Free Republic

Former Republican Gov. Bill Graves is once again supporting Democrat Laura Kelly for Kansas governor. Graves, a moderate Republican who served from 1995 until 2003, opted to endorse Kelly over Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, the Republican nominee and one of Graves’ former staffers. Early in his career, Schmidt worked as legal counsel to Graves’ office.

Republicans in Kansas further splintered Tuesday as the last moderate member of the party to hold the governor’s office endorsed a Democrat for governor over Kris Kobach, the GOP nominee. In a statement, former Kansas governor Bill Graves said he planned to support state Sen. Laura Kelly in the November election. Kelly is running against Kobach and independent Greg Orman. “Laura Kelly is the only Democrat I have ever endorsed for public office,” Graves said in the statement. “And the reason I’m doing that now is because I believe so much is at stake in the state of Kansas. I...