Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector
photo by: AP File Photo
Kansas Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, answers questions during an Associated Press interview, Friday, June 26, 2020, in his Statehouse office in Topeka, Kan. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
TOPEKA Rookie school teacher Anthony Hensley decided to offer his El Dorado civics students a taste of real-world politics in 1976 by running for a seat in the Kansas House.
In that bicentennial year, Hensley hustled back to Topeka, where he grew up, to carry out this academic experiment. He filed to challenge an incumbent Democrat. He was 22 years old and stayed at his mother’s house. With no political track record, initial prospects of success in the primary election weren’t great.
Gov. Laura Kelly is officially seeking a second term, a spokesperson confirmed Friday, as the Democrat seeks to beat back what will likely be a stiff re-election challenge from Republicans.
Kelly, a former state senator from Topeka, won the governor’s mansion by besting former Republican Secretary of State Kris Kobach in 2018. She followed Gov. Sam Brownback, who became deeply unpopular with many Kansans before his exit in 2017.
Her first two years in office have been characterized by rebuilding state government after the austerity enacted by Brownback’s administration.
She has not shied away from confronting the Republican-controlled Legislature, most notably during the COVID-19 pandemic, where she has squared off with legislators over her executive powers in issuing a statewide mask mandate, limiting church gatherings and closing businesses.
Kelly to appoint Lt Gov Lynn Rogers to fill state treasurer spot - News - Butler County Times Gazette butlercountytimesgazette.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from butlercountytimesgazette.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Kelly to appoint Lt Gov Lynn Rogers to fill state treasurer spot - News - The Garden City Telegram gctelegram.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from gctelegram.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.