Former Kansas Gov. Bill Graves, a Republican, announced Tuesday his endorsement for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Sen. Laura Kelly.
“Laura Kelly is the only Democrat I have ever endorsed for public office,” Graves said in a statement, according to the Kansas City Star.
Graves said he is supporting Kelly in November’s midterm elections over GOP nominee Kris Kobach because he believes there is too much at stake in Kansas and he wants to see the state back in its former glory.
“I have known Laura for over thirty years,” Graves continued. “She has all the qualities and all the capabilities that we are looking for to lead the state during this difficult time and to reestablish the state to what it once was.”
The endorsement of Kelly comes two weeks after Kansas’ House Majority Leader Don Hineman, a Republican, sent an email to centrist Republican lawmakers encouraging them not to take a public stance on anyone other than Kobach.
Hineman said in his email that supporting either Independent candidate Greg Orman or Kelly “could well be a career-ending move for anyone who chose to do so.”
Although Graves said in his statement that he never supported a Democrat before, the Star notes that at least two Democratic legislative candidates in Kansas said during the 2016 cycle that they had Graves’ endorsement.
