Republican nominee pivots to crime in Kansas governor’s race

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – The Republican candidate for Kansas governor is pivoting from education to crime as a focus in the final weeks of the campaign.

GOP challenger and Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt is portraying Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly as anti-police because she created a commission on policing and racial justice in response to the state’s protests following the death of George Floyd in 2020.

Schmidt launched a new television ad Thursday suggesting the commission pushed what the ad called “anti-policing laws” and said Kelly called police racist by referencing systemic racism at the outset.

Kelly has said her support for police is shown by increases in state spending on law enforcement.