GOP nominee for Kansas governor tries to flip abortion issue

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — The Republican candidate for Kansas governor tried Saturday to make the Democratic incumbent's support for abortion rights a political liability, even with a strong statewide vote last month in favor of preserving access to abortion.

GOP nominee Derek Schmidt, a three-term Kansas attorney general, said during a debate at the Kansas State Fair that he respects the Aug. 2 vote, in which voters decisively rejected a proposed amendment to the state constitution to allow the GOP-controlled Legislature to greatly restrict or ban abortion. But he argued that Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly favors abortion with no restrictions “up to the moment of birth" and public funding for elective abortions.

The statewide vote “does not mean the discussion has ended," Schmidt told a crowd of about 800 people.

“What was not on the ballot was Gov. Kelly's position,” he said.

Kelly said she's confident that she stands with a majority of Kansas in opposing the proposed constitutional change. While she has strongly supported abortion rights throughout her political career and opposed restrictions now on the books, she has been careful not to say she would push for the repeal of existing restrictions. That wouldn't be likely anyway, with Republicans in control of the Legislature.

Asked about Schmidt's characterization of her position on abortion, she said, “He's making that up. You know, I have never said that.”

Kelly is the only Democratic governor running for reelection this year from a state carried by former President Donald Trump in 2020, making her a tempting GOP target. Many Republicans still anticipate that frustrations with high inflation and red-state opposition to Democratic President Joe Biden will boost Schmidt’s chances of winning in November.

Schmidt’s...