Transcripts For CSPAN Campaign 2022 Kansas Governor Debate 20221006

Each other over the states Public Schools and libraries, the state budget and a recent referendum on abortion rights in kansas. I ran for governor because i wanted to get our state back on track. She accomplished barely nothing. Derek schmidt appointed the governor that got people before you book, experience the candidates for yourself. From the hotel in overland, park, it is the kansas governors debate. More than 1300 outearning members serving the Community Since 1938. Additional support come from aarp kansas. Now, here is your debate moderator from kansas city pbs, nick hayes. It all comes down to this. Welcome. The two candidates on my station today will be meeting for the very last time before election day. Is that worthy of a handshake . [laughter] you can apply at that. Thank you so much. Have you noticed that our nations government are embroiled in some of the biggest issues that are dividing america from abortion up to emigration and issues from everything from guns and you have a say in next best who the next government will be. It is best is democrats moment laura kelly the republican candidate just completed his third term at as Kansas Attorney general. We are doing a job interview. It comes with a company job and a free house and they are able to skip the line at residence restaurants. The question is why are you more state for the we wont secure kansas can do so much better. You do you look like an expectant father. Thank you to be association and i am honored to be here. Were destroyed by fentanyl because we will not secure the southern order democrats together we balanced our budget we fully funded our schools and be routed some of the Largest Companies in the country to come here and we cut taxes for working people who needed relief. I am proud of my bipartisan record that maybe most of all i am out to be here and restoring sense of stability to our politics. A spirit of working together and meeting in the middle to get things done. We have to stay on track and keep moving forward. National polls tell us that rising prices is the number one concern on americans mind this year. What is the biggest policy change he would make to help kansans cope with prices on the pup at utility bills and the rising cost of everything from cereal to eggs at the Grocery Store . The most important thing, that we could do within our control to fight inflation is eliminate sales tax on food. We have a 6. 5 state sales tax on food. That is actually a when you combine it with local taxes the highest in the country. I proposed to eliminate the sales tax all at once and it shouldve been in effect july 1 it was not, and there was a little bit of politics being played but, i will propose another immediate elimination of our sales tax when the legislature comes back. What should have happened is sales tax on food in kansas ought to be half then what it is in on the track to zero coming january. That is where it would have been if the governor would have signed in 2019 the food sales reduction bill that was put on her desk. But we are nonetheless where we are. The question now is Going Forward. Going forward, there are two things to focus on. One is conditional relief on the backside and cost side. We propose in our Campaign Something called higher tax brief to help seniors in particular deal with costofliving and retirement. And we have to focus on the loss. The last four years the state of kansas has spent more money at a faster pace than ever before and those bills will come to make problems. You have 30 seconds to rebut. I probably self on my fiscal responsibility. I have the bills that came to my desk and they would have really spiraled us back into the brownback era. A couple of establishments are talking about those. But, we have also cut 1 billion in taxes for kansas city citizens kansas citizens over the past four years. How many of those tax cuts were initiated by republicans and legislature because the governor was in office and she did sign them which is she signed this one she shouldve signed the bill in 2019. Every time the governor points out that 2019 bill she found unfortunate and problematic it reminds the me that every single point in the bill she vetoed twice became law prior to now other than the crude sales tax cut. The only thing her veto stopped in 2019 was having the food sales tax at half its rate today on the way to zero. Very thank you very much. What changes if any would you make to the states abortion laws or the regulations of government abortion rights . I am prolife i prefer kansas has few abortions not more. Obviously kansas voters spoke for a portion of this issue in august and made the decision that any state involvement in the area will satisfy judicial scrutiny. We have to respect that decision Going Forward. I believe Going Forward the biggest challenge will be defending those limitations and restrictions already on the books. I believe they will be subject to legal challenge. I am committed to defending them Going Forward. The governor has made no such commitment to back their use on this as best i can tell far out of mainstream. I have yet to hear her articulate any restriction on access to abortion that she support she voted against everyone and she was a state senate. And vetoed everyone that landed on her desk since shes been governor. I think we saw on august 2 an overwhelming majority of kansans believe that a womans right to make private medical decisions should rest with her and not with politicians. I think they saw that amendment as a serious government overreach. Requirements for parental consent taxpayer funding i believe those decisions for out of the mainstream. I will defend those in the books. The governors positions or not. Yeah, i really feel 18 years have the same decision on this issue. So i really did have much more to say. New question what in your judgment governor kelly is the most serious threat facing the state. Actually the most serious threat right now is probably workforce shortage. As ive gone all around the state and we just finished up our prosperity in the planes for and no matter where i went, it was workforce, housing, affordable childcare and water. Those are the kinds of things that kansans are thinking about those are the kinds of eggs that my administration are working on to resolve. The cost of the economic insistence that we have had in bringing in 14 billion of new Economic Development and for 1000 retained jobs we have exacerbated some of those problems that you can trust that we have got all eyes on it and we are working to ensure that we meet those challenges for Affordable Housing and childcare. And the biggest threat facing kansas for you is what . It is a couple of things. There are many Serious Problems facing our state and we have to have an approach to dealing with it but i do think with the flow of across the southern the u. S. Is methamphetamine it is been the case for many years it is now deadly fentanyl that is in our communities and is mostly manufactured and south of the border shipping in kansas and drug cartels it is killing our children and the federal administration right now and present president bynums leadership will not address it. They will not secure the southern border of the United States which transforms what was an actual order security immigration issue into a Public Health and safety issue for moms and dads and families here in johnson can county. 30 seconds for a rebuttal. s no doubt i believe we need secure borders but if we really want to deal with the fenton all issue fincen elf fentanyl issue we need to expand medicaid sub people can address access the services they need. Drug companies their opioid addiction and 200 million in the state over the next several years. And more specifically address Substance Abuse issues and addiction issues but at the end of the day, you must stop the flood on the supply side. And the governor says she supports the to secure the southern borders she has taken no action to do that and said a few words on what that means. Lets go to schools. What if any should the role should the kansas governor play in the cap classroom instruction deciding what should be kept on School Library shelves . Because it is governor and other leaders in kansas have to be a voice for the people we want to represent. I think the decisions are made locally or by our official such as elected readers in the board of education or perhaps legislature when the law is appropriate. But the bottom line is, so many kansas kids and families are suffering right now because their kids were locked down in schools their lives were disrupted they are dealing with Serious Mental Health issues we have to do far more to help those parents and families and kids whose voices have not been heard and i think thats an appropriate response. First and foremost it is the governors responsibility to ensure our Public School system is fully funded and we have done that. For the past four years. And i also think its a for the government to be a champion of our schools and teachers and parents. And i have done that. I have been very strong advocate for the Public School system ever since i gashed ever since i came to kansas and to the senate i will continue to do that. I have said often that i want my legacy to be that kansas has the most robust comprehensive Early Childhood Education System in the country and we are working well now with our businesses to ensure that that legacy is the field. We know that kids are having a lot of Mental Health issues far before the pandemic we were developing Mental Health services in our schools in partnership with our community centers. 30 seconds to rebut. Kansas schools constitutionally funded i have committed to do that and im going to do that as any governor would because its legally required of the state. But it is not enough to just write the check. It does not accomplish what we need for kids to fully fund schools and then locked them out of it and not stand up in support mental involvement. Parental involvement. Parents are more involved than they were because they saw up close and personal the things that happen with their kids and they want more involvement we must have that for them. Yeah, i have a hard time being lectured by you derek about our Public Schools. That is remembered that it was you who was in the court defending the cuts to Public Education under the brown administration. California has been making the National Headlines and becoming the first state that same by 2025 we will not sell new gas powered vehicles you can still drive drive your old ones but you cannot sell them. Will you roll out such a plan in kansas in the next four years but is the biggest change you would pose for the environment if not . We just landed the panasonic electric battery factory that will go a long ways to ensuring that we do move to electricity. Kansas is uniquely focused to lead the way in this area of renewable energy. We are strong on wins, solar, biofuels, and hydrogen. When i think about Climate Change and those kind of things i see it as a huge job creation opportunity for our state. We are doing everything in our department of commerce and department to ensure that we are bringing those kinds of companies to our state to further our economy but also to contribute to cleaner energy. I think we did not hear the governors answer to the question which is whether she would advocate policy like california my answer to that is no. Kansas is a wonderful place and we did not want to be like california. And i did not think the demanding control of roaches not the right way to deal with energy policy. I support all of the above Energy Policies that think that has to move and if things are going to move this into that space but it will also have to improve Traditional Energy source because there are many kansas families that are struggling financially today because of spending and joe bidens invasion. I stood up and fought back against many of the overreach and regulatory actions of the Biden Administration that continue to add to the cost of energy. So far the governor has taken a stance on that. I think i am on the record is also being all of the above roach to our Energy Issues i will continue to do that. That i do think that moving forward we have more renewables that i think kansas needs to jump on that opportunity to bring the businesses up. Enough said let me go back an unhealthy recession of predecessors eight years ago but the fact of the batteries no matter how many times she says the fact of the matter is kansans are worried about what i former governor did then they are about the States Administration it has every single day thinking lives harder and more expensive. One of the states is a refusal to stand up to the Biden Administration when he does things like contacted kansas gas and oil industry that is so critical for this. Thank you so much. Across the state line missouri voters signed in november whether to legalize marijuana and they already approved it for be additional and kansas is one of three states to legalize marijuana in any form. With that change if governor schmidt during the second kelly the Public Opinion decides these issues. Anybody wanting the Public Opinion in this country is the direction and permissiveness and more access to cannabis based audits. Here is my thought on the issue, i see people every day whose lives are destroyed or made worse because of addiction issues and i think that is not a good land. You have to stand up and stand strong in this area. I recognize they are heartwrenching humanitarian cases like veterans with tsd were kids was seizure disorder or late date Cancer Patients trying to manage a where the vast vast majority of people would say a bona fide legitimate medical doctor ought to be able to treat and help that person with whatever substance makes the most sense. I think the challenge from the governor standpoint is having leadership saying how do we accomplish that widely shared view without slinging and doing this the wrong way and turning kansas into colorado which i think we are not. I am glad you finally agree with me. I dont think as far back as the state you did not but i have fully supported legalize medical marijuana for years. I was ranking minority member on health and welfare committee. And i was in the room when the parents were bringing kids over to as seizure disorder that kids have hundreds of seizures per day. They were in pain and needed our help and they need the the same families have moved to colorado to be able to secure health care for their kids i do not want to do that. I want to take care of our veterans with tsd and i want to take care of full with chronic kate chronic pain. But i want to deal with the opioid addiction problem in this economy and this will go a long way in helping solve that. Now that we have ground broken here i think the issue to Public Policy is how do you draw that line . How do you make sure that we dominate things in the vast majority that people agree on and not fling open the door essentially Recreational Use without implementation. The governor offered no sin just in on how to draw that line. I would insist that kansas Law Enforcement leaders are at the table and a meaningful to that discussion online drawing and every step along the way because they are the ones that deal with the consequences in our community. I have had those conversations and i have often said that we will not do this with the way that colorado did. Where there was a shop on every corner. This would be a real well regulated industry that make sure that that medical marijuana is being used appropriately and not inappropriately. We will not let it spread like wildfire. New york city eric adams has been making the headlines of past few weeks after declaring in the News Conference that a state of kansas has no plan. Why he picked on kansas is quite clear but remarkably eggs to Digital Technology adams is watching the debate right now. What would you tell him . I would ask him to return my phone call. You know, i actually called the mayor of the day after or try to reach the mayor the day after two let him know that my daughter and soninlaw and my brandnew granddaughter will be delivering a thank you package to the new york layer new york mayor for putting kansas more on the map and more favorable way. So i do want to do that and i am continuing to work to do to reach him. Well i think my first reaction was mayor who . At the end of the day, it does not make a lot of difference of what the mayor of new york says. In this case, it probably does matter which is why would also push back on this. We are proud of our state and we do not want new yorks brand. I say that with all respect to the people that live in new york city. But under the Center Leadership this mayor and the folks that run new york right now their brand is more crime, violence, less human support, higher costofliving, all things i am running for governor that i make sure we did not do here in kansas. I do not think we need a rebuttal on that question is that fair . All right we will move on sometimes it one of the biggest concerns for kansans this cost we can alone this hotel and 100 cars of square block area from a gated senior facility 100 vehicles what is the single most important action you can take as governor to reduce this . Support them in women in Law Enforcement and those who keep the Community Safe every day. When they answer a call at 2 00 in the morning when a 911 all rings and someone is bounding at the door or breaking into a car i am proud to have the endorsement of the Kansas Police which endorse governor kelly in the last time of this race and im now to have the endorsement of the Troopers Association and more than 30 kansas sheriffs that have im proud to have the endorsement of democratic cherokee county. And supporting this past week saying i am the leader of the republican state. We must stand unwavering with the men and women that make a difference. I would agree, we have provided record fundingi have ge endorsements from every living governor in the state of kansas minus one. And i am very proud of that. They recognize that i have worked in a bipartisan fashion, working across the aisle, bringing people together to get things done for the state. And i am very satisfied with the kind of support that im getting from people who know this job. Mr. Schmidt as with so many of her budgets, the governors math is off. The governor hasnt endorsed anyone in this race. Be that as it may, the question was about crime. The governor has answered no answers or solution to the fentanyl pouring into our community. She has answered no solutions to the methamphetamine that is here. She has no answers whatsoever other than apparently to talk about budget issues that are rightly wildly supported or are massively wrong. Mr. Haines after your last debate, one columnist wrote are candidates for governor are stuck in the past, clubbing to each other. This campaign is woefully short on what george w. Bush called the vision thanks. Things. Laura kelly, in 60 seconds or less, what is your vision for the future . Gov. Kelly more good things to come. We have really had some Great Success during my First Administration with fully funding our schools, reforming our foster care system and of course our huge Economic Development progress. We have other things we need to do. We have got to get medicaid expanded once and for all. We have been trying to do this year. It has got to happen. We need to get medical marijuana legalized. We need to get broadband in every home, school, business and i know there is one more. Anyway, we have to get broadband out across the state if we are going to continue to grow our state. I want to follow through on my promise to develop the Early Childhood Education System to be the best in the country. We have lots and lots of things we plan to do to take this state forward. Mr. Haines what is your vision . Mr. Schmidt this is an area the governor and i just disagree with how we approach the leadership position. Her focus often is on what the state of kansas is doing. It is on the State Government. My focus is on the men, women and children who live in the state and whether their lives are better off today than they were four years ago. For so many of them the answer is no. The areas of focus i think we have to have our what can we do every day to try and make daily life more affordable for people or struggling to make ends meet in kansas at times of record high inflation. Not piling on more by continuing to spend more and more money to solve every problem that eventually kansans and our children are going to pay off. We have to have a discussion that now we are out from under litigation because we successfully defended, we have the bill we have the ability to have a discussion on how we make sure every child has the opportunity to grow to his or her best potential. And we have to make sure that this state is safer. We have to fight for it each and every day. Gov. Kelly anybody in this room remembers what this state looked like four years ago. I asked you at the state fair, were we better off under baalbek than we are now. I want to ask that in a different way. If knowing what we know now about what the tax experimented to our state, including our schools, would you veto it if it came across your desk . Mr. Schmidt the math has to work. I am glad you asked, because you have run 9 million in Television Ads that do not accurately describe my views or my history. The fact is you were in the legislature went all that happened and you failed to stop it at that point, despite what you may have said. You did not get the job done. I was never actually in the legislature at the time all those decisions were made. Heres the bottom line. You want to focus on things that happened a long time ago with folks that are not on this stage. I want to focus on where this state is going. And i have a question for you. Do you think america and kansas are better off today than they were before joe biden was elected president . Mr. Haines [inaudible] mr. Schmidt president bidens decision to try and get away federal money he does not have the authority to give away has no positive impact on affordability for students now or who are coming into the system. It probably has a negative impact of spending 400 million more dollars will fuel the inflation that is made everything even more expensive. I think the answer to the question is we have to have the kind of leadership on the board of regents with a governor who focuses on that intently that will say we are going to make sure that we Keep College Affordable for kansas kids and we keep access available and it has to be an everyday task. And while you are finished being wired up, i would say this is a great up with 30 for the governor to answer my question. Does she think we are better off today with joe biden as president . Mr. Haines in 60 seconds. Gov. Kelly im not going to answer my question because from my entire time in the senate and my entire time in the Governors Office i have stayed focused like a laser on kansas, not on the federal government. In terms of Higher Education, so, i think the most important thing we could do and we did do in order to keep education more affordable for kids is support our higher Education System. We finally restored all the funding that had been cut out of Higher Education during the last administration. That is the kind of thing that helps keep tuition flat. The other thing we have done is we worked with our board of regents and we had invested heavily in scholarships across the board. To assist students of lower income to be able to attend college while also working with our business communities and career and tech ed schools to make sure that kids can maybe enter college. Mr. Haines thank you. Youre out of time on that. Mr. Schmidt my question for me is no, america is not better off with joe biden as president. That includes his effort to illegally spend 400 billion to pay off a portion of loans for folks in an election year. The governor does not want to talk about the fact that the leader of her political party, president biden, has taken this country and affecting this state in ways that are tremendously negative. But they affect us. The Keystone Pipeline cancellation, the green new deal. The title nondecision is a significant effect mr. Haines thank you. Final word, laura kelly. Gov. Kelly again, i would reiterate, i focus on kansas. I have done that. I have worked to bring people together, republicans, democrats, to focus on the issues important to kansans. As you look back on my record, we have done a very good job and kansas is in a whole lot better shape now than it was four years ago. Mr. Haines we are going to go back to questions from our Bar Association members. I think i speak for most voters when i say we are sick and tired of the insults and rude behavior that accompanies pentanes that accompanies campaigns these days. I would sincerely ask that each candidate tell us one good thing their opponent has done. Gov. Kelly i need time to think about that one. [laughter] mr. Haines it is not on the tip of your tongue already . Gov. Kelly it is not. Give me a second. Do i have 60 seconds . Mr. Haines you do. We have a little bit of extra here. Gov. Kelly i think perhaps the best thing that i can remember would be the setting up of the Youth Suicide prevention office. Mr. Haines thank you. Derek schmidt. Mr. Schmidt only because it is fresh on my mind and we talked about it today, and i mean this sincerely, i think the decision to call mayor adams, i think that is an appropriate role for the governor when the integrity of the state is attacked, and i think the governor is in a unique position to do that. Mr. Haines i do not think we need to do rebut on that one, so im going to move on. Running ads that reference transgender what policy changes if any would you make to how transgender individuals are treated in sports, housing, locker rooms, or bathrooms . Mr. Schmidt i have been very clear on my position on this issue from day one. I think it is a matter of fundamental fairness and i do not think as a matter of law or policy that people who are biologically male ought to be competing in womens sports. It is counter to the purpose of title ix. It is fundamentally unfair to female athletes. And i think that ought to be the law on the state of kansas. So i would sign it into law without hesitation. Gov. Kelly you know, i actually played a lot of girls sports and womens sports, and i did it pretitle ix. So the issue of fairness in womens sports has always been in the forefront of my mind. Pain i do believe in basic fairness. Nobody should have an unfair advantage. But that is exactly why we have governing bodies like the Kansas State High School Activities Association and the National Collegiate Athletic Association to look at cases on an individual basis, have the facts in front of them, and make rulings. Dereks claim that i support men playing girls sports is just so absurd. It is not happening here in kansas. We really do need to focus on the issues of true concerns to people. Our education, our economy, our health care access. Mr. Schmidt a lot of words, but ultimately just fundamentally disagree on this issue. I believe that people who are biologically male should not be allowed to compete in sports that are reserved for female athletes. Period, end of story. Men, women, transgender, use whatever language you want, but i believe that principle is common sense and ought to be the law of kansas. There are 18 states that have adopted that into state law. I think they are correct. I think kansas should join them. Most of those 18 states are performing better economically than the state of kansas. Gov. Kelly yeah, i think what you just brought up, economics, that is another reason i am concerned. If these kinds of policies and bills get past, they wreak economic havoc. That is why four other republican governors vetoed similar legislation because they knew the impact it would have on their states. Mr. Haines coal barely registers any more in kansas, obesity has risen, drug and alcohol has increased, and so has depression and mentalist. As governor, what is the single biggest policy change you will make to improve the health of kansans . Gov. Kelly i will expand medicaid. Mr. Schmidt well, the governor has said that now for foursears and she has not now for four plus years and she has not gotten that done. I dont know what she thinks will change. It makes a good thing to talk about in the middle of an election campaign, but at the end of the day the Kansas Legislature in anything like this current composition will not go that direction in terms of Public Policy. So my view is we have to look for things we can agree on, democrats and republicans, and can get done. One of the challenges we have to focus on any medicaid system, rather than expanding to ablebodied adults who do not have dependeds, dependents, is how can we make sure providers remain in the system, and perhaps make decisions such as the one made this year by republican governors and by the governor here, to extend, for example, coverage for new mothers in postpartum period. Gov. Kelly i never give up. Yes, i have proposed four different Medicaid Expansion approaches. I will present my fifth in january. And i think the fact that i will never be on the ballot again can take the politics out of it, and the legislature can do what they have wanted to do for a long time. They actually did pass it in 2017. It was vetoed. The house passed it again and Senate Leadership would not let it come to a vote because it would have passed. Mr. Schmidt well, i do not think it is about the governor, it is about a Public Policy decision the peoples elected representatives have made. And i am skeptical of her view on this. Having said that, i would say this. One of the things i think is critically important that the governor is not supported, because we are talking about a population of people in her expansion model were ablebodied adults without dependents, i think there ought to be a work requirement of somebody having a job, getting a job, or getting the skills to get a job, if we are ever to consider expanding public medical benefits. Mr. Haines thank you very much. A Kansas Attorney general candidate Just Announced if elected, he will push for a constitutional amendment to directly elect Supreme Court justice is in kansas. As governor, would you support that change, or any change as to how judges are selected . Mr. Schmidt i have never advocated Supreme Court elections, and i am not advocating it now. I do think, and have for a very long time i said so in this room in previous forums, as i have been a candidate for attorney general i thought for 15 years we ought to ask kansans whether they want to change the selection method for our Supreme Court justices. I have generally advocated for something that looks moral at the federal model. The idea of having Senate Confirmation on the back end to ensure there are additional eyes and accountability. We have learned that works and has positive benefits. That model has been adopted for the kansas court of appeals, and it had the effect of screening out early in the Governors Administration a candidate that everybody including the governor concluded was unsuitable for the role that had slipped through scrutiny earlier. Gov. Kelly i think kansans hopefully have long memories, and if they dont, they certainly will be reminded should the issue of the selection of Supreme Court using the federal model comes up. We had that before in 1954. There was something called the triple play, there were all sorts of shenanigans, the Lieutenant Governor was limited to governor, and the Supreme Court justice chief retired, then the governor and Lieutenant Governor a point old governor to the court. We have seen games being played when that process is in place. That is why kansas did have an opportunity in 1955 or so to vote to ensure that our Supreme Court justices were selected the way that they are right now, and i think we ought to keep that in place. Mr. Schmidt sevenyearold reforms ought to be revisited just as a general manner. This is a good example of that. Look, the majority of the majority view in the country is there ought to be some version of a federal model. I believe it makes very good sense. I recognize the room i am in here, but the problem with the Current System is it is a disproportionate voice to about 9000 kansans who are licensed members of the bar in this state. I think we ought to have a more open system, where all kansans have meaningful input on the front of selection. The federal model does that. Gov. Kelly actually, when we did change the system for Appellate Court judges, when i became Governor Abbott the old system back in place. I put the nominating system back in place for Appellate Court judges because i do believe it is important for people to really understand those jobs, understand the qualifications that are necessary, the temperament necessary. I like having those folks screening those candidates before they come into my office. Mr. Haines what percentage of the kansas governors time should be devoted to the question of immigration . Gov. Kelly as much as necessary. You know, i believe that we know that we have the issue on the borders. And i believe, like everybody else does, that we ought to make sure that they are very secure. But i also believe that we have other issues related to immigrants that we have got to have our federal delegation dealing with, particularly on comprehensive immigration reforms to allow us to deal with some of those workforce shortages that we are facing in every industry, but particularly in the agricultural sector. So i would spend my time as governor, in a second term, really working with our delegation, working with our stakeholders to ensure that we get those reforms that we need. Mr. Schmidt i am a strong supporter of legal immigration. We are a nation of immigrants and we should continue to be so. I also believe that congress has failed in its obligation to give us a functional immigration system and that is the root of so many of our problems. But i further believe the absence of that type of federal assistance, it falls to those of us who are responsible for the safety of our citizens to step up and do what we can within our authority, to keep kansas safe. We already talked at length about the southern border. The governor talks about it but she takes no action. She would not even respond when border governors asked every other governor in the country to send assistance, please send help. We had a case that came out of johnson county. A case in which the person was in the country unlawfully hurt people in this country. Had to go all the way to the u. S. Supreme court and won to make sure kansas would enforce our state laws against folks here unlawfully. This is a state issue and the governor has to attention to it, whoever it is. Gov. Kelly it is not true that i have not done anything. We have sent National Guard troops to the border to help secure it. I think at the state fair you said that it was not true, that i had not done that either, that the president had sent them. That is not the way that it works. When our National Guard troops are federal realized, it only means the fed picks up the bill but the governor still has to sign authorization for them to go to the border, and i did it. Mr. Schmidt well, i would just say ultimately it was the president of the United States who made the decision. Regardless of that, the governor was apparently so insufficiently proud of her action, she did not say anything public about it until someone caught her months later. She was trying to rebut my criticism. Look, heres the bottom line. The bottom line is we keep kansans safe and that is not, as the governor phrased it, anything that resembles a political game. Mr. Haines since kansas leads states in the death panel to eat nearly 30 years ago, not one inmate has been executed. Would you be willing to support abolishing or changing the existing kansas Death Penalty law . Mr. Schmidt no. I support our existing law. I do believe we need to continue to move cases along and move towards carrying out an ultimate sentence once it is roughly confirmed by the court. I have argued those cases myself at the u. S. Supreme court. I have sat with families who have been involved in these years long struggles and i will not ease off on them, i can assure you of that. Here is my perspective on this. We need to have support from all of our leaders in moving these cases through. And i would do that as governor. Gov. Kelly yes, i do support the repeal of the Death Penalty. In fact, i believe we had debates about this when we were both in the senate together. We have not executed anybody since 1994. But it costs us millions of dollars every year to keep those folks on death row. I firmly believe that we would be far better off and we would be more financially responsible to do life without parole rather than the Death Penalty and i would support that. Mr. Schmidt i would simply say, i would reiterate, i respect the governors view. We have disagreed on this issue throughout our time together. But i have sent in the room with families whose loved ones have been heinously killed and i have made decisions on whether or not to seek the Death Penalty, and i have made those decisions with great weight. I believe there are times its appropriate and just. Mr. Haines a new survey from the Pew Research Center finds two out of three americans say politicians are only in it for themselves. Only 18 believe people who run for office do so because they want to serve the community. What can you tell us laura kelly in 60 seconds or less that the poll respondents were not talking about you . Gov. Kelly they were not talking about me, not at all. The lot of you might remember back in 2018, i had no plans to run for governor. This was never on my bucket list. I really ran for governor because there was not anybody in the democratic primary who could get through a primary and could turn around and win in a general election. I felt it my moral obligation to come in and get into that race so kris kobach could not be our governor. That is why i ran. It was not for me. It really was because i owed it to a state that has been so good to me and my family. Mr. Haines were they talking about you, Derek Schmidt . Mr. Schmidt no. Im in this race because i believe kansans deserve a voice in the past four years have set some any kansas families back, making it harder to pay their bills, worried about how their kids are being taught, worried about their individual safety. And yes, many kansans say it to me, they are worried about the direction of this country under the current federal administration. My wife often tells me i could go get a job in the real world, make a lot more money, have a lot less stress, and not have to deal with a lot that goes on in a modern political campaign. But it is worth it if we get the opportunity to improve the lives of kansans each and every day. Mr. Haines did you want to rebut that in any way . Gov. Kelly i really did run, one, to beat kris kobach, but two, to fix our state. God knows kansas had a lot of problems, and i think i brought together a team that has worked really well together and has been able to solve a lot of problems kansans have and would like to have the opportunity to continue. Mr. Schmidt kansas can do better. That is why i am in the race. Mr. Haines being governor is about priority. So congratulations. You have just been named the next governor of kansas. You have just walked into your new office in topeka, and the first big priority you will tackle when you sit down at your desk, Derek Schmidt, is what, and how are you going to accomplish it . Mr. Schmidt i will send to the state legislature a state budget that starts to decelerate the rate of state spending growth that has occurred over these last four years. I mean, if you look at what kansas has done in the last four years under governor kellys leadership, total state spending, everything together is up by 6 billion. That is a 35 increase over when she took office. State tax funded spending, state general fund, is up 1. 8 billion, a 25 increase. The population of this state is roughly flat. It actually shrunk slightly in 2021. And the number of people who are employed is down from the day she took office. Look, those are not sustainable trends. We need a governor who will acknowledge them and will start the conversation with the legislature about how to deal with them. Mr. Haines and your First Priority in that second term is what, laura kelly . Gov. Kelly to continue to do more of what we have been doing for the past four years. I am very proud of the fact that we have set records all over the place in Economic Development. I am very proud that we have fully funded our schools, that we have closed the bank, orange cones all over the entire state. We have really reformed our foster care system so that there are 17 fewer kids in the system, and adoptions are up by 35 in the state of kansas. We are doing good things, we have more good things that we want to get done. But i will work on the temperature in the office, because it does not work well. Mr. Haines i know you want to rebut the temperature issue, Derek Schmidt. You have mr. Schmidt we will figure that out. Look, at the end of the day, the numbers have to work. And the reality is that the way the last four years have unfolded, so much of what the governor talks about is simply accomplished by spending some of the enormous unmount amount of money the Biden Administration and congress have printed at shoved through our economy. That will not last forever. We have to get out in front of this curve. Gov. Kelly were also sitting on a 1. 5 billion budget surplus, the largest in state history. We have 1 billion in our rainy day fund. We are wellpositioned to move forward in this state. This was the result of good fiscal management. Are we spending more now than we were before . Of course we are, but look at the huge budget cuts we had. We had a lot of holes to fill and a lot of onetime expenditures. Mr. Haines that is all the time you have. Both of you have been given 60 seconds to make that final case to voters as to why on earth they should pick you over your opponent. And it starts with you, laura kelly. Gov. Kelly well, no kidding around, kansans to face another critical decision this november. We can either stay on track with an economy that is growing, or we can turn back the clock and returned to the same disastrous policies that broke our budgets and broke our schools. My opponent would like you to believe that i am someone i am not. I think you all know me. I think you know that i really am very middleoftheroad, that i do really work across the aisle, and that i do bring people together. I put politics aside and just do what is best for kansas. It is that simple. Mr. Haines the final word goes to you, Derek Schmidt. Mr. Schmidt in only one term i opponent has grown the cost of State Government as much as the previous four governors combined and it took them 14 years. When joe bidens inflated federal money goes away, and it will, kansas taxpayers would be stuck paying those bills. Kansas can do better. We can have a state with more people employed, not fewer. That is tops in recovering jobs destroyed by the lockdowns, not near the bottom of the recovery. Where daily life is more affordable for more families. We can have a state that strongly supports Public Education and puts parents and kids first, and where leaders defend common sense values like fairness in womens sports. We can have a safer state by standing strong on Border Security and where the governor always backs the honorable men and women in Law Enforcement, but to have that state, we must elect a new governor. Governor kelly wont stand up to joe biden and his bad policies about funding for an accomplishment she claims but i have and i will. Thank you so much. Questions can sometimes come from surprising places. As i was leaving from this debate, i asked my wife. She said, can you ask him to stop texting me . Would you make that commitment . [laughter] no . All right. Ladies and gentlemen, one of these two people on the stage will be the governor for the next four years of kansas. Which one will you decide on election day . Thank you to all of you at the Doubletree Hotel in oakland park. Be well. Campaign 2022 coverage continues tonight with hiawatha republican senator taking on the challenger. At nine, Arizona Democratic senator faces republican blake master and a libertarian candidate with the first debate. You will find our Campaign Cover streaming live on cspan now or online at cspan. Org. 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