Laura Kelly, a Democrat, is fighting a tough re-election battle— the issue is almost nowhere to be seen. “What Kelly is doing makes perfect sense," said Bob Beatty, a political science professor at Washburn University in Topeka. “I think the abortion vote is possibly very instructive nationally, and for other states, but not for Kansas,” Beatty said. Doing so also allows Kelly and her campaign to avoid wading into the violent history surrounding abortion rights activism in the state. Still, at a debate between the two candidates at the Kansas State Fair earlier this month, Schmidt accused Kelly of supporting abortion “up until the moment of birth,” which is not accurate.

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