‘First Gentleman’ talks life as the Governor’s husband

TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – Ted Daughety is the husband to the person that runs the state of Kansas, but you might not even recognize him in the grocery store.

Daughety has been at Governor Laura Kelly’s side for 36 years. After his wife took on a role placing her in the public eye, Daughety strives to keep his days normal.

“I’ve got my own work, I’m full-time as a doc,” said Daughety.

“She does leadership, I do medicine.”

Ted Daughety, First Gentleman of Kansas

Daughety is a pulmonologist specializing in sleep disorders in Topeka and Lawrence, spending four days a week in the office. However, a lot of his time is still spent moving their things into the governor’s mansion, Cedar Crest, and adjusting to their new life.

“She’s here almost every night and much more relaxed, I mean she’s really enjoying the work, so that the end of the day she comes here and unwinds and tells me what they’ve found to work on today and is excited about it,” Daughety said.

Daughety enjoys activities spent outdoors, including bike riding, kayaking, and gardening. The First Gentleman says he and Governor Kelly are a lot alike.

“Similar interests, similar values, and that makes it a lot easier,” Daughety said.

But there is one characteristic that differentiates the two.

“She’s an incredibly competitive person, now there’s a way in which we are different, she is much more competitive than I, at one point she was in three different tennis leagues simultaneously,” Daughety said.

It was this trait, Daughety said that helped his wife become governor.

“I was not surprised that the big competitor in the house won,” he said.

Daughety, the third first gentleman of Kansas said he takes pride in his role, not for himself, but because it means more women governors are in power.

Though Daughety plans to continue working as a doctor, one thing he is passionate about in his role as first gentleman is getting Cedar Crest back to its natural state with more cedar trees.