Kansas for Life’s political arm is stepping up efforts to make sure that Republican Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt does not emerge victorious from a packed GOP field in the 2026 primary for governor.
The organization’s political action committee has set up a website dedicated to the opposition of Schmidt, who is one of eight announced Republicans seeking the GOP nomination.
A ninth candidate – businessman Philip Sarnecki – is expected to join the race soon.
The PAC’s website compares Schmidt – a state senator from 2005 to 2018 – to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and the 10 abortion bills that each voted against.
The PAC also created a downloadable flier that was included in a mailing promoting KFL’s annual fall event and ways to be involved, including financially.
“Vicki Schmidt’s record speaks for itself,” said Amanda Grosserode, director of KFL’s political action committee.
“KFL PAC believes Schmidt’s dismal record sets her far apart from the other GOP candidates in what is already a crowded field and should not go unnoticed,” Grosserode said in a statement.
The fall mailing included a fundraising letter further enumerating her record on abortion, one that KFL described as “cold,” “cruel” and “radical.”
“Too many have never heard the truth. And unless we act now, Vicki Schmidt may coast through a crowded field while voters remain in the dark,” the letter said.
The intensified opposition to Schmidt comes with the Republican primary for governor still about a year away.
Schmidt responded to KFL’s effort.
“Like most Kansans, I don’t think abortions should be on demand like the far left,” Schmidt said in a statement.
“I support reasonable exceptions and that is where most Kansans are at.”
There is a view, with so many conservatives in the GOP primary, that there might be a path for Schmidt if she can carve out enough moderate Republican voters.
Several of those candidates are more decidedly Trumpian than Schmidt, especially former Gov. Jeff Colyer, who has been a staunch supporter of the president.
So, it is believed that Schmidt might only need a small percentage of voters to win the primary where so many Republicans are appealing to the same kind of voter.
KFL made its opposition to Schmidt known from the day she announced her candidacy, quickly issuing a statement saying she had “the worst record on life of any Republican to ever seek office in Kansas.”
At that time, Schmidt said she that she thought the U.S. Supreme Court made the correct decision when it overturned Roe v. Wade.
“The Supreme Court did the right thing when they sent the decision back to the states,” Schmidt said in a statement issued the day she announced her candidacy.
