Laura Kelly

Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, is seeking a second term in a campaign requiring she display bipartisan appeal. Derek Schmidt, who spent the past dozen years as the state's attorney general, secured the GOP nomination.

Kansas was the first state to vote on abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June. The vote preserves the right to an abortion in the Kansas Constitution.

Incumbent Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, faces an uphill battle in the November election against her expected challenger, Republican Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.

Kansas voters will decide whether to strip abortion rights from the state constitution and open the door for a possible ban on all abortions. The political fight has ignited protests, contentious campaigns and a flood of political financing.

The Value Them Both amendment would change the state constitution so it does not contain a right to abortion. That comes in response to a 2019 Kansas Supreme Court ruling that concluded the right to abortion exists in the state constitution.

Abortion is legal but highly regulated in Kansas. If August's constitutional amendment passes, anti-abortion advocates and Republican lawmakers appear ready to ban it statewide.

Passage of an amendment to the Kansas Constitution would clear the way for lawmakers to outlaw abortion. Some lawmakers already have legislation ready to go.

Last week, Panasonic announced that De Soto, Kansas, has been chosen as the site of the company's new $4 billion electric vehicle battery plant.

De Soto, Kansas, will be the home of a new $4 billion Panasonic plant to make batteries for electric cars. Officials promise the plant will create 4,000 new jobs and bring thousands of new residents to the region, but it took a lot of tax incentives to land the deal.

State officials announced that Panasonic Energy chose Kansas for the plant because of its tax rates and taxpayer incentives.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly is headed out of a contentious legislative session and into a competitive reelection campaign. Although the Republican-dominated Legislature blocked many of her priorities — including Medicaid expansion and medical marijuana — Kelly says she's confident about her record.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly signed a bill requiring the Kansas State Historical Society to give the Shawnee Tribe ownership of a cemetery where many of its tribe members are buried.