Obama wins backing of Kansas governor

[ProSense]

Obama wins backing of Kansas governor

TOPEKA, Kan. - Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on Tuesday endorsed Barack Obama for president, a Super Tuesday boost in a GOP-leaning state that Democrats hope to reclaim in the White House campaign.

"I think he represents the kind of leader that we need for the future of the country," Sebelius told The Associated Press. "I think he brings the hope and optimism that we really need to restore our place in the world, as well as to bring this country together and really tackle the challenges that we have."

Her announcement came hours ahead of Obama's rally in El Dorado, the hometown of his grandfather on his mother's side, and one week before the Kansas caucuses, which are part of the multistate contests Feb. 5. Sebelius said she would attend the event to "welcome him back to Kansas and join the campaign."

Democratic presidential candidates long had sought Sebelius' backing in a state that George W. Bush carried by large margins in the 2000 and 2004 elections. No Democratic nominee for the White House has won Kansas' electoral votes since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

But Sebelius, now in her second term, has shown an ability to triumph in GOP territory. She won re-election in 2006 with nearly 58 percent of the vote. In Kansas, less than 27 percent of the voters are registered Democrats.

She said her two "20-something" sons and 86-year-old father, former Ohio Gov. John Gilligan, already were backing Obama, and that the Illinois senator had the ability to bridge generations for the betterment of the country.

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[derby378]

1. Just as long as she isn't writing his campaign speeches, that's cool

Her "Democratic Response" to the SOTU was so weak that I was about to break out the defibrillators to give it a pulse.

[babylonsister]

2. I love how the young adults are influencing their relatives, from

Sebelius to Caroline K., to Claire McCaskill. Very uplifting!