They’re calling it the “Kelly Cover-Up,” and comparing it to scandal-plagued Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Kansas Republicans are likening Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly’s refusal to hand over data on food stamp recipients – including their immigration status – to the reported billion-dollar fraud from Minnesota’s Medicaid program and other social service programs.
Portions of Minnesota’s theft are believed to have been funneled to overseas terrorists.
In an attempt to get a handle on fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, the Trump administration has been asking states to provide the names and immigration status of those receiving benefits. But Kelly is joining other Democrat governors in refusing to do so.
“I have absolutely no interest in people going hungry. I also have no interest in being bullied into releasing information that is personal and private,” she has said.” I’m in a tough situation here. I’ve got to protect people’s privacy, and I’ve also got to protect their dining room table.”
Kansas Republicans have been hammering her on her lack of transparency for months – and those attacks have only picked up in the wake of Walz’s embarrassing scandal.
“Just like fraud-plagued Governor Tim Walz,” the state GOP writes in a Dec. 7 Facebook post, “Governor Laura Kelly won’t turn over state SNAP data. I wonder if they have anything else in common…. 🤔”
Republican businessman and declared 2026 gubernatorial candidate Philip Sarnecki blasted the term-limited Kelly in a social media post Thursday.
“Governor Laura Kelly is spending her final days in office desperately hiding SNAP recipient names and immigration status from the Trump administration,” says the entrepreneur from Bucyrus.
“She calls it privacy. I call it cover-up. It’s the exact same playbook Tim Walz is running right now in Minnesota: hide the data, kill transparency and let waste, fraud and illegal immigrants run the program dry.
“President Trump is dead right: You deserve to know who’s getting your money. Kelly’s games are already costing us millions and hurting the Kansas families who actually need the help.
“On day one as your governor, I’m turning that data over, the fraud gets smashed and every single SNAP dollar goes to legal Kansas residents and American citizens. No more cover-ups. No more Democratic excuses. In 2026, we’re going to win in Kansas.”
Republican House Speaker Dan Hawkins blasted Kelly in August for what he called a “massive cover-up,” while noting that a legislative committee in April found an error rate of 12% in the state’s administering of SNAP.
Hawkins said the U.S. Department of Agriculture, “under both the Biden and Trump Administrations, has sent warning letters to Governor Kelly and her Department of Children and Families regarding their ongoing failure to comply with recertification processing deadlines and excessive errors in determining eligibility for food stamps.”
Ballotpedia lists nine official candidates to succeed Kelly, including Senate President Ty Masterson and Secretary of State Scott Schwab, both Republicans.
The other candidates are Republicans Vicki Schmidt, Stacy Rogers, Charlotte O’Hara, Joy Eakins and Doug Billings, and Democrats Cindy Holscher and Ethan Corson.
