‘We want to claim the Chiefs’: Kansas governor makes the most of Missouri team’s success

As the Kansas City Chiefs prepared to take on the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship last month, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore took to social media to welcome “Gov. Laura Kelly’s Chiefs.”

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly likes it that way.

As everyone (well, actually, not quite everyone) knows, the Chiefs are a Missouri-based team, but the Kansas Democratic governor is happy to claim them as her own. Kelly told reporters recently she “absolutely” considers herself the Chiefs governor ahead of the Super Bowl this weekend.

“I have a staff full of Chiefs fans and Kansas has a state full of Chiefs fans,” Kelly said. “So, yeah, we want to claim the Chiefs. But, no, I’m not trying to recruit them to come across the border.”

Red Kingdom Road Trip

We're hitting the road to tell the stories of Chiefs fans on the way to Vegas and beyond. Follow along!

→ A shrine to Chiefs Kingdom in a small Kansas town

→ Why we’re road-tripping to Las Vegas & how you can come along

→Win great Chiefs gear by participating in our Super Bowl coverage

Since taking office in 2019, Kelly hasn’t been shy about her Chiefs fandom. She’s consistently participated in bets with other governors during the team’s playoff runs. During the recent AFC Championship, she bet Moore steaks from Creekstone Farms in Arkansas City, Kansas. Since the Chiefs won, Moore is sending crab pies from Maryland.

In 2022 she famously placed Kansas’ first legal sports bet – wagering $15 the Chiefs would win the Super Bowl. They did, and Kelly collected $150, which she donated to charity.

Her tenure has dovetailed with the team’s era of success under quarterback Patrick Mahomes – and speculation that perhaps, one day, the Chiefs or the Kansas City Royals could move from Jackson County into Kansas. It also helps that Taylor Swift has been spending time in Kansas amid her relationship with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

But what about Missouri Gov. Mike Parson? Isn’t he actually the Chiefs governor?

Parson is “always proud to cheer on Missouri’s Kansas City Chiefs,” said Johnathan Shiflett, a spokesperson for the Republican.

The thing is Parson hasn’t been as eager to joust with other governors at the playoff level, allowing Kelly to be the governor most often seen placing friendly wagers. As in the past, Kelly placed a bet with a rival governor during this year’s AFC Championship while Parson – a longtime Chiefs season ticket holder – sat it out.

“The Chiefs have played in the AFC Championship game every year Governor Parson has been Governor – the only Governor who can champion that. As a result, he typically saves his wagers for the top game – the Super Bowl,” Shiflett said.

He added that Parson’s office has spoken with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, and expects a “friendly exchange of some kind” before the Chiefs Super Bowl matchup with the San Francisco 49ers.

Parson plans to travel to Las Vegas for the game, Shiflett said. Kelly will not be attending.

Bob Beatty, a political scientist at Washburn University in Topeka and a longtime observer of Kansas governors, said Kelly has benefited from claiming the Chiefs.

As a Democrat in Kansas, Beatty noted, Kelly has to win over moderates and Republicans. Her fandom adds to the image she has cultivated as a down-to-earth, folksy Kansan. And it comes off as authentic.

“There’s an old political adage to politicians which is always avoid funny hats,” Beatty said. “It really means don’t let anyone put a hat on you that you’re not comfortable with because it’s gonna make you look silly.”

“Kelly’s comfortable in a Chiefs jacket.”

Support across state lines

For many Kansas lawmakers, claiming the Chiefs is a no-brainer. The Kansas City metro area stretches across the state line, and Chiefs fans can be found across the whole state. In parts of western Kansas, the Denver Broncos may be geographically closer but, hey, the team went 8-9.

Kelly and Parson participated in a joint public service announcement last year urging civility in politics. Neither is from the Kansas City area, but both bantered about who is the bigger Chiefs fan.

“Players live in both states, just like the fans do,” Kansas House Majority Leader Chris Croft, an Overland Park Republican, said in a statement. “The Chiefs symbolize what can be achieved when everyone comes together, demonstrating that collective enthusiasm and support transcend state lines and political affiliations.”

And there’s the Swift factor. Kelce recently moved from Missouri to Leawood in Johnson County, where Swift has been spotted dining at the upscale restaurant Rye.

In Topeka, Kansas Democrats have joked about wanting Swift to weigh in on the state’s legislative elections in November. The singer endorsed President Joe Biden in the 2020 election. More recently, her relationship with Kelce has prompted far-right conspiracy theories about a rigged Super Bowl to influence the 2024 election.

Kansas state Rep. Mari Lynn Poskin, a Leawood Democrat whose district includes Kelce’s new home, said she met Kelce’s mother, Donna Kelce, at a Raising Cane’s chicken restaurant and explained to her how her son could change his voting registration to Kansas.

“I am hoping after he brings home the Super Bowl championship that he will attend to those matters,” she said.

Tensions between Kansas and Missouri date back to the Civil War but still crop up in both state capitols as lawmakers seek to beat — or mimic — legislation on the other side of the border. That’s been especially true for sports betting, now legal in Kansas but still illegal in Missouri.

When Kansas legalized sports betting in 2022, lawmakers assumed Missourians might cross state lines to watch games and legally wager. They also set aside the profits from betting in a recruiting professionals sports teams fund that many said they hoped would eventually help recruit the Chiefs.

The sports betting divide between the two states comes amid a debate over the long-term future of the Chiefs’ home stadium. The team, along with the Royals, have committed to remaining in Jackson County — so long as voters approve an upcoming stadium sales tax.

Parson has supported state funding for both teams to remain in Missouri, Shiflett said. However, the Republican governor did not include that funding in his most recent budget request for this year. State funding, Shiflett said, is contingent on Jackson County getting its sales tax situation resolved.

Geographic confusion

Kansas state Rep. Stephanie Clayton, an Overland Park Democrat, noted that Kelly, unlike Parson, can legally wager against her fellow governors. But Missouri House Majority Leader Jonathan Patterson, a Lee’s Summit Republican, said those bets were “cringey” anyways and politicians should avoid them.

“Most people think the Kansas City Chiefs are in Kansas,” Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, said. “I want her to claim them – who wouldn’t want to claim a Super Bowl champion?”

When the Chiefs won their first Super Bowl of the Mahomes era in 2020, then-President Donald Trump congratulated the Chiefs for their performance representing “the Great State of Kansas.”

For Missouri lawmakers, the issue comes down to simple geography: The Chiefs are based in Missouri.

Missouri state Rep. Jamie Johnson, a Kansas City Democrat, emphasized that Arrowhead Stadium is in “Kansas City, Missouri.” She acknowledged, however, that Kelly is a Chiefs fan and “several people” in Kansas claim the team “for better or worse.”

Missouri state Rep. Kurtis Gregory, a Marshall Republican, called the geographic confusion “easily understandable” for people not from the area.

Still, he said, “just a little quick Google search to make sure that you get it right before you put something out there would be great.”

Gregory, who previously played offensive lineman for the University of Missouri, floated the idea of offering legislation that would block the University of Kansas from using Arrowhead Stadium this fall while the team’s home football stadium is renovated. It would be “for kicks and grins,” he said.

“We’ll see what strikes my fancy,” he said. “I’m glad that they’re going to be coming and spending taxpayer dollars in the state of Missouri.”

Kansas state Rep. Pam Curtis, a Kansas City, Kansas, Democrat, said Kansans should claim the Chiefs as they transcend state lines. As for the governors, she said they may have good reason to make bets with Kelly instead of Parson.

“Maybe we have better barbecue,” she said.

The Star’s Jenna Barackman and Mike Hendricks contributed to this report.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.