'I've been there, done that': Laura Kelly navigates GOP skepticism to score early wins [View all]

TOPEKA -- As Laura Kelly waited in the wings of a Johnson County auditorium before a town hall last month, the moderator introduced the 48th governor of Kansas by invoking Daenerys Targaryen, the dragon-riding queen from Game of Thrones.

Kelly wasn’t “the mother of dragons,” but instead “defender of education.”

Forget “breaker of chains.” Kelly was “victor in four hard-fought races” for state Senate.

Kelly will mark 100 days Wednesday in her crusade to reverse what she views as the damage inflicted by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback. Already, she can point to major victories.

Lawmakers approved $90 million in new money for public schools. The House passed Medicaid expansion. She successfully blocked a Republican-driven tax bill that she said would have been unaffordable.

Read more: https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article229430384.html