Gov. Laura Kelly, in State of the State, issues a call: rural Kansas must be preserved

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vowed to protect rural Kansas during her State of the State address on Wednesday, arguing that her agenda could deliver for the vast, sparse expanses of the state that have long supported Republicans.

The second-term governor returned to familiar issues — responsible tax cuts, funding for public schools, accessible child care and Medicaid Expansion. But she made an explicit case that her ideas would serve rural communities.

In recent decades, Kansas Democrats have largely found their strength in the state’s urban and suburban areas. On Wednesday Kelly, a former state senator from Topeka, declared a commitment to protecting rural regions and centered rural Kansas as fundamental to the state’s identity.

“Too often, it seems as though people – especially here in the statehouse – believe our rural communities are doomed to shrink, that our hospitals are doomed to close, that our schools are doomed to decline. That we should just throw up our arms, as if there’s nothing we can do about it,” Kelly said in prepared comments.

“I think that’s nonsense.”

Many of Kansas’ rural areas have been shrinking for years. Between 2010 and 2020, 80 of the state’s 105 counties lost population, according to an analysis of Census data by the Kansas Health Institute. The loss was most pronounced in the least-populated counties.

Kelly’s speech contained sharp political tones, underscoring the Democratic governor’s effort to reshape the Legislature for her final two years in office. Democrats are just a handful of seats away from breaking longstanding GOP supermajorities in the House and Senate and every legislative seat is on the ballot this November.

If Democrats succeed Kelly will enjoy significantly more leverage in negotiations and a more powerful veto pen. The governor formed a “Middle of the Road” PAC earlier this year aimed at supporting moderate legislative candidates on both sides of the political aisle. The PAC has raised more than $993,000 in its first six months of fundraising.

Kelly said her message was “step up for rural Kansas.” When rural Kansas is strong, she said, Kansas is strong.

“Now, maybe that’s something folks aren’t used to hearing from a Democrat,” Kelly said.

“But I didn’t get here yesterday; I know, from years and years of traveling this great state, from one small town to another – that rural Kansas is not only the economic engine of our state. It’s our heart, it’s our core. It’s who we are. And it’s why we love Kansas.”

On Wednesday, Kelly highlighted the tax plan she unveiled earlier this week alongside two Republican state senators and a conservative independent senator. The plan includes several policies discussed by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for years, including the elimination of income tax on Social Security and an increase on the standard deduction for all Kansans.

Kelly offered those proposals as a responsible alternative to the flat income tax Republicans plan to again propose this year.

“But with so many working families still struggling, all of us can agree that we need to cut taxes again,” Kelly said. “We must get that money back into Kansans’ pockets – and we will – in a fiscally responsible and targeted way.”

The Democrat faces an uphill battle to getting her tax plan passed after GOP leadership framed the single-rate tax as a must-have item in any negotiations. Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, in a Tuesday interview called it the “only compromise left.”

Kelly’s speech focused extensively on the role Medicaid expansion, which she has introduced every year since taking office, could play in improving access to healthcare in rural areas. Top Republicans have reliably resisted expansion, which could provide health coverage to upwards of an additional 150,000 Kansans.

Kansas is now one of 10 states without expansion. The Legislature has approved expansion once, in 2017, but the bill was vetoed by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback.

Kelly highlighted recent closures of rural hospitals in Kansas, including the shuttering of Herington Hospital in October. Though Kelly said Medicaid expansion is not the sole answer for rural hospitals, she argued it needs to be part of the solution.

The governor has taken an overtly political approach to her top priority issue this year, rolling out an expansion plan that included work requirements in an effort to address concerns she’s heard from Republicans over the years. On Wednesday, she criticized Republican leaders for not bringing the issue to a vote for the past three years.

“At this point, not expanding Medicaid is akin to giving up on your rural hospitals, your rural communities, your rural constituents. I refuse to do that. And you should too,” Kelly said.

Despite Kelly’s efforts, Masterson said no scenario exists where Medicaid expansion would be on the negotiating table. He said he believed expanding the program would harm those already receiving Medicaid.

“I think it’s not a morally correct thing to do to create those with greater need with those with less,” Masterson said.

Health care is not the only area where Republican policy risks harming rural Kansans, Kelly argued in her speech.

In recent years GOP lawmakers have attempted to create and expand voucher-like programs funneling public dollars into private schools. Kelly pledged to veto any of these policies, and warned of political consequences.

“Believe me, if you represent a rural area and you’re out there pushing for vouchers, you’ll be hearing from parents back home – wondering why you’ve turned your back on their schools, and why you’ve prioritized private schools hundreds of miles away,” she said.

In interviews prior to the speech, House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, and Masterson told The Star they did not plan to prioritize expansion of school choice programs this year after struggling to consolidate enough votes to override Kelly’s veto.

Kelly also once again pledged to propose new funding for special education and said she would unveil what she called a historic investment in early childhood education in her budget on Thursday.

On water, another topic dear to rural areas, Kelly promised to fully fund the state’s water plan as the Ogallala Aquifer, which supplies most of the water for Western Kansas, continues to deplete. She praised local farmers who had worked to conserve water to protect their region, and called on lawmakers to step up for rural Kansas as well.

‘Because, as strong as we are as a state overall, if we’re going to reach new heights, we can’t just support growth in Overland Park, in Wichita, and in Lawrence,” Kelly said. “Garden City, Independence, and Goodland need our attention, too.