Former House Majority Leader Don Hineman is leading a political action committee’s efforts to hold the political center in the Legislature and elect moderate Republicans to the statehouse.
Hinemen, a leading moderate in the Kansas House who is not seeking reelection, said he became chairman and treasurer of the Kansas Republican Values Fund in early June. He replaced former state Rep. Susie Swanson.
“I think it’s very important for those us who are in the center of the political spectrum to have organizations that support our reelection and support like-minded folks who are running, especially for open seats in particular,” he said.
“It’s valuable for the state of Kansas and politics in Kansas to have a viable center in the political discussion,” he said.
State ethics law bars seated legislators from establishing a political action committee, but it doesn’t extend to lawmakers serving as an officer of an existing PAC.
Ethics officials have provided informal guidance that a legislator can serve as a PAC officer although the commission has not directly considered the question in a formal opinion.
The Kansas Republican Values Fund has been around since the 2016 election cycle when it was chaired by former state Rep. Bob Brookens.
It’s funding during the 2018 cycle included $20,000 from the Kansas National Education Association, $22,000 from the Kansas Contractors Association and $10,000 from Every Town for Gun Safety Action fund. The PAC’s 2020 report isn’t due until next week.
There are roughly 10 seats in the Kansas House now held by moderate Republicans that will be in play during the upcoming primary although maybe only six or seven will really be competitive.
This year, the PAC has been sending out mailers in some of the hotter races against opponents of state Reps. Mark Samsel (District 5), Jan Kessinger (District 20) and Jim Karleskint (District 42), Hineman said.
It also has dropped mailers against the opponent of Donna Hoener-Queal in District 113, who is seeking the seat previously held by the late state Rep. Greg Lewis and later filled by conservative Alicia Straub, who is now running for the state Senate.
Samsel, Kessinger and Karleskint are locked in primary battles with conservatives where they have been taking hits from groups such as the Kansas Chamber of Commerce’s political action committee and Kansans for Life.
However, there are other groups that have been running ads on behalf of moderate candidates, including Alliance for a Secure Kansas and the Build Kansas Jobs PAC, which has run ads linking moderates to President Donald Trump’s call to spend more money on roads and bridges.
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