Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America is putting $1.3 million into the campaign for the proposed constitutional amendment that would ensure abortion is not a protected right under the Kansas Constitution.
The group, which donates to candidates who oppose abortion, is taking a more aggressive approach in Kansas than in West Virginia, where a campaign was waged for a similar constitutional amendment four years ago.
Susan B. Anthony List spent $500,000 on the West Virginia campaign in 2018 with a team of more than 75 canvassers who visited 50,000 voter households.
The amendment won with 52% of the vote.
By comparison, Susan B. Anthony is deploying about 400 paid student canvassers who will knock on doors in Kansas City, Wichita and other cities throughout the state.
There have already been reports that Susan B. Anthony canvassers have been at doors in recent weeks, including one social media post that indicated they had already been at 100,000 doors. They ultimately want to hit 250,000 doors.
The group acknowledged a couple weeks ago that it was on the ground in Kansas but did not reveal more specific information until Wednesday.
SBA plans to purchase digital ads and send direct mail, although it’s not ruling out a purchase of broadcast ads.
SBA’s entrance into Kansas raises the stakes for a campaign that will end up as one of the most expensive primaries in state history.
The rival sides have either spent or reserved about $5.7 million in broadcast ads alone as of late Wednesday afternoon, according to the national political ad tracking firm AdImpact.
The two groups supporting the amendment – the Value Them Both Coalition and the education arm of Kansans for Life – have now spent or reserved $2.6 million in broadcast time, according to AdImpact.
The opponents of the amendment – Kansans for Constitutional Freedom – have now laid out $3.1 million.
The Value Them Both coalition, which supports the amendment, rolled out a new ad on Wednesday but did not provide the amount of the spend.
The ad features more than 200 Kansas medical professionals who recently announced their support for the constitutional amendment.
New amendment ad
