Hey Democrats, if you want a quick-fix Biden replacement, try Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly

President Donald Trump meets with Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly on May 20, 2020, in the Cabinet Room of the White House. (Shealah Craighead/ official White House photo )

Democrats’ efforts to dispose of President Joe Biden finally bore fruit Sunday , as the octogenarian exited the presidential race with (I imagine) a snarl and an under-his-breath “malarkey.”

Panicky politicos feared a total GOP takeover of Washington, D.C. Now they have a clean slate and a huge task in front of them: finding someone else to run. Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris on his way out, but our nation teems with sturdy Democratic options.

Before the conversation goes too far, allow me to suggest Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly.

As the two-term Democratic governor of a solidly Republican state, Kelly has abundant experience working across the aisle. Born in 1950 , she might be too old to run in 2028. But right now? She’s a spring chicken compared with Trump and Biden.

Let’s list just a handful of reasons that Kelly would be a formidable presidential nominee for Democrats.

Most obviously, she’s a moderate Midwestern Democrat, one who repeatedly has shown her ability to work constructively with political rivals and attract voters from across the ideological spectrum. Some (OK, me) have even called her a political rock star .

She’s associated with one of the Democratic party’s strongest issues this year: reproductive rights. Kansans turned out in force on Aug. 2, 2022, to reject a state constitutional amendment that would have allowed the Legislature to ban abortion. Kelly has always made clear where she stands, without grandstanding.

“I’ve always maintained that a woman’s reproductive health care decisions should be between her and her physician,” she said in a statement after the vote, encapsulating her no-nonsense approach. “I’m proud to say that Kansans stood up for our fundamental rights today.”

Even Trump has praised her. Back in 2020, during the early height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said Kelly and Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchison had “both done a fantastic job.”

The former president noted, “If she was unhappy, she’d be letting you know it.”

Kelly hasn’t just been elected by bipartisan coalitions. She’s assembled them in the Legislature, too. That means shepherding through responsible budgets and tax cut packages while standing firm against extreme Republican elements. She hasn’t hesitated to upbraid fellow Democrats if required.

She’s serious, pragmatic and works hard.

Earlier this month, Kelly reiterated support for Biden after his disastrous, deer-in-the-headlights debate. She knows how to play the game. When I asked her office if she would serve as the Democratic nominee should the president drop out, it chose not to respond. This was before Biden actually went and did so, but still.

Kelly is low drama. That’s precisely why she should run, and why she could win.

For those who think Kelly would automatically wilt in the face of Trumpian bombast, I would point you to her debates with Kris Kobach and Derek Schmidt in 2018 and 2022. Neither man has what one would characterize as a low opinion of himself, and both were laid low by Kelly’s aggressive and pointed performance. She certainly wouldn’t stand aside and allow Trump to lie his way through 90 minutes of airtime.

Still, the governor’s name hasn’t been discussed as a potential Biden replacement, and I wonder why. Sexism doesn’t seem to be the reason, given that Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has been the topic of fevered speculation. Nor does being the Democratic governor in a red state, as Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has been eyed as well. So what’s the deal?

I would guess some combination of Kelly’s age (again, not that bad) and reserved attitude, along with Kansans’ general reluctance to make a spectacle of ourselves. We’re also not a swing state like Pennsylvania, Michigan or Wisconsin.

At least not yet.

But let me remind you all of a certain party’s decision in 1952 to nominate a certain brave Kansan for president. That candidate went on to win a staggering 39 of 48 states , racking up an electoral college margin of 442 to 89 votes.

The party back then was the Republican one, and the brave Kansan was Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower.

“We must be ready to dare all for our country,” Eisenhower proclaimed in his inaugural address . “For history does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.”

Biden found has found the spine to swallow his pride and step aside. Finally. Another talented Kansas leader stands in the wings.

I’m not so bold as to say Kelly would be the next Eisenhower. But I wouldn’t bet against her, either.

Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here .

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