This article will answer every question you have about Laura Kelly. Below are some of the frequently asked questions about her.
- What does Laura Kelly do for a living?
- Who are Laura Kelly’s parents and siblings?
- What are Laura Kelly’s interests and hobbies?
- Is Laura Kelly married or does she have a boyfriend?
- Does Laura Kelly have any children?
- Where is Laura Kelly now?
- How tall is Laura Kelly?
- How much money does Laura Kelly earn?
- What is Laura Kelly’s net worth?
N/B: Please read the entire post to have all your questions answered.
Who is Laura Kelly?
Laura Kelly (Laura J. Kelly) is a well-known American politician currently, serving as the 48th governor of Kansas. She is a member of the Democratic Party. In addition, she represented the 18th district in the Kansas Senate from 2005 until 2019. She won the position of governor after defeating a Republican nominee, Kris Kobach.
Career
Early Political Career
Kely was elected for her first time as the Kansas Senate in November 2004 and subsequently served as the Minority Whip. Kelly was then requested to serve as the Ranking Minority Member of the Kansas Ways and Means Committee in 2007.
Kelly was able to help in establishing the Kansas Early Childhood Development Block Grants program. In addition, Kelly briefly contemplated running for Kansas’ 2nd congressional district in late 2009. Moreover, during the 2011–2012 legislative sessions, she served as the Kansas Senate’s Assistant Minority Leader.
Governor of Kansas
Election
2018 gubernatorial election
Kelly confirmed her bid on running for the gubernatorial seat On December 15, 2017. Moreover, during the Democratic Party primary election, she faced Carl Brewer, a former mayor of Wichita, and Josh Svaty, a former Kansas Secretary of Agriculture.
She announced her running mate on May 24, 2018, where she announced Lynn Rogers a State Senator. Furthermore, during the primary on August 7th, she defeated Brewer and Svaty, receiving 51.5% of the votes cast. In addition, she went ahead and won the general election on November 6th, where she defeated the Republican nominee, Secretary of State Kris Kobach, receiving 47.8% of the votes.
Campaign
During the 2018 election, she was endorsed by former Kansas Governor and US Secretary of Health and Human Service Kathleen Sibelius. In addition, she was also endorsed by 28 current and former Republican government officials. This official included:
- Governor Bill Graves
- Former State Senator Lt. Governor U.S. Senator Sheila Frahm Lt.
- Gov. Gary Sherrer Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger
- The Senate President Dick Bond
- Senate President Dave Kerr
- The Senate Vice President John Vratil
- Senate Majority Leaders Tim Emert Lana Oleen
- Senators Barbara Allen
- David Wysong
- Wint Winter, Jr.
- Pete Brungardt
- Ruth Teichman
- Barbara Bollier
- Audrey Langworthy
- Terrie Huntington
- Bob VanCrum
- Alicia Salisbury
- Representatives JoAnn Pottorff
- Ginger Barr
- Jim Yonally
- Jim Lowther
- Fred Lorentz
- Representative and Republican Party Chairperson Rochelle Chronister
- Republican National Delegate Don Johnston Representatives Joy Koesten and Charles Roth.
Moreover, Tim Owens was campaign treasurer for Greg Orman, an independent candidate. However, on 30th, October he resigned and endorsed Kelly citing she was the only one who can beat Kobach.
Furthermore, she stated that her candidacy is intended at undoing Sam Brownback’s fiscal, educational, and other “disasters.” In addition, Kelly compared her opponent to “Sam Brownback on steroids,” referring to his widespread voter disenfranchisement and anti-immigrant legal techniques.
How Old Is Laura Kelly?
She was born on January 24, 1950, and she is 71 years old.
Laura Kelly Family
Who Are Kelly’s Parents?
She was born in New York City to a militant family though she has not yet disclosed the name of her parents.
Does She Have Siblings?
Despite her being a public figure she has managed to keep information about her siblings private.
Laura Kelly Education
She attended the Bradley Unversity, where she attained a Bachelor of Science in psychology. Moreover, she also studied at Indiana University where she earned her Master of Science in therapeutic recreation.
Laura Kelly Husband
She is happily married to Ted Daughety, a physician specializing in pulmonary and sleep disorders since 1979.
Laura Kelly Kids
They are blessed with two adult daughters Kathleen and Molly Daughety.
Her Term as The Governor
Political Position
Kelly is considered a moderate Democrat.
Budget and Economics Issues
Kelly always criticized the Kansas experiment, the Experimental Kansas budget of her predecessor Sam Brownback. The budget led to a reduction in school, roads, and public safety. Moreover, she really wanted to reverse the budget pointing out that there was a huge budget shortage. As a result, she led a bipartisan effort to try and balance the budget without increasing the tax.
Furthermore, she opposed two Republican measures in 2019 that would have reduced state income taxes in Kansas. She said that the cutbacks were unaffordable and that the Republican measure, which would have reduced revenues by an estimated $245 million over three years, would have caused a “senseless economic catastrophe” and a budget deficit.
Her decision, led to the state starting its 2020 budget year with $1.1 billion in cash reserve. She opted to use some of the money in paying debt and furthermore, making payments to the state pension sysytem.
Health Care
Being a governor, she pushed the Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature to approve the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. This was going to enhance health care coverage to up to 150,000 Kansans. The bill had been passed in 2017 by Kansas Legislature, however, it was rejected by Brownback.
Moreover, after years of Republican resistance, she managed to reach a bipartisan compromise accord with Republican Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning in January 2020. This made Kansas the 38th state to embrace Medicaid expansion. According to the deal, Medicaid coverage will be expanded to Kansas citizens earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty line on January 1, 2021.
She went ahead and requested for further expansion of Medicaid, proposing to pay for it with the revenue from the legalization of medical marijuana. Furthermore, she also supports the reforming KanCare so that more citizen has access to health insurance.
School Funding
Kelly has indicated that she wants to guarantee that Kansas schools are adequately financed, In addition, she wants to focus on increasing Kansas kids’ performance so that they can compete with kids from other regions of the country.
She would, for example, address the statewide teacher shortage and raise educator salaries. She also wants to improve early childhood programs and provide students more opportunities for higher education.
Laura Kelly Height
Kelly stands on a height of 5ft 6inches and weighs 60kg
Laura Kelly Net Worth
As of 2020, her net worth was estimated to be around $200million