Topeka ? Being a Democratic governor in a reliably Republican state already has brought Gov. Kathleen Sebelius a little national attention, and she could raise her profile by tackling difficult health care issues.

Sebelius has outlined a $50 million proposal for expanding state health coverage to low-income adults and children, subsidizing private health insurance and attacking health care costs, funded by a 50 cents-per-pack cigarette-tax increase. It’s a plan that will make health care a major issue when legislators open their 2005 session Jan. 10.

The governor said in a recent interview that she’s not worried about building a national reputation, but she acknowledged a successful health care initiative would attract attention outside Kansas.

“The states are kind of the incubators of innovation — have been for well over a decade,” Sebelius told The Associated Press. “I am eager to steal good ideas and share good ideas we have.”

Solutions at the state level

And some political analysts believe governors can make a mark on an issue that bedevils national leaders.

“Everybody is looking for the governor who gets it right,” said Jennifer Duffy, a managing editor for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report in Washington. “Every state has a health care problem.”

Political analysts such as Duffy differ on how much buzz Sebelius has generated, agreeing that ordinary voters outside her own state don’t know her. In August, Time magazine listed her as one of four political “rising stars from the heartland,” then even mentioned her last month as a potential 2008 presidential candidate.

“To have a national reputation, you have to be willing to stick your neck out,” said Matthew Streb, an assistant political science professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. “This program could really be a way to take that first step toward establishing a reputation as a policy-maker.”

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Sebelius said she’s pushing her health care initiative because rising health, insurance and prescription costs are among Kansans’ biggest concerns.

Won’t ‘wait for Congress’

Last month, Sebelius also brought Kansas into a program started by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a fellow Democrat, aimed at helping residents import lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Missouri and Wisconsin also are participating.

“If good policy is made on the environment, on education, on health care, it’s coming out of state laboratories,” Sebelius said. “What we’re saying is that we’re not going to wait for Congress to come up with some brilliant solution. We really need to fashion it. We can be a lot more nimble.”

However, Sebelius faces a Legislature with large Republican majorities in both houses, and her health care proposals already have drawn some criticism, particularly because the cigarette tax would rise from 79 cents to $1.29 a pack.

“If that’s the cornerstone, then that’s pretty shaky,” said House Speaker Doug Mays, R-Topeka.

A model for Democrats

Sebelius is already a potential model for Democrats as someone who can carry a Republican state, said Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report, also in Washington. She could inject herself into a national debate on health care, he said.

“This is the kind of issue where someone can make a mark,” Rothenberg said.

The analysts said a heightened national profile can make a governor seem a viable vice presidential candidate, particularly as Democrats search for fresh political faces. They also said Sebelius could become a potential Cabinet appointee.

Duffy also said a national reputation would help Sebelius raise money in seeking re-election in 2006.