Good morning everyone:
Another hot news week in Kansas politics (yes, we’re tired of saying that), marked by escalating tensions between Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and Republican leaders over new school regulations intended to help contain the spread of the coronavirus.
The primary election is now 10 days away, and moods are tightening up as the postcards, digital ads and television campaigns shift into overdrive.
You will see signs of grouchiness cropping up in this week’s roundup with a profanity-laced social media exchange that we’ll cover below.
Now that we’ve teased you, here are the most significant stories we published last week and other news you may have missed but need to know…
- National Democrats are targeting House races in Kansas.
- A top GOP super PAC is getting into the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate.
- The state school board rejected the governor’s plan to delay school openings.
- Clifford Blackmore was picked to fill a House seat — for now.
- The American Civil Liberties Union won concessions in the lawsuit over banners at the Capitol.
- A former House majority leader is heading up a PAC campaigning for moderate candidates.
- Broadcast spending (as of last Monday) in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate approached $11 million. Now, The Associated Press — with the benefit of newer data — says it is closer to $14 million.
- The attorney general and Republican lawmakers are at odds with the governor over whether local officials can opt out of an executive order requiring health protocols for school districts. The governor signed the order last week.
- A judge ordered the secretary of state to make public provisional ballots cast in the 2018 general election.
- Roundup of fundraising for federal candidates through July 15.
- Sierra Club endorsements.
- Family Policy Alliance endorsements.
- Former Senate President Dick Bond remembered.
Family feud?
The Kansas Young Democrats came under criticism last week for endorsing a challenger to Democratic state Rep. Pam Curtis, a longtime party stalwart who once worked as an aide to former Democratic Gov. John Carlin.
Democrat Chris Pumpelly, who worked as a spokesman for former gubernatorial candidate Paul Davis in 2014, ripped into the Young Democrats on Twitter for endorsing Oscar Irenia in the race for the House District 32 seat.
“Why the fuck is KYD endorsing against a strong progressive incumbent Democratic woman? #ksleg,” Pumpelly tweeted.
“I’m gonna raise an absolute shit-fit until you make this right, @kansasyoungDems Get to it. #ksleg”
Pumpelly’s tweet generated a stir on social media. At one point, he said he didn’t “like being harsh to people on my own side.”
“That endorsement was probably well intentioned,” Pumpelly said in a tweet. “But stuff like (that) hurts us, and it’s avoidable. In the end, learn, make it right, move forward and win. I’m confident we will.”
The Young Democrats responded with a statement they posted on Twitter explaining their decision while rebuking Pumpelly for his deportment on social media.
“Last night one of our endorsements was critiqued on social media in ways that KYD strongly condemns,” the Young Democrats’ executive board said in a statement.
The Young Democrats said House District 32 is 59.9% Hispanic, and 62% of the population is under 30 years old.
“A young Hispanic representative is needed in this district,” the board wrote.
“Part of KYDs mission is to elect Young Democrats in areas where representation is needed, this is why we endorsed Oscar.”
The Young Democrats emphasized that their endorsement was independent from the state Democratic Party.
“We strongly recommend that in the future, if there are concerns about an endorsement to reach out to us directly.”
Texas Democrats in Kansas?
There’s been some buzz in political circles about a dark money group that’s been supporting moderate Republicans in the primary but said on its website — at least initially — that it was bankrolled by Texas Democrats.
Alliance for a Secure Kansas has been running ads across the state for moderate Republicans, but one iteration of its website said it was paid for by Texas Democrats with a 2018 copyright for Texas Democrats for Congress.
The website has since been cleaned up so it no longer reflects the reference to Texas Democrats. Two emails to the group were not answered.
The group was formed as a not-for-profit in 2017 with a Topeka post office box.
Lawyer Charles Rayl of Strong City is listed as its president. Mark Coberly of Gove is listed as its vice president. And Tom Roberts of Manhattan is listed as the treasurer.
Efforts to reach Rayl, Coberly and Roberts also were unsuccessful.
The same three people were involved with another dark money group that backed moderate Republicans in 2016 called the Kansas Freedom Alliance.
This year, Alliance for a Secure Kansas has been campaigning in several key legislative races across the state where moderate Republicans are battling conservatives.
It has been supporting state Rep. Jim Karleskint in House District 42, Rep. Mark Samsel in House District 5, Rep. Jan Kessinger in House District 20 and a handful of others.
New outside group enters Big 1st race
A new super political action committee is coming to the aid of Finney County Commissioner Bill Clifford in the Kansas 1st Congressional District.
The Conservative Outsider PAC reports spending $45,000 on a television commercial against former Lt. Gov. Tracey Mann. The total ad buy is expected to come in closer to about $80,000.
The Conservative Outsider PAC reported raising $450,000 on July 16 from the Protect Freedom PAC, which is based in Athens, Georgia.
The Protect Freedom PAC, created by allies of U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, supports a candidate challenging President Donald Trump’s endorsed candidate in the GOP U.S. Senate primary in Tennessee.
The Protect Freedom PAC reportedly has spent more than $800,000 in the Tennessee Senate primary, which has sharply divided Republicans there.
The Conservative Outsider is the second outside group to engage in the 1st District.
With Honor Fund, a political action committee that supports veterans, reports that it’s spending about $236,000 on television ads supporting Clifford in the race and is expected to wind up at about $268,000.
With Honor describes itself as a “coss-partisan movement dedicated to promoting and advancing principled veteran leadership in elected public service.”
The group says it supports “principled military veterans in the U.S. House of Representatives” and helps “amplify their cross-partisan agenda that finds solutions for the American people.”
Kansas joins Mississippi abortion fight
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has signed onto a multistate legal brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider a lower-court ruling that blocked Mississippi’s 15-week ban on abortions.
The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the law last year because it banned abortions before viability.
The appeals court’s decision affirmed an earlier district court ruling that also found that the law was unconstitutional and violated Supreme Court precedent.
The case is now on appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, and Schmidt joined with attorneys general from 17 other states in asking the justices to review the case.
The states argued they have an interest in the case because many of them have laws that prohibit abortions after 20 or 22 weeks.
“The district court’s opinion…casts doubt on the lawfulness of any restriction on the right to abortion prior to 23 weeks,” the brief said.
“In affirming the district court’s judgment, the Fifth Circuit applied a test that would invalidate automatically any law that might prevent some previability abortions, without regard to the state’s interest and the law’s burden,” the brief stated.
The states also said the court’s decision in Mississippi limited their ability “to put on evidence of new medical and scientific discoveries regarding fetal development and fetal pain.
“By treating viability as the only relevant consideration, the decisions below depart from this court’s precedents in a way that would effectively prevent (states) from relying on advances in medicine and science to better craft optimal public policy.
“The decisions…were wrong to disregard the states’ obvious interest in legislating according to the latest scientific knowledge.”
School reopenings
The state school board voted down Gov. Laura Kelly’s plan to delay the reopening of schools until after Labor Day, but some school districts are pushing back their start dates anyway. Three of the state’s largest have delayed their opening. The Olathe district also has delayed the start of school, and so has Kansas City. However, KSN has compiled a list of about 20 school districts that are still planning to open in August.
Chicago’s quarantine list
If you have travel plans to Chicago, you might want to reconsider.
Last week, Chicago added Kansas to its list of states where travelers are required to self-quarantine upon their arrival.
Kansas is now one of 18 states on Chicago’s quarantine list. If you’re headed there, you will be required to self quarantine for 14 days.
The city puts a state on the quarantine list when the rate of new COVID-19 cases is greater than 15 per 100,000 resident population per day, over a seven-day rolling average. The city’s website shows Kansas with a daily rate of 15 to 20 cases per 100,000.
Other states on Chicago’s quarantine list include Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.
Kansas is already on the quarantine list for New York, Connecticut and New Jersey.
AG’s wife endorses
Republican state Rep. Tom Cox picked up an endorsement from a seemingly unlikely place last week — the wife of Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt.
Jennifer Shaw Schmidt posted her support for Cox on Facebook last week. Cox is running against Republican state Sen. Mike Thompson in Senate District 10, which covers parts of Shawnee and Lenexa.
The seat was previously held by conservative Republican Mary Pilcher-Cook.
Schmidt said she was departing from her rule of only publicly endorsing one candidate for public office — her husband.
“Tom is smart and hardworking – I know this because I was his journalism professor for a semester. Tom is a great fit for the people of that Senate district – I know this because it is my hometown, too.
“He attended Shawnee Mission public schools, as I did, graduating from Shawnee Mission Northwest a couple of decades after I did.”
“He will make a great Kansas Senator.”
Conservatives denounce super PAC
A coalition of conservative groups last week banded together to criticize a super PAC with Democratic connections that is spending millions against Roger Marshall in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate.
The Family Policy Alliance of Kansas, the Kansans for Life PAC and the Family Research Council Action PAC accused the Sunflower State PAC of trying to drive voters to former Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who is believed to be vulnerable in a general election.
“This attack ad is not meant as support for conservative values. It’s a clear attempt by leading Democrats to prop up their preferred candidate for the general election,” said Brittany Jones, advocacy director for the Family Policy Alliance of Kansas.
“Conservatives in Kansas should not hand the party of Chuck Schumer over to its chosen candidate but should instead examine Roger Marshall’s proven voting record of supporting life, religious freedom and the family.”
The group pointed out that the treasurer of the Sunflower State PAC is Jim Jesse, a Lawrence attorney who also was treasurer of the Bluestem Fund, a political action committee once chaired by former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.
Jesse also has donated to Democratic candidates in Kansas.
Schlapp endorses LaTurner
The American Conservative Union and its chairman, Matt Schlapp, last week endorsed Kansas Treasurer Jake LaTurner in the Republican primary for the 2nd Congressional District.
“Jake LaTurner is the right choice to represent the people of Kansas’s 2nd District in the United States Congress,” Schlapp, a Kansas native, said in a statement.
“As treasurer of the state of Kansas, Jake has led by example and understands the importance of working toward conservative solutions that benefit all Kansans.”
The endorsement comes as LaTurner seeks to knock off Republican Congressman Steve Watkins, who is facing charges of voter fraud.
LaTurner also faces Dennis Taylor, former secretary for the Department of Administration, in the primary.
Victory Fund endorses Dixon
The LGBTQ Victory Fund is backing Democrat Katie Dixon in the race for the Kansas House District 49 seat in Olathe.
Dixon, who recently came out as bisexual, is running against Darnell Hunt in the Democratic primary.
She would face Republican Rep. Megan Lynn in the general election if she wins the Democratic nomination.
The Victory Fund, which has endorsed in several House races, has shown a willingness to spend money in Kansas campaigns.
Two years ago, the Victory Fund gave $6,500 to Congresswoman Sharice Davids and raised more than $24,000 to help her defeat Republican incumbent Kevin Yoder.
It also spent $33,400 on an independent expenditure to elect state Rep. Brandon Woodard and $28,200 to elect state Rep. Susan Ruiz.
OP mayor backs Norkey
Overland Park Mayor Carl Gerlach came out in support of moderate Republican challenger Clay Norkey in the GOP primary in House District 8.
Norkey is trying to unseat first-term incumbent Rep. Chris Croft, a conservative.
“Clay Norkey is a true community leader,” Gerlach said in a statement.
“We need Clay to represent our families and small businesses in the Legislature — a
dedicated servant leader who has been part of our community’s fabric for over two
decades.”
Norkey also has support from other moderate Republican leaders in Johnson County such as Greg Musil, a member of the Johnson County Community College Board of Trustees, Bob Regnier, executive chairman and CEO of Bank of Blue Valley and Mary Birch, former president of the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce.
Gun permits decline — again
Applications for concealed-gun permits in Kansas dropped to its lowest level since the program started in 2006, the attorney general’s office reports.
The state received 3,193 new applications for concealed-carry permits for fiscal year 2020, which ended June 30.
The number of applications has been plunging since 2013. In 2015, the Kansas Legislature passed a law allowing concealed-carry without a license.
The state received 25,361 applications in 2013. The number dropped to 14,221 in 2014, 9,804 in 2015, 5,874 in 2016 and 5,119 in 2017.
While the number of new applications has declined, most Kansans who already have permits are choosing to keep their licenses active, the attorney general’s office said.
The attorney general’s office said it received 12,735 renewal applications during the 2020 fiscal year. Here is a breakdown on the number of licenses by county.
Kansas Highway Patrol investigation
Last week, Gov. Laura Kelly released summaries of two investigations that cleared Kansas Highway Patrol Superintendent Col. Herman Jones of any wrongdoing stemming from three complaints lodged against him.
The investigations — one done internally by the Department of Administration and another done by an independent law firm — focused on allegations of sexual harassment, misuse of a state aircraft and gender discrimination.
Jones was exonerated in all three complaints.
“While my confidence in the men and women who make up our force of troopers has never wavered, there is no question that there were cultural issues and a lack of accountability that go back years,” Kelly said in a statement.
“I believed when I appointed him, that Col. Jones was the right man for the job and my belief has been reaffirmed. He has my full support.”
The Highway Patrol also announced that Majs. Scott Harrington and Josh Kellerman were no longer employed at the agency.
Harrington was the administrative services executive commander, and Kellerman was the East region executive commander.
Harrington joined the patrol in 2000 and was promoted to major in April 2015. Kellerman joined the patrol in 2003 and was promoted to major in December 2017.
Here is more complete coverage from The Capital-Journal, WIBW and The Associated Press.
Ryun honored
President Donald Trump on Friday bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom on track star and former Congressman Jim Ryun. Here’s coverage of the event from Fox News, USA Today and The Hill newspaper.
Latest campaign commercials
Bob Hamilton & wife
Bob Hamilton’s wife
Senate Leadership Fund/Marshall
Amanda Adkins – 3rd Congressional District
Bill Clifford – 1st Congressional District
Dennis Taylor – 2nd District Congress
Barbara Bollier – U.S. Senate
Sunflower State PAC – Marshall
