FORT RILEY, Kan. (AP) — Speculation swirled around Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, but she kept a normal work schedule Wednesday and continued to duck questions about whether she’ll be Barack Obama’s choice for vice president.
“I don’t have any idea,” Sebelius said before a ceremony at Fort Riley.
Obama, the presumed Democratic presidential nominee, was thought to have narrowed his list of potential running mates to four, including Sebelius. The others are Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine.
Sebelius declined to speculate about her chances Wednesday. At Fort Riley to participate in a ceremony marking an agreement meant to strengthen ties between the Army post and surrounding communities, Sebelius said she was focused on her duties as governor.
“As I’ve told you for months, all questions about the process and the timetable come from the campaign,” Sebelius said.
Sebelius’ selection — and election — as vice president would remake the state’s political landscape. Her departure would elevate Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson to governor and be the first time a governor has left office early since January 1957.
Parkinson is a former legislator, but he doesn’t have any record of running in a statewide campaign by himself. He’s also a former state Republican Party chairman who criticized Sebelius during her first campaign for governor in 2002 but switched parties to run with her in 2006.
Democrats also have been speculating that Sebelius is likely to be offered a Cabinet job if she’s not on the ticket and Obama wins. But some Kansans aren’t sure she would jump at it.
“I think she’s in a very good position without going to Washington,” said Burdett Loomis, a University of Kansas political scientist who once worked on Sebelius’ staff. “I think he would have to put a lot of pressure on her, and it would have to be a really attractive position for her to go.”
Meanwhile, Sebelius’ schedule contained a mix of administrative and political activities. She was to return to her Statehouse office Wednesday before participating in private, evening political fundraisers in the Kansas City area, spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran said.
On Thursday morning, she planned to participate in a U.S. Department of Energy contest for students at a Topeka-area high school. Then, she was expected to campaign in Iowa for Obama, something she has done in several other states.
Corcoran said Sebelius would be back Friday at the Statehouse to interview candidates for a Shawnee County judgeship, meet with her staff and prepare for next week’s Democratic National Convention in Denver. Sebelius said she plans to fly to Denver midday Saturday.
A senior Obama adviser told AP on Tuesday that Obama planned to campaign with his new running mate Saturday in Springfield, Ill., where he kicked off his presidential campaign.
Democrats believe one disadvantage for Sebelius in the veepstakes is that she’s not likely to push Kansas, a solid Republican state in presidential elections, into Obama’s column. No Democratic presidential nominee has carried Kansas since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.
She also lacks foreign policy experience, and some Democrats wonder whether supporters of former Obama rival Hillary Rodham Clinton will be alienated if he chooses a woman other than Clinton.
But Democrats also argue that Sebelius is highly regarded by national party officials. In January, she gave Democrats’ response to President Bush’s last State of the Union address.
“She’s pitched in and really put her shoulder into his campaign. She’s made appearances all over the country. She maintains contact with a wide network of other elected officials, friends, around the country, helping Barack,” said Dan Watkins, a Lawrence attorney who’s a senior adviser for the Obama campaign in Kansas. “Certainly, she’s one of his most trusted supporters.”
