Gov. Laura Kelly Wins Reelection In Kansas

Gov. Laura Kelly Wins Reelection In Kansas

Laurel Duggan on November 9, 2022

Democratic Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly won her reelection campaign Tuesday, defeating Republican challenger Derek Schmidt, according to Politico and NBC News.

The tight race wasn’t called until Wednesday afternoon, with Kelly winning 49.2% of the vote compared to Schmidt’s 47.7%. The race was widely considered a toss-up, with Kelly’s lead ranging from one to eight points since September.

Kelly was elected governor is 2018 by five points. Schmidt has been the Kansas attorney general since 2010.

Schmidt has made efforts to associate Kelly with unpopular national Democrats including President Joe Biden; Biden lost Kansas by 15 points in 2020.

Experts are predicting LONG lines at the polls tomorrow on Election Day.

Skip the long lines. Find your polling place and vote in-person TODAY: https://t.co/tdgDiPXc1A

Send Joe Biden a message from Kansas. VOTE GOP!

— Derek Schmidt (@DerekSchmidtKS) November 7, 2022

Kelly faced criticism for drag performances reportedly funded by the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission, a division of the state Department of Commerce; Kelly has denied state funding for the events in question, but promotional materials had a Kansas Department of Commerce logo on them, according to KSN.com. Schmidt was one vocal critic of the drag shows.

Kelly boasted of ties with former President Donald Trump in an apparent effort to distance herself from national Democrats, with a campaign ad showing footage of her meeting Trump when he was president.