Kansas governor on Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and handling abortion access in the state

(CBS, KYMA/KECY) - Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan spoke with Kansas Governor Laura Kelly on Face the Nation Sunday.

Brennan asked Kelly her thoughts on Minnesota Governor Tim Walz being selected as Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate, and whether it's an overstatement that Walz can speak to the rural America.

"No, not at all. I mean, Tim Walz is the epitome of the Midwestern dad. You could put him at any State Fair, on any Main Street and certainly in any Friday night football game in rural Kansas, and he would fit right in. I think we also need to remember that while Minnesota is a blue state, he represented in Congress for 12 years a very red section of Minnesota. So, he understands rural Minnesota. He understands rural America, and I think that's one of the reasons that he is a huge asset to the Harris Walz team."

Gov. Laura Kelly (D-KS)

During the interview, Brennan and Kelly talked how she has handled access to abortion in her state.

"I think I didn't put it front and center because it wasn't an issue that I could really deal with. It was a ballot issue. Those issues go right around me and onto the ballot and to the people. So I decided that it was better for me to let the people decide what they wanted to do with that, and for me to continue to focus on the other issues where I actually could have an impact, you know, on our infrastructure, on our economic development, on our schools. So...but we can see in other states where governors have come out very aggressively supporting women's reproductive rights, Michigan, for instance, comes to mind, and it has worked. They have moved the needle in Michigan and other states because they have focused on that issue, and whether we want it to be an issue or not, it is, and I think it will be an issue in the presidential race this year too."

Gov. Laura Kelly (D-KS)

When asked what she meant by saying one of the reasons she personally tried not to talk about it was not just procedural, but also because she said Democrats are getting drawn into hot button culture war issues, and said she didn't want to get dragged into conversations that she didn't want to have, Kelly said:

"I don't want to get distracted by issues that take us away from the core issues that a governor is responsible for. And that is just what I said before you've got to, you've got to make sure your schools are funded. You got to make sure your roads are built. You've got to make sure you're building your economy. You got to make sure you're fixing your child welfare system. We've got all sorts of other things that we need to be focused on. And what I found, particularly during my campaigns, is that the- my opponents wanted to use cultural, socially divisive issues to distract from the real issues because they didn't have answers for that."

To watch more of Brennan's interview with Kelly, click here.