noted that Republican lawmakers wanted individual counties to handle COVID-19 efforts. This made the state's response less organized.

Healthcare Access

As governor, Laura Kelly has worked to expand Medicaid in Kansas. Medicaid is a program that helps people get health care coverage. She wanted to provide health care to up to 150,000 more Kansans.

In January 2020, after years of discussion, Kelly reached an agreement. This agreement made Kansas the 38th state to expand Medicaid. This means more Kansas residents can get health coverage if they earn up to 138% of the federal poverty level.

Helping People and Families

Governor Kelly combined two state departments. She put the Department of Children and Family Services together with the Department of Aging and Disability Services. This created a new, combined Department of Human Services.

She has also focused on mental health care. In 2020, she called for big changes to the Osawatomie State Hospital. This is a state psychiatric hospital. She also supports plans to fund mental health crisis centers across the state.

Supporting Schools

Since becoming governor in 2019, Laura Kelly has changed the direction of education in Kansas. She wants to make sure Kansas schools have enough money. Her goal is to help Kansas students do well and compete with students in other parts of the country.

She wants to solve the teacher shortage in the state. She also aims to improve pay for teachers. Additionally, she supports expanding programs for young children and offering more choices for students going to college.

Social Issues

One of Governor Kelly's first actions was to sign an executive order. This order brought back protections against job discrimination for LGBT state workers. These protections had been removed in 2015.

Laura Kelly's Family Life

Laura Kelly is married to Ted Daughety, who is a doctor. They have been married since 1979. They moved to Topeka in 1986. They have two adult daughters named Kathleen and Molly. Laura Kelly is Catholic.

Images for kids

• 

  Governor Kelly meeting with businessman Anthony Pratt in October 2022.