Laura Kelly

Laura Kelly – Life, Career, and Impact

Explore the life and career of Laura Kelly (born January 24, 1950), the 48th Governor of Kansas. From her early days in a military family to years in the Kansas Senate and her leadership as governor, learn about her biography, policy priorities, and legacy.

Introduction

Laura Jeanne Kelly, born January 24, 1950, is an American politician serving as the 48th Governor of Kansas since January 2019. A Democrat, Kelly previously spent over a decade in the Kansas Senate before running for the governorship. Her career reflects a commitment to bipartisan governance, education funding, healthcare expansion, and restoring fiscal stability in her state.

In a predominantly Republican state, Laura Kelly’s success and policymaking present a notable case study in moderate Democratic leadership in a challenging political environment.

Early Life and Family

Laura Kelly was born in New York City, into a military family.

Little detail is publicly documented about her early childhood beyond that context, but the values of service, adaptability, and resilience often associated with military families have been part of how she frames her personal narrative.

Laura Kelly married physician Ted Daughety in 1979. Topeka, Kansas in 1986.

Kelly practices Catholicism.

Education and Early Career

Laura Kelly pursued higher education in the Midwest:

• She earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Bradley University (Illinois) in 1971.

• She then obtained a Master of Science in Therapeutic Recreation from Indiana University Bloomington.

Before entering electoral politics, Kelly’s professional life involved work in recreational therapy, mental health services, and administration of parks and recreation:

• Early on, she worked as a recreation therapist at the Rockland Children’s Psychiatric Center in New York.

• She also directed physical education and recreation therapy at the National Jewish Hospital for Respiratory and Immune Diseases.

• After relocating to Kansas, she served as executive director of the Kansas Recreation and Park Association from 1988 to 2004.

This background in public service and health-related fields formed part of her foundation as she entered the legislative arena.

Political Career & Achievements

Kansas Senate (2005–2019)

Kelly’s legislative career began when she was elected to the Kansas Senate, representing District 18 (northern Topeka and surroundings), starting January 2005.

During her Senate tenure, she held leadership roles, including:

• Serving as Minority Whip of Democrats in the Senate.

• Serving in or ranking on key committees, such as Ways and Means, Public Health & Welfare, Joint Committee on Home & Community Based Services / KanCare Oversight.

• Briefly, in 2009, she considered running for the U.S. House of Representatives for Kansas’s 2nd district, though she did not ultimately enter that race.

Her Senate years allowed her to build relationships across party lines in the state legislature, gain experience in budgeting, health, human services, and legislative strategy.

Gubernatorial Campaign and Victory

On December 15, 2017, Kelly officially announced her candidacy for Governor of Kansas.

In the 2018 general election, she faced Republican Kris Kobach, a high-profile and polarizing figure. Kelly secured victory with about 48.0% of the vote, against Kobach’s ~43.0%, with other candidates splitting the remainder. January 14, 2019.

In 2022, Kelly ran for re-election and won a second term, defeating Republican Derek Schmidt.

As Governor: Policy Focus & Actions

As governor, Laura Kelly has sought to reverse many fiscal and policy decisions of her predecessors, especially addressing cuts and underfunding in education, healthcare, and social services. Key areas of her governorship include:

1. Fiscal management & budget restoration
   Kelly has often emphasized restoring fiscal stability to Kansas. Early in her first term, she vetoed Republican-backed income tax cuts she considered too aggressive, citing the need to maintain funding for education, infrastructure, and public services. She has also overseen Kansas ending the fiscal year with a sizeable cash reserve and paying down debt. Her administration has also promoted phased elimination of the sales tax on groceries.

2. Education & school funding
   One of Kelly’s priorities has been reversing budget cuts in public education and ensuring Kansas students receive adequate funding. She advocates for addressing the teacher shortage, improving pay, expanding early childhood education, and boosting educational outcomes.

3. Healthcare & Medicaid expansion
   Kelly has repeatedly pushed for Kansas’s acceptance of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, intending to extend health coverage to about 150,000 Kansans. Despite legislative resistance, this remains a major policy goal. She has also supported reforms of KanCare (Kansas’s Medicaid program) to improve access and coverage.

4. Human services & mental health
   Kelly consolidated the state Departments of Children & Family Services and Aging & Disability Services into a unified Department of Human Services, to streamline operations. She has also pursued reforms in state psychiatric hospitals, mental health crisis centers, and oversight of state-run institutions.

5. Social issues & civil rights

   • On her first day in office, she signed an executive order reinstating employment discrimination protections for LGBT state employees that the prior administration had removed.

   • She has opposed constitutional amendments or proposed bills aimed at restricting abortion rights in Kansas, arguing they would reverse decades of protections.

   • She has vetoed bills restricting gender-affirming care for minors and tighter reporting requirements on abortion providers.

6. Crisis response & emergency governance
   During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kelly declared a state of emergency, limited public gatherings, suspended utility shutoffs, and authorized school closures to mitigate spread. She also faced clashes with legislative bodies over the scope of authority, particularly around restrictions on religious gatherings, but had her orders upheld by the Kansas Supreme Court.

7. Recent initiatives & leadership style
   In 2025, Kelly launched a “People’s Budget” listening tour, visiting multiple Kansas cities to solicit input from residents on state budget priorities ahead of the legislative session. She has also publicly criticized efforts by some Republican lawmakers to call a special session to redraw congressional districts, calling such moves “political theater.”

Legacy & Influence

While Kelly’s governorship is still ongoing, several aspects of her leadership point to her influence:

• Democrats winning the governor’s office in a red state. Her victories in 2018 and 2022 demonstrate her appeal across party lines and highlight how moderate governance can work in challenging political terrain.

• Balance of power & veto usage. Kelly has used her veto power aggressively to check legislation she deems fiscally irresponsible or socially regressive. Her stances on tax policy, healthcare, and social issues illustrate her willingness to stand firm in a legislature controlled by the opposite party.

• Policy restoration & recalibration. Her efforts to restore education funding, critic of drastic tax cuts, and push for health coverage expansion are often framed as correcting policy overreaches of past administrations.

• Civic engagement & responsiveness. The recent “People’s Budget” tour suggests an emphasis on including citizen voices in state governance and enhancing transparency.

• Social rights advocacy. By defending reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ protections, and resisting restrictions on gender-affirming care, Kelly is shaping Kansas’s role in national debates over civil rights.

In the long term, how successful she is in achieving Medicaid expansion, strengthening rural healthcare, and sustainably funding public education may define her lasting legacy.

Personality, Challenges & Leadership Approach

Laura Kelly is often portrayed as pragmatic, moderate, and collaborative. She emphasizes bipartisanship and crossing party lines to solve Kansas’s challenges.

Yet governing in Kansas—where the legislature has often been controlled by Republicans—has posed continuous friction. Kelly has had to navigate veto overrides, budget standoffs, and ideological battles on social issues. The tension between ambitious reform and political constraints is a recurrent theme of her governorship.

She frames herself as a steward of values she learned from her upbringing in a military family—service, accountability, integrity.

Her approach to gubernatorial leadership combines activism (on healthcare and social issues) with caution (on fiscal responsibility), seeking a middle path in a polarized environment.

Selected Quotes & Public Statements

While not widely known for pithy aphorisms, Laura Kelly’s public remarks illustrate her philosophy. Some representative excerpts:

• “Kansans should know and have a say in where their hard-earned taxpayer dollars are going.” (on launching her “People’s Budget” tour)

• On vetoing tax cuts skewed to the wealthy: “I’m not going to put our public schools, roads, and stable economy at risk just to give a break to those at the very top.”

• On social and healthcare rights: she has affirmed that “politicians should not interfere in private medical decisions,” especially in contexts of abortion and transgender health care.

Her statements consistently frame her actions as defending Kansans’ well-being rather than advancing partisan agendas.

Lessons from Laura Kelly’s Life & Career

1. Pragmatism in partisanship. Governing in a divided environment often requires balancing principle with compromise. Kelly’s record shows both assertive vetoes and efforts at bipartisan consensus.

2. Long-term groundwork matters. Her many years in the Kansas Senate, committee service, and policy experience laid the foundation for state leadership.

3. The importance of institutional respect. Kelly often invokes fiscal responsibility, institutional balance, and rule-based governance, emphasizing that leadership is as much about process as policy.

4. Persistence in policy goals. Her advocacy for Medicaid expansion shows that some goals take multiple sessions and sustained effort.

5. Engaging citizens matters. Efforts like the “People’s Budget” tour underscore the value of listening to citizens and involving them in state priorities.

6. Leadership under constraint. Working within structural limitations (legislative resistance, demographic headwinds) teaches creativity in governance and incremental reform.

Conclusion

Laura Kelly’s journey—from a childhood in a mobile military family, through work in health and recreation, to years in the Kansas Senate, and ultimately to the governor’s office—illustrates a trajectory anchored in public service, fiscal caution, and social responsibility.

As governor, she has made bold moves on education, healthcare, and social rights while navigating the complexities of a state whose legislature often opposes her priorities. Her legacy will likely rest on how effectively she can institutionalize her reforms, expand access, and leave Kansas in a stronger, more equitable position.