She became director of physical education and recreation therapy at the National Jewish Hospital for Respiratory and Immune Diseases.

[1] Kelly was elected to the Kansas Senate representing northern Topeka in November 2004, later serving as Minority Whip.

In the Democratic primary she ran against former Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer and former Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Josh Svaty.

[17] She was also endorsed by 28 current or former Republican government officials, including former Kansas Governor Bill Graves; former State Senator, Lt.

"[17] Former Republican state senator Tim Owens was the campaign treasurer for Kansas independent candidate Greg Orman, but he stepped down from that post on October 30 and endorsed Kelly, believing only she could beat Kobach.

She characterized her opponent, who had been noted for his broad disenfranchisement of voters and legal strategies against immigrants, as "Sam Brownback on steroids".

[22][circular reference] Kelly was reelected on November 8, 2022, defeating Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, 49.5% to 47.3%.

[29][30] In response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Kelly, like other governors, took steps to halt the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

[32] On March 18, citing the unprecedented crisis, Kelly directed the end to all in-person K–12 classes for the remainder of the school year, making Kansas the first state to take that step.

[34] On March 28, amid increasing deaths and illnesses, Kelly issued a "stay at home" order that directed all residents to remain at home, except for travel for essential work, essential business (such as traveling to obtain medical care or groceries), and outdoor exercise with social distancing measures.

[35] Kelly strongly criticized the Trump administration's slow response to the crisis and the federal failure to provide Kansas and other states with adequate supplies of personal protective equipment (such as masks, gloves, and gowns) and testing kits.

If the state was not sufficiently prepared for the pandemic, many counties were even less so, citing CDC data showing Kansas near the bottom of vaccinations per 100,000 residents.

[37] Members of the Kansas congressional delegation, including Sharice Davids, called on Kelly to do more to address the backlog of claimants at the Department of Labor seeking unemployment payments from federal programs aimed to help residents out of work due to the pandemic.

[45][46][47][48] A week later, in a separate case, U.S. District Judge John W. Broomes in Wichita issued a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of Kelly's order as to two churches (one in Junction City, the other in Dodge City), contending that the restriction violated religious freedom and free speech rights.

[49][50] That case became moot after Kelly issued a new executive order with less restrictive COVID-19 rules effective on May 4, 2020, under an agreement that allowed the churches to hold larger in-person services but required social distancing.

[56] Kelly has clashed with immigrants rights advocates, signing a Republican-backed bill in 2022 that was written by her eventual gubernatorial opponent, then state attorney general, Derek Schmidt.

The state law was written to prevent the implementation of a recently passed local law in Wyandotte County, which sought to enact a community identification card program intended to benefit immigrants, the formerly incarcerated, those experiencing homelessness, those aged out of the foster care system, and the elderly.