Kansas and Kentucky Governors' Vetoes Largely Overridden by GOP Legislatures in 2026 Sessions

In the 2026 legislative sessions, Democratic governors in Kansas and Kentucky vetoed numerous bills passed by Republican-controlled legislatures, which then moved to override most of them. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear both exercised veto power extensively, with lawmakers in each state possessing sufficient Republican majorities to overturn most vetoes. Kansas requires a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override a veto, while Kentucky requires only a simple majority in each chamber, where Republicans hold at least 80% of seats. Reports on Kansas vary in their tallies depending on publication date: one count cited 15 additional vetoes bringing Kelly's total to 27, with 75 bills signed and one allowed to become law without signature; another, published later, put her total session vetoes at 34, with 20 subsequently overridden. Overridden Kansas measures spanned policy areas including minimum wage, welfare programs, elections, and free speech, and lawmakers also passed a bill capping local government budget growth at 3% or the Midwest Consumer Price Index, with a provision allowing residents to petition against excessive increases. In Kentucky, Beshear issued more than two dozen vetoes, reported elsewhere as 32, covering bills such as Medicaid copay and work-requirement provisions in House Bill 2 and a measure lowering the legal age to carry a concealed firearm. Kentucky Republicans overrode nearly all of Beshear's vetoes, leaving only three line-item vetoes to the two-year executive branch budget bill intact. The exact final counts of vetoes and overrides in both states are not fully reconciled across reports, likely reflecting differing publication timing relative to the end of each session. It remains unresolved which specific bills, beyond those named, were included in the override totals, and whether additional vetoes were issued or acted upon after the cited reports. Kansas and Kentucky's override sessions have concluded the described legislative actions, with the overridden bills now enacted into law and the sustained vetoes—including Kentucky's three line-item budget vetoes—remaining in effect.