Notes from the DLC: Sebelius Not Betting on Blue Kansas

Question for Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius from Monday's DLC press conference:

Q: If you are the [Vice Presidential] pick, would you be able to deliver a state like Kansas?

SEBELIUS: I think governors count. Across the country there are 28 Democratic Governors.Of the 28 governors, 15 of us are in states won by George Bush in 2004. But I think our elections are evidence that citizens in our states will cross party lines to vote for somebody they think is a good leader.

Barack has strong Kansas ties. His mom and his grandparents come out of Kansas. He has those good Midwestern values. He carried about 75% of our caucus votes.

The latest poll I saw in Kansas he was about 9 points down. John Kerry lost Kansas by 25 points, Al Gore lost Kansas by 21 points. Being 9 points down in June is a pretty good place to start the election.

I think the electoral map is likely to look very different, and the 28 governors will be a part of helping make that difference.

Q: But will you put him over the top in Kansas?

SEBELIUS: You know, twice in our history have Kansans voted for a Democrat for President, the last time was 1964. So I'm not betting on it, but I think we can make a full court press in Kansas, and in Oklahoma, and in Wyoming, and in Montana, and in states where we have a Democrat [Governor] on the ground, in Tennessee, where we know how to get the votes out.



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