Three Democratic U.S. Senate candidates on Monday night used a forum to sharpen their criticisms of Republican incumbent Roger Marshall, saying he shows more loyalty to President Donald Trump than serving Kansans.
Former congressional candidate Christy Davis, lawyer Anne Parelkar and Johnson County businesswoman Sandy Spidel Neumann took turns taking swipes at Marshall during an hourlong forum sponsored by the Kansas Democratic Party.
They criticized his support for tariffs that they said are hurting Kansas farmers.
They criticized him for refusing to extend enhanced premium tax credits for Kansans on the Affordable Care Act exchanges.
And they criticized him for walking out on an angry group of residents at a town hall meeting in Oakley, Kansas, earlier this year.
Marshall’s office could not be reached for comment Tuesday midmorning.
“I know I can represent Kansas way better than Roger Marshall can,” Spidel Neumann said. “To be fair, anyone could do a better job than Roger could right now.
“While Marshall is dodging constituents and not responding to questions, I will represent all Kansans,” she said. “I will go to every county, every city, talk to Kansans, find out what’s concerning them and work across the aisle to deliver for Kansas.
“From what I’ve seen, Marshall just parrots administration talking points. He shows up on occasion for a photo op in Kansas,” she said.
“You don’t need a degree in economics to see that the chaos created by Marshall and the Republican-controlled government is hurting everyone,” she said.
It was a view shared by Davis and Parelkar as well.
Parelkar said Marshall doesn’t take many questions beyond the news outlets Fox News and Newsmax.
“He hides, he avoids and he performs on TV for Daddy Trump’s approval,” she said.
“That’s not leadership. It’s fear. It’s fear of having to explain what he’s actually done to working families and to the people who trusted him.
“I’m running for office because Kansas deserves a senator who doesn’t disappear,” she said. “We are dealing with real problems, rising prices, loss of health care, family farms being eaten by corporate consolidation.
“On every single one of these issues, we’re getting the bare minimum from Washington and, in many cases, we’re not getting anything at all,” she said.
“Kansas deserves a senator who shows up. We all agree on that,” she said. “But we also deserve a senator that is right to fight for our needs.”
Davis, who previously worked as the state director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s rural development office in Kansas, said she was running to “be everything Roger Marshall isn’t.”
“He has failed to listen to his constituents,” Davis said.
“When he rubber stamps Trump’s policies, he’s working to meet the needs of billionaires in his home state of Florida, not everyday Kansans,” she said.
“I’ve been listening to and working with real Kansans my entire life, and I’m not afraid to do what’s right by them because I’ve been doing it,” she said.
“I’ve been working with communities on farm and rural policy, economic development and housing policy for decades,” she said.
“I choose to listen to all Kansans, not just the left who agree with me. I’ll never run away from constituents just because they ask tough questions,” she said.
Each of the candidates was asked how they would build a bipartisan coalition of urban, suburban and rural voters to defeat Marshall.
They were asked about their message to rural voters who tend to vote more Republican.
“I will fight for all Kansans. I fight for the red, fight for the blue, be it urban, suburban, rural. It doesn’t matter,” Spidel Neumann said.
“At the end of the day, everyone has the same kitchen-table issues,” she said.
“They always want something better for their kids, they want health care, they want a decent job, they want lower cost for things…so they can take care of their family.”
Spidel Neumann said it’s her goal to visit every county to learn what matters to Kansans. She said there could be an opening in areas where Trump’s trade policy hasn’t worked out well.
“I think a lot folks often felt that they weren’t necessarily going to be impacted by things and then when the tariffs came, they believed they were going to be paid for by somebody else, and then they’re seeing prices go up,” she said.
“You see farmers now being highly impacted by the tariffs, and it’s really opening their eyes to this isn’t playing out the way I thought it was going to play out,” she said.
Davis said not everyone in rural Kansas is a hard-core Trump supporter. She said that type of stereotyping needs to be avoided so it doesn’t leave rural voters feeling so much like outcasts that they don’t show up to vote.
As the state director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s rural development office in Kansas, Davis said she managed the investment of $1.3 billion in housing, hospitals, nursing homes and agribusinesses – projects important to all Kansans, not just rural Kansans.
Davis said every town hall she’s had during the campaign has drawn Democrats, Republicans and independents. “I know people in every county in the state, and I’ve got supporters in every county in the state.”
She added that there are many issues that transcend geography, such as education and health care. “But there are so many different cultures throughout the state and issues that are specific to each county.”
She said her political team is built to support campaign operations in every Kansas county.
“We understand the importance of focusing resources on Democratic strongholds, but we can’t win without votes in rural county,” the Cottonwood Falls resident said.
“Just so everybody knows, Roger Marshall is less popular than Donald Trump in Kansas.”
Parelkar said it’s time for voters to get angry, drawing on a reference to Howard Beale, the fictional character in the movie “Network.”
“America, Kansas, we need our Howard Beale moment,” she said. “It’s time we stand up and say, ‘We’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it any more.’
“We can do better because we must do better. I will show up every chance I get – every county, every community, every forum – and not just in the friendly rooms where people shout accolades at me like Mr. Marshall.
“You cannot possibly represent every single Kansan if you’re not willing to listen to them even when they disagree with you.”
