Updated SSJ Sunday Reader: Davids issues statement on Democratic Twitter battle

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Brad Cooper
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(Updated to reflect comment from Davids on tweet from AOC chief of staff)

Good morning everyone:

Last week started on an explosive note with former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach announcing he would run for the U.S. Senate. It was followed by a Supreme Court justice retiring and Gov. Laura Kelly pulling a policy that would have extended the timeline for food assistance for some adults without children.

Here’s a roundup of the more significant stories we published last week with some other news you may have missed but need to know.

Weir picks up congressional support

Republican Sara Weir circulated in Washington last week as she evaluated a possible run for Congress in the Kansas 3rd District next year.

Weir met with donors at the Capitol Hill Club last Wednesday and lined up support from Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who up until last year had been the highest ranking woman in Republican leadership.

The group included about 40 to 50 people such as lobbyists and leaders of political action committees representing an array of business interests.

Cathy McMorris Rodgers

Rodgers chaired the House Republican Conference from 2012 to 2018. CNN reported she raised $17 million during the 2017-18 election cycle, including $2.1 million for the National Republican Congressional Committee and $9 million for GOP House members and candidates.

A spokeswoman for Rodgers said the congresswoman has known Weir for 12 years, working with the Kansan when she headed the National Down Syndrome Society.

Rodgers has a son with Down syndrome and worked with Weir to pass a 2014 law that created tax-free savings accounts for individuals with disabilities.

The bill was intended to alleviate the financial burdens shouldered by individuals with disabilities to cover certain expenses for education, housing and transportation.

“If Sara runs, the congresswoman plans to endorse her,” the congresswoman’s spokeswoman, Olivia Hnat, said last week.

In a separate statement provided to the Sunflower State Journal, the congresswoman praised Weir’s work in advocating for individuals with disabilities.

“As a disability advocate and a CEO, she’s led on life-changing reforms that empower people — not the federal government — to make the best decisions for themselves,” Rodgers said. “Her conservative beliefs and compelling life story make her one of the most exciting GOP recruits we have in the nation.”

Sara Weir

Weir is looking at the race at the same time as former Kansas Republican Party Chairwoman Amanda Adkins has been surveying the field as well.

Steeped in political experience, Adkins also has been meeting with donors and is expected to have the know-how to assemble a campaign and raise money to mount a campaign to challenge Democratic incumbent Sharice Davids next year.

Nether Weir nor Adkins has announced whether they will run for Congress.

Weir has already lined up support from former Kansas Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins. She’s also enlisted conservative political consultant Jared Suhn as an adviser.

“The high level of support Sara is receiving is proof of the traction she is receiving locally and in Washington,” Suhn said in a text message.

“Republicans known Sara Hart Weir is the only conservative who can win the primary and ultimately defeat Sharice Davids next November,” he said.

Filing timely reports

Sometimes a lot is published about what politicians don’t do. But here are some statistics about what they actually do — and it isn’t necessarily bad.

The state Ethics Commission released data last week showing that just about everyone who was required to file reports showing their economic interests did in 2019.

There were 5,440 public officials required to file statements of substantial interest this year. Only one candidate did not as of July 11. (And we apologize, we don’t have the name.)

By comparison, 5,686 candidates were required to submit reports in 2018, and 16 had not filed as of July 3 of that year.

In 2017, 5,669 were required to file the reports, and five were outstanding as of Aug. 15 of that year.

In 2016, there were 5,742 public officials required to file, and 63 were outstanding as of June 21 of that year.

Davids caught in the middle

Kansas Congresswoman Sharice Davids is caught in the middle of an evolving fight between U.S. House Democratic leadership and the chief of staff of progressive Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

The fight grabbed attention late Friday evening when the House Democratic Caucus used its Twitter account to admonish AOC’s chief of staff for a two-week-old tweet saying that Davids’ votes “are showing her to enable a racist system.”

The House Dems responded with the following tweet, which showed the first tweet from AOC’s Chief of Staff Saikat Chakrabarti.

Chakrabartie came back with this tweet.

Chakrabarti then responded with another tweet explaining that his tweet from a couple weeks earlier was related to a border-funding bill that he said gave the president a blank check to continue “caging people in horrendous conditions.”

At one point, Republican Congressman Steve Watkins tweeted to Davids’ defense.

Here’s the coverage from Fox News and The Hill newspaper. An effort to ask Davids about the tweets was unsuccessful.

The congresswoman’s district director wouldn’t make the congresswoman available after a news conference on Saturday in Overland Park with Congressmen Peter DeFazio and Rick Larsen on transportation issues.

DeFazio chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Larsen chairs the Aviation Subcommittee. They were in Overland Park on Saturday to meet with local leaders to discuss transportation needs.

However, the congresswoman’s office issued this statement on Sunday night.

“Representative Davids’ complete focus is on serving the people of Kansas’ Third District and that is where it will remain,” spokeswoman Johanna Warshaw said in a statement issued early Sunday evening.

“That’s why she spent the weekend in Kansas with fellow Transportation and Infrastructure Committee members advocating for the infrastructure needs of our region, like expanding U.S. 69,” Warshaw said.

LaTurner fundraising

U.S. Senate candidate Jake LaTurner announced last week that he raised $200,000 for the second quarter of 2019, bringing his total raised this year to more than $500,000.

Jake LaTurner

The filing deadline for campaign finance reports isn’t until Monday, so we don’t know any details such as how much money he has spent or how much he has on hand.

But LaTurner got a jump on anyone else who is joining the race, including former Secretary of State Kris Kobach and former Johnson County Commissioner David Lindstrom.

A number of other candidates may join the field as well, including Senate President Susan Wagle, Kansas Chamber of Commerce executive Alan Cobb, Republican Congressman Roger Marshall and conservative lobbyist Matt Schlapp.

“Kansans are truly ready for generational change in Washington D.C.,” LaTurner said in a statement. “We need a conservative fighter in the U.S. Senate that will not back down when the pressure is on.”

Year-end casino revenues

Casino revenues for fiscal year 2019 came in relatively flat from the previous year, new numbers show.

Revenue from the state’s four casinos totaled about $411 million for the fiscal year ending June 30, about 1.6% higher than in fiscal year 2018.

The Kansas Crossing Casino in Pittsburg saw the biggest percentage increase of any of the casinos, up 6.2% in 2019 over 2018. The casino reported about $2 million more in revenue in 2019 over 2018, the figures show.

Here’s the wrap for the revenue numbers for all the casinos for fiscal year 2019:

Boot Hill Casino, Dodge City
2019 revenues: $41.6 million
2018 revenues: $41.2 million
Percentage increase: 0.98%

Kansas Star Casino, Mulvane
2019 revenues: $184.2 million
2018 revenues: $182.1 million
Percentage increase: 1.14%

Hollywood Casino, Kansas City
2019 revenues: $150.8 million
2018 revenues: $148.8 million
Percentage increase: 1.36%

Kansas Crossing Casino, Pittsburg
2019 revenues: $34.5 million
2018 revenues: $32.5 million
Percentage increase: 6.2%

Newby’s defense

A couple weeks ago, Politico published a piece detailing how the Election Assistance Commission is mired in leadership turmoil under the direction of former Johnson County Election Commissioner Brian Newby.

The story reported that he impeded work on election security, ignored staff questions and tried to have a controlling influence over employees.

Recently, Newby got a chance to defend himself with this piece in The Hill newspaper, in which he described the reports as “politically-driven and sensational.”

He added, “It’s time to set the record straight, especially since my own tenure here has been a primary focus for these attacks.”

Farm outlook improves

Farmer sentiment bounced by 25 points in June, according to the latest Ag Economy Barometer produced by Purdue University.

The report shows that producer sentiment was 25 points higher in June than a month earlier, when it was at its lowest point since October 2016.

The survey of 400 producers nationally, including Kansas, is similar to the consumer sentiment survey done at the University of Michigan.

The Purdue study covers farms with gross revenues of more than $500,000.

The study has a baseline index of 100. Anything above 100 is generally more positive. Anything below 100 tends to be more negative.

In the latest survey, the outlook was at 126, up from 101 in May. Farm outlook reached its peak of about 150 in early 2017. In April, farm outlook was at 115.

“The improvement in farmers’ sentiment occurred in the midst of this spring’s corn and soybean planting delays in the nation’s mid-section, which is expected to lead to unprecedented levels of prevented planting claims for both corn and soybeans,” the report states.

“The prospect of large prevented plantings, combined with expectations for yield reductions attributable to delayed planting, pushed both corn and soybean prices up sharply since the May survey was completed, which contributed to the sentiment improvement.”

Meanwhile, 69% of farmers said in June that they believed the trade war with China will be resolved in favor of U.S. agriculture. That was up from 65% in May.

Twenty-seven percent said they didn’t think the trade dispute would help U.S. farms. Four percent didn’t have an opinion.

However, the percentage of farms that thought they would benefit from the trade war was down from 77% in March and 71% in April.

Here’s the video if you just want to watch the agriculture economists talk about the report:

Other Kobach-related news

Republican Congressman Roger Marshall, a potential U.S. Senate candidate, addresses a Kris Kobach candidacy in The Hill newspaper, suggesting that the former secretary of state could threaten the Republican majority in the Senate.

Here’s CNN’s look at how a Kobach candidacy figures into the national math for Republicans to keep the Senate. And U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts discusses Kobach’s chances of winning the Senate race with The Kansas City Star.

And for what it’s worth, University of Virginia professor Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball has moved the Kansas Senate race from “Safe Republican” to “Likely Republican” with Kobach’s entry into the race.

“Kobach was a very weak gubernatorial nominee and, if nominated, hypothetically could threaten the R hold,” tweeted Kyle Kondik, managing editor of the Crystal Ball.

“That said, hardly anyone alive has seen a Dem senator from Kansas (last one elected was in 1932) and even a weak nominee like Kobach would likely be favored. Both sides seem likely to have competitive primaries at this point. Likely R is still a rating that clearly favors Rs.”

Medicaid expansion

The governor of North Carolina and the state legislature are still locked in a battle over the budget and whether to expand Medicaid.

Gov. Roy Cooper recently vetoed the state budget as a way of forcing the Republican-controlled legislature to expand Medicaid — reminiscent of last session when Democrats and moderate Republicans in the Kansas House tried to hold the state budget hostage to force the Senate to move forward on Medicaid.

Here’s the latest from North Carolina, where lawmakers started moving forward with a compromise plan that would include a work requirement, though the governor and the legislature remain at loggerheads.

Here’s coverage from the News & Observer and Politifact’s analysis of what’s happening with the budget standoff over Medicaid expansion. And here’s another story from The Associated Press. More coverage on North Carolina’s budget impasse from the ABC affiliate in Raleigh and Forbes Magazine.

Meanwhile in Utah, opposition is building against that state’s plan to enact a scaled-back Medicaid expansion plan that would include a work requirement and caps on enrollment and spending. Here’s the news from the Salt Lake Tribune.

Why the census matters

We all understand the significance of ensuring that everyone is counted in the census. It’s what determines how hundreds of millions of dollars in federal assistance are doled out each year.

Here is a great report from The George Washington University’s Institute of Public Policy that breaks down what this means for each state, including Kansas.

It allows you to drill down and understand just how much money is at stake for the state when the census gets underway next year.

Here’s more to the report that breaks down the significance of the census to programs such as the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage, which determines the federal government’s share of Medicaid expenditures, and federal funding for rural areas.

For what it’s worth, Kansas received about $6 billion in fiscal year 2016 from 55 programs that are guided by the census results. This report from GW breaks the money down by program.

CBD confusion

Kansas News Service’s Celia Llopis-Jepsen has this intriguing piece about whether it’s legal to sell CBD products with a tad of THC in them. There seems to be some confusion over what exactly the law allows. It’s a good read for a Sunday.

Water Authority appointments

Gov. Laura Kelly appointed three people to the Kansas Water Authority last week. She named David Stroberg of Hutchinson to the central Kansas groundwater management district seat; Chris Ladwig of Derby and Spirit Aerosystems executive to the industrial water users seat; and state Sen. Carolyn McGinn of Sedgwick for the environment and conservation seat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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