National Democrats are homing in on 18 Kansas statehouse races in their drive to break up the Republican supermajority in the Kansas Legislature.
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee this week unveiled nine races in the Kansas House and nine in the Senate that they are targeting in the general election.
The announcement, coupled with Americans for Prosperity’s plans to spend historic sums in Kansas, helps bring the state’s top legislative races into clear view.
It’s the second national Democratic group to take an interest in Kansas.
The National Democratic Redistricting Committee, chaired by former Attorney General Eric Holder, is focused on 12 Kansas House districts, four now held by Republicans and eight held by Democrats.
“Kansans are fed up with Republican extremism,” DLCC Regional spokesman Pieter Brower said in an email.
“The GOP blocked Medicaid expansion earlier this year, denying over 130,000 Kansans access to health care, and challenged Gov. Kelly’s response to coronavirus.
“Momentum is on our side, and we have incredible grassroots fundraising to prove it.”
The DLCC says breaking the GOP supermajority in Kansas is one of its top goals of a $50 million national campaign targeting more than 12 chambers in 13 states.
It plans to spend about $300,000 in Kansas races.
Democrats only need to flip one seat in the House and three in the Senate to give Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly the ability to veto bills without much fear of an override.
Democrats have made the supermajority a priority as lawmakers get set to draw election districts after the census.
They want to block Republicans from drawing new election boundaries that would put Democrats at a disadvantage.
“Breaking the Republican supermajority this November will allow the legislature to finally make progress on affordable health care and put an end to the GOP infighting impeding progress in Topeka,” Brower said.
Earlier this year, the Republican State Leadership Committee revealed that it was targeting seats now held by Democrats in districts that went for President Donald Trump in 2016. They focused on nine seats in the Kansas House and five in the Kansas Senate.
RSLC President Austin Chambers recently noted the slim margins for Republicans to hold their legislative supermajorities.
“We don’t think there’s any risk of losing the majority, but the supermajorities are certainly at risk,” he said in a recent call with reporters.
Kansas Republican Party spokesman CJ Grover wasn’t ready to concede anything.
“Washington Democrats can offer all the bluster they want,” Grover said.
“Meanwhile, our Republican candidates will continue to outwork them, to connect with voters, and to offer real solutions to get our state back on track after we win in November.”
“In reality, Kansans are fed up with Gov. Kelly’s disastrous handling of the pandemic and are demanding change and real leadership,” Grover said.
Half the races national Democrats are focused on in Kansas are centered in Johnson County, which has been trending blue in some areas.
Some of the DLCC’s spotlighted races overlap with the races conservative groups such as Americans for Prosperity are targeting.
For instance, the DLCC and AFP have made a priority of House District 14, where Democrat Angela Schweller is challenging Republican state Rep. Charlotte Esau.
Esau defeated Schweller two years ago by 175 votes. The district went for former Gov. Sam Brownback in 2014, Trump in 2016 and Kelly in 2018.
Schweller had about a $13,000 lead in cash on hand over Esau before the primary, according to the latest reports available in late July.
The DLCC also is zeroing in on House District 40, where Democrat Joana Scholtz is running against Republican state Rep. David French.
A retired military intelligence officer, Scholtz also is a retired special education teacher, who was the Leavenworth 2010 Teacher of the Year for Secondary Education.
Scholtz has raised $20,113 this year compared to $8,598 for French. She had $16,216 on hand as of July 23, compared to $6,681 for French.
Kelly carried the district by about 2.5 percentage points in 2018.
The district went for Trump in 2016, Brownback in 2014 and Mitt Romney in 2012.
Also shaping up as a battleground is House District 20, where Republican Jane Dirks is fighting to take the seat now held by state Rep. Jan Kessinger.
Dirks beat Kessinger in the Republican primary and now faces Democrat Mari-Lynn Poskin, who has been raising money since last year.
Poskin reported about $33,000 on hand in July, while Dirks had about $6,900 on hand as she faced primary opposition.
The DLCC also is coming to play in Senate District 10, where Lindsey Constance is engaged in a high-profile campaign against Republican state Sen. Mike Thompson, a former local television weatherman.
Constance, too, has been campaigning since last year. She faces Thompson, who just won his primary with more than 70% of the vote and raised about $50,000.
Constance has raised about $125,000 for the two-year election cycle and had about $100,000 on hand as of mid-July.
Kelly carried the district by almost 16 percentage points over former Secretary of State Kris Kobach in the 2018 governor’s race.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids carried the district by about 6 percentage points.
Four years ago, when former state Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook was narrowly reelected, Trump won the district.
The district went for Brownback in 2014 and Romney in the 2012 presidential election.
The DLCC and AFP are battling in House District 87, where Democrat is Matt Fox is going up against Republican Susan Estes, the wife of Congressman Ron Estes.
The 87th District went for Trump in 2016 with 52% of the vote.
It went for former Brownback in 2014 with 50.3% of the vote and for Romney with about 60% in 2012.
In other races, the DLCC is targeting:
- House District 17, where Democrat Jo Ella Hoye faces Republican Kristine Sapp.
- House District 48, where Democrat Jennifer Day is running against Republican Terry Frederick. Former Blue Valley Schools Superintendent David Benson won this seat as a Democrat two years ago by just 82 votes.
- House District 49, where Democrat Katie Dixon is challenging Republican state Rep. Megan Lynn.
- House District 86, where Democrat Stephanie Byers is campaigning against Cyndi Howerton. Byers could become the state’s first transgender lawmaker.
- House District 89, where Democratic state Rep. Stephanie Yeager is fending off a challenge from Republican Tom Kessler.
Over in the Senate, the DLCC is targeting these races:
- Senate District 5, where Democratic state Rep. Jeff Pittman is challenging Republican state Sen. Kevin Braun.
- Senate District 8, where Democratic state Rep. Cindy Holscher faces former Republican state Rep. James Todd.
- Senate District 9, where Democrat Stacey Knoell is running against Republican Beverly Gossage, who replaced incumbent state Sen. Julia Lynn on the ballot.
- Senate District 18, where Tobias Schlingensiepen faces Republican Kristen O’Shea. This is the seat once held by Gov. Laura Kelly when she was in the Senate. Schlingensiepen has raised more than $60,000, while O’Shea has raised $43,000.
- Senate District 20, where Democrat Rachel Willis is running against Republican state Rep. Brenda Dietrich.
- Senate District 21, where Democratic state Sen. Dinah Sykes is seeking a second term against Tom Bickimer. Sykes was elected as a Republican in 2016 but changed parties because the GOP moved too far to the right.
- Senate District 28, where former House Minority Leader Jim Ward is challenging Republican state Sen. Mike Petersen.
- Senate District 30, where Melissa Gregory – a former aide to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius – is running against state Rep. Renee Erickson. The seat is now held by outgoing Senate President Susan Wagle.
