by Chuck Weber
Election 2024 will be most remembered as Donald Trump’s unlikely but decisive return to the White House. Nationally, exit polls show Catholic voters backed Trump 56-41 after losing the Catholic vote by 5 points in 2020. The Trump 47 presidency is already raising hopes, and alarms.
The more impactful Election Day result— at least for Kansans — is barely eliciting a whisper from the political commentary and pundit class.
Governor Laura Kelly gambled big on “abortion access” as an electoral winner in Kansas Statehouse races. Instead, she suffered a remarkable string of political defeats.
Flush with $2 million-plus cash, the governor’s so-called “Middle of the Road” Political Action Committee set out to “flip” 10 key Kansas Senate and House seats held by pro-life state senators and representatives. Conventional wisdom pointed to a pickup of 2-3 seats in each chamber, enough to break the opposition’s supermajority.
In a shocking development, the governor went zero for ten. Adding insult to injury, two pro-abortion Kelly-backed incumbent Senators (Pittman from Leavenworth and Reddi from Manhattan) lost. In the end, the supermajority margin in both chambers increased.
What happened?
Kansans understood that (sadly) abortion access is now virtually unlimited and unrestricted. Abortions in Kansas are skyrocketing.
Most Kansas legislators understood this legal and cultural reality. In response, they focused their legislative efforts on empowering and helping women who are experiencing an unplanned or difficult pregnancy with compassionate and authentic choices.
A pro-life tax package and other legislation designed to financially assist prospective adoptive couples and support women seeking help from Pregnancy Resource Centers (PRCs) was vetoed by the governor. So was a bill designed to stop women from being coerced into having an abortion. Legislators voted to override the governor and the measures became law.
Defense of family issues like the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act factored in. Kelly vetoed legislation that would ensure biological girls and women in Kansas would only compete against other girls and women in sports competition.
Fortunately, the Legislature overrode that veto. Fairness in Women’s Sports is now Kansas law. The Legislature also passed other reasonable measures designed to protect children from extreme transgender ideology practices. Citizens knew this and voted accordingly.
What are the prospects now for key legislative issues in 2025?
Medicaid expansion, supported by the Kansas bishops, looks to be a nonstarter. Help Not Harm legislation, which will stop the chemical castration and surgical mutilation of children in Kansas, and vetoed by the governor, has new life. Homelessness, property taxes and education will be among the many other issues up for debate.
The 2025 Kansas legislative session convenes Jan. 13, 2025.
St. Joseph, glory of family life, pray for us!
