GARDEN CITY, Kan. -- Four out of five candidates for governor of Kansas said Thursday they would seek to expand the state’s Medicaid program to include more uninsured Kansans. The lone holdout was Kris Kobach, the Republican nominee who said expansion would lead to “back-breaking” tax increases.
Laura Kelly, Kobach’s Democratic challenger, said Medicaid expansion would provide coverage to 150,00 Kansas residents.
In 2017, the state Legislature voted to expand Medicaid via the Affordable Care Act, but then Gov. Sam Brownback vetoed the measure. Kelly said she would sign such a measure if elected governor.
The candidates were at a debate in Garden City sponsored by Chambers of Commerce across Southwest Kansas.
In discussing immigration, Kobach, who is secretary of state, raised the issue of the migrant caravan. He claimed the state’s welfare system was a draw for undocumented workers, a comment that drew cheers and boos from the audience.
Saying the nation has an “immigration problem,” Kelly, who is a state senator, called on Congress to pass immigration reform.
In his closing statements, independent candidate Greg Orman said voters should “reject the fear that the major parties are selling you.”
Kobach says Kelly, "isn’t running against me, she’s running against Sam Brownback”
He criticizes Brownback and compares Kelly to the former governor, even though Kobach has said he wants to restore the Brownback tax cuts.
Kelly says she “is the only thing standing between Kris Kobach and the governor’s office.”