KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s first budget director has endorsed Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt for Kansas governor.
Larry Campbell, a former Republican state lawmaker from Olathe who served as Kelly’s budget director for nearly two years, announced Thursday he would back Schmidt over his former boss. Campbell was initially appointed to budget director by Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer in February of 2018, but Kelly kept him on when she took office in January of 2019 and cited his bipartisan record as the reason.
In a statement, Campbell attributed his support to concerns about increased spending under the Kelly’s administration and high inflation under Democratic President Joe Biden.
