Good morning everyone:
In a sense, this is the best day of the year at SSJ. We get an extra hour overnight to put together our weekly roundup, which we guess is kind of an advantage. On a larger note, the election is about over and your mailboxes are about to be cleansed of oversized postcards where everyone is seemingly demonized. Your streaming services will now be free of political ads, and you can watch television without seeing folks beat each other over the head like this is Rock’em Sock’em Robots, the vintage toy from Mattel. Forgive the dated reference, but we’re aging here at SSJ and we remember the toy well. It should be said the toy — with robots punching each other — didn’t work as well as advertised. Now on to the significant stories we published last week and other news items you might have missed but need to know… and best wishes to everyone on Tuesday.
- Democrats’ inability to win in legislative districts won by former President Donald Trump adds a potential obstacle to breaking the Republican supermajority Tuesday.
- The Kansas Supreme Court last week explored the digital world of dragons where justices face a key legal question: Is slaying the mythological creature skill or luck? Their decision will decide the fate of a video game called Dragon’s Ascent where players can win prizes that can be redeemed for cash.
- Gov. Laura Kelly’s political action committee reported raising $2.1 million in roughly 15 months as she seeks to bust up the Republican supermajority in the Legislature. A major contributor was the Democratic Governors Association.
- Outgoing state Rep. Carl Maughan of Colwich pleaded no contest to driving under the influence following a Memorial Day weekend crash that left him seriously hurt. It was the second time in recent months he’s been in court on a DUI charge.
- Senate candidates filed their campaign finance reports leading into the general election. A breakdown of all 40 Senate districts. This has been updated with the final few reports that were outstanding as of last Wednesday.
- House candidates filed their campaign finance reports leading into the general election. A breakdown of all 125 House districts.
- Wichita police say they will not file charges stemming from a widely circulated video of a Republican House candidate jumping on an apparently unconscious woman lying on a bed and then holding a pillow over her face.
- Former U.S. Secretary of State and Kansas Congressman Mike Pompeo last week gave his support to Republican Jeff Klemp in the race against Democratic incumbent Jeff Pittman for Senate District 5.
- Even as statehouse candidates pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into campaigns focused on taxes, a new poll shows that very few Kansans were aware of the tax cuts approved by the Legislature this year.
- A little more than 25% of the state’s roughly 2 million voters have already cast a ballot before Election Day, putting the state on track to set a record turnout this year.
Early voting demographics
Women are outpacing men in early voter turnout in Kansas heading into the general election, according to new data from Brian Amos at Wichita State.
Amos’ data shows that 314,917 women had cast ballots as of Saturday compared to 259,614 ballots cast by men.
Overall, about 55% of the voters who have voted so far in Kansas are women compared to about 45% for men.
Be careful not to read too much into that trend, since women in Kansas tend to turn out more than men in advance voting, the data shows.
For example in the 2020 general election, about 55% of the Kansans who had already voted by this time were women as well.
And in the 2022 general election, about 55% of the people who had voted in Kansas by this time were women.
The age breakdown of the early voters so far looks like this (with percentages rounded):
- About 9.6%, or 55,108, are 18 to 29.
- About 15.2%, or 87,737, are 30 to 44.
- About 32.1%, or 184,881, are 45 to 64.
- About 43.2%, or 248,883, are 65 and older.
KanCare appeal about over
Aetna is about to end its appeal of a court ruling that found the awarding of the state contracts to managed the state’s Medicaid program was legal.
Last week, Aetna filed a joint motion to drop its appeal of the judge’s decision.
The motion was filed with the state as well as the three companies that were awarded contracts to administer the KanCare program.
The motion, filed with the Court of Appeals, calls for dismissing the case with prejudice and with each party paying for their own attorneys fees and court costs.
Aetna lost out in the bidding when the state awarded the contracts to Sunflower Health Plan and UnitedHealthcare as well as a coalition called Healthy Blue that includes Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City.
Aetna had appealed a Shawnee County judge’s ruling that found in favor of how the state awarded three contracts to administer the state’s $4 billion Medicaid program.
The judge dismissed Aetna’s complaints that the procurement process was based on unstated evaluation criteria as well as selecting “arbitrary and irrational” tiebreaking criteria in technical scoring.
He also dismissed arguments about scoring records being destroyed and that the process was marked by a conflict of interest with the state’s Medicaid director leaving for a company with a stake in one of the bidders.
The court must approve the stipulated request to dismiss, which could come this week.
National Republican money
A lot of attention has been paid to the role national Democrats have been playing in Kansas statehouse races and the campaigns they’ve targeted.
But money from national Republicans has been finding its way into different political action committees in recent weeks.
The Republican State Leadership Committee based in Washington put at least $60,000 into various political action committees in Kansas. And the GOP Election Fund has put $50,000 into a Kansas PAC as well.
The RSLC gave $20,00 to the Right Future for Kansas Pac, which reported raising $90,000 from July 26 to Oct. 24. The PAC lists its chair as Seth Stahlheber of Wichita.
The PAC also received another $50,000 from the Great America Coalition, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that’s not required to disclose its donors.
Great America’s tax forms from 2022 show that its principal officer is Thomas Datwyler, a consultant who offers Federal Election Commission reporting, compliance, accounting and treasury services. He’s been reprimanded and fined for campaign violations in other states.
Right Future funneled money into campaigns for former Republican state Rep. Charlotte Esau of Olathe, Republican Angel Roeser of Manhattan, Republican Kurt Ruf of Olathe, Republican Lauren Bohi of Olathe, Republican Pennie Boyer-Kloos of Topeka and Republican Kyler Sweely of Hutchinson.
The Republican State Leadership Committee also put $20,000 into the Lift Up PAC, whose treasurer is Matthew Billingsley. He once served as the chief of staff to former Revenue Secretary Sam Williams during former Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration.
The Republican-aligned pack, which raised $353,500 during the last reporting period, spent money helping Esau, Bohi, Sweely, Boyer-Kloos and Ruf in the general election as well as Republican state Reps. Sandy Pickert, Angela Stiens, Mike Thompson, Adam Turk, Carl Turner and Laura Williams.
Lift Up’s other contributors included $50,000 each from Topeka businessman Mark Heitz, Evergy Metro and the Kansas Constractors Association and $25,000 each from casino executive Phil Ruffin, the Sports Betting Alliance and Pearson Construction.
Attorney General Kris Kobach’s political action committee, Prairie Fire, also reported receiving $20,000 from the RSLC.
Kobach’s PAC has sent out mailers against Democratic state Sens. Usha Reddi of Manhattan, Jeff Pittman, and Mary Ware of Wichita.
It also sent out mailers against Democratic Reps. Jason Probst of Hutchinson in District 102 and Virgil Weigel of Topeka in District 56.
Meanwhile, the GOPAC Election Fund gave $50,000 to the Service First PAC, which lists the wife of former state Rep. Charles Macheers as its chair. The PAC didn’t list specific races where it spent its money.
More video leaks
There are more video leaks of House Majority Leader Chris Croft, this time on the social media platform X, once known as Twitter. There is a series of video recordings of Croft talking about everything from education to ballot drop boxes to the group Moms Demand Action, which advocates for gun control laws. This comes just a couple weeks after recordings of Croft speaking in a private Zoom call with Johnson County Republicans were made public. The latest recordings, made public less than a week before the election, were posted by someone under the anonymous handle Great&PowerfulOz. Croft’s office was asked about the Moms Demand Action post Friday, and it declined to comment. Here’s the video circulated on social media. It was purportedly recorded June 2, 2023.
Kelly funds local PAC
Gov. Laura Kelly’s PAC helped fund the political action committee started this year by Johnson County Commission Chair Mike Kelly.
Kelly’s Middle of the Road PAC gave $10,000 to Amberwave, which has spent money trying to help reelect two Johnson County commissioners who face conservative opposition Tuesday.
Amberwave also is supporting a challenger to conservative County Commissioner and former state Rep. Charlotte O’Hara.
Mike Kelly’s PAC reported raising $121,000 in the last reporting period, including $85,000 from the Local Jobs and Economic Development Fund.
The campaign report doesn’t list an address for the fund, and Mike Kelly wouldn’t explain the group in detail last week.
“I know we have a lot of different partners that are supportive of what Amberwave stands for,” Kelly said.
“I think we’ve got a real broad swath if you look at the report, people that are focused on bringing economic development in a sustainable way in combating extremism,” he said.
“I think there is a good sentiment in Johnson County that we need reasoned, considerate leadership and I was happy to have a lot of support for that,” he said.
There is a nonprofit called the, Local Jobs and Economic Development Fund based in Dover, Delaware that, according to tax tax records, supports “clean energy solutions in local jurisdictions with outsize climate, economic, & health consequences.”
Gov. Kelly has already endorsed in several local races in Kansas, including a couple in Johnson County.
Her PAC has endorsed Democratic district attorney candidate Vanessa Riebli in Johnson County over Republican incumbent Steve Howe.
The PAC is backing Democratic Prairie Village Police Chief Byron Roberson over Republican Doug Bedford for Johnson County sheriff.
Where’s the ACLU spending its cash?
A group affiliated with the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas promised to drop $600,000 into state and local elections this fall, more than twice what it spent in 2022.
The group — Kansans United for Civil Liberties — said it would drop money in at least 10 Kansas House and countywide races in the general election.
The money came from the ACLU in New York.
Some of the mailers compare and contrast the Democratic and Republican candidates on abortion rights and voting rights.
The mailers noted when a candidate did not answer the group’s questionnaire.
Here’s where its money went through Oct. 24:
About $38,000 went toward opposing Republican state Rep. Carl Turner of Leawood against Democratic challenger Ace Allen of Overland Park.
About $23,000 went toward opposing Republican state Rep. Laura Williams of Lenexa against Democrat Betsey Lasister.
About $24,000 went toward opposing Republican state Rep. Mike Thompson of Bonner Springs against Democrat Eli Woody of Kansas City.
About $7,400 went toward Republican state Rep. Angela Stiens of Shawnee against Democrat Vanessa Vaughn West.
About $7,500 went toward opposing Republican state Rep. Robyn Essex of Olathe against Democrat Dan Goodman.
About $7,200 went toward opposing Republican state Rep. Sandy Pickert of Wichita against Democrat Veronica Gillette of Wichita.
About $7,400 went toward opposing Republican state Rep. Adam Turk of Shawnee against Democrat Bill Hammond of Lawrence.
About $19,700 went toward opposing Republican Kurt Ruf of Olathe in his race with Democratic state Rep. Nikki McDonald of Olathe.
Another roughly $21,200 went into opposing Republican Charlotte Esau of Olathe in her race against Democratic Rep. Dennis Miller of Olathe.
Trump & Harris close in Kansas?
It seemed kind of easy to blow past a new survey out last week from Fort Hays State showing that Democrat Kamala Harris was within 5 percentage points of former Republican President Donald Trump in Kansas.
After all, Trump carried the state by about 15 percentage points in 2020 and a little more than 20 points in 2016.
But another surprising poll that was released Saturday night showed Harris actually leading Trump in Iowa, hardly a blue state.
The poll by the Des Moines Register showed Harris leading Trump 47% to 44%.
“Independent voters, who had consistently supported Trump in the leadup to this election, now break for Harris,” the Des Moines Register reported.
“That’s driven by the strength of independent women, who back Harris by a 28-point margin, while independent men support Trump, but by a smaller margin.
“Similarly, senior voters who are 65 and older favor Harris. But senior women support her by a more than 2-to-1 margin, 63% to 28%, while senior men favor her by just 2 percentage points, 47% to 45%.”
Here’s more coverage of the Iowa poll from Politico, Reuters, Fox News and The Hill newspaper.
Kobach tackles voter registration case
Attorney General Kris Kobach came out on the winning side when the U.S. Supreme Court last week decided to allow Virginia to remove more than 1,600 individuals from the state’s voter rolls.
The court’s decision came after Virginia’s Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order speeding up the removal of noncitizens from the state’s voter rolls.
The state said the program only removed those ineligible to vote because they weren’t citizens.
Kobach had led a coalition of attorneys general from 26 states in filing an amicus brief urging the court to allow the process to move forward.
The attorneys general argued that a preliminary injunction halting the process undermined states’ authority to determine voter qualifications.
“This is a big win for election integrity and the rule of law,” Kobach said in a statement after the court ruled last week.
“Kansas was able to provide crucial additional arguments to assist Virginia and persuade the Supreme Court to issue a stay,” Kobach said.
Children’s food insecurity
Kansas Action for Children last week released a report showing that every Kansas county saw food insecurity rates among Kansas children increase in 2022.
Kansas children not knowing where their next meal would come from increased from 13.4%, or 93,960 kids, in 2021 to 19.1%, or 131,430 kids, in 2022.
KAC noted that the increase occurred after many pandemic-era programs — like enhanced dollars for food assistance recipients, the temporarily expanded federal child tax credit and cost-free school meals — ended in 2021 or partway through 2022.
The report noted that children living in homes with a high housing cost burden — meaning housing expenses required more than 30% of a family’s income — ballooned to 156,000 in 2022 from 139,000 in 2021.
“In 2021, we saw how pandemic-era programs improved many outcomes for Kansas kids,” said John Wilson, president and CEO of Kansas Action for Children.
“But with those programs being temporary, so was much of that progress. The newest data underscores the need for decisionmakers to do everything they can to help kids,” he said.
The new data was included in the 2024 Kansas Kids County Data Book, which examines child outcomes in economic wellbeing, education and health indicators.
The report is the state’s extension of the national Kids Count Data Book put out by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
New Children’s Alliance CEO
The Children’s Alliance of Kansas last week hired Kristalle Hedrick as its new CEO starting Nov. 25.
Hedrick joins the agency with 17 years of experience in child welfare and working with at-risk children.
She recently served as vice president of Kansas programs for FosterAdopt Connect.
“We are pleased to bring a person with Kristalle’s experience and expertise on board to lead Children’s Alliance,” President Gina Meier-Hummel said in a statement.
“She has an in-depth understanding of the child wellbeing system and will support Children’s Alliance in its work to drive systems-level change,” Meier-Hummel said.
Hedrick replaces Rachel Marsh, who stepped down in September after four years in the position.
Marsh went to work for Sellers Dorsey, a national health care consulting firm where she will focus on improving health and wellbeing outcomes for children and families involved in the child welfare system.
Black Leadership Council hires new leader
The Kansas Black Leadership Council’s board of directors has selected a veteran from the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas as its first executive director.
The nearly 10-year-old statewide organization has hired Wichita native Mark McCormick for the position.
McCormick spent six years at the ACLU of Kansas as deputy director of strategic initiatives and as communications director.
“I’ve been handed a jewel,” McCormick said in a statement.
“KBLC continues to draw well in all its initiatives and has become a place where economic development, expert research, Black political thought, and civic engagement have come to sharpen each other,” he said.
“I’m thankful for this opportunity.”
The council said its mission is to advance “meaningful change for African Americans living in Kansas today, while also changing historical systems that have traditionally harmed Black health, wealth and prosperity, allowing Kansans to achieve an equitable future.”
A collection of Wichita women, including Community Voice Newspaper publisher and KBLC board member Bonita Gooch and the late Rep. Gail Finney, launched KBLC in 2015.
Last ad roundup
Against Republican Rep. Carl Turner
House District 28 – Johnson County
Opponent: Democrat Ace Allen
For Democrat Ace Allen
House District 28 – Johnson County
Opponent: Republican Rep. Carl Turner
For Republican Rep. Carl Turner
House District 28 – Johnson County
Opponent: Democrat Ace Allen
For Democratic Rep. Jason Probst
House District 102 – Hutchinson
Opponent: Republican Rep. Kyler Sweely
For Democrat Betsey Lasister
House District 30 – Johnson County
Opponent: Republican Rep. Laura Williams
For Democratic Rep. Dan Osman
House District 48 – Johnson County
Opponent: Republican Randy Ross
Against Democratic Rep. Nikki McDonald
House District 49 – Olathe
Opponent: Republican Kurt Ruf
For Democrat Candace Ayars
Senate District 20 – Topeka
Opponent: Republican Sen. Brenda Dietrich
For Republican Sen. Mike Thompson
Senate District 10 – Johnson County
Opponent: Democrat Andrew Mall
For Republican Sen. Mike Thompson
Senate District 10 – Johnson County
Opponent: Democrat Andrew Mall
For Republican Rep. Adam Thomas
Senate District 23 – Johnson County
Opponent: Democrat Stacey Knoell
Against Republican Rep. Adam Thomas
Senate District 23 – Johnson County
Opponent: Democrat Stacey Knoell
For Democrat Stacey Knoell
Senate District 23 – Johnson County
Opponent: Republican Rep. Adam Thomas
Against Democrat Stacey Knoell
Senate District 23 – Johnson County
Opponent: Republican Rep. Adam Thomas
For Democrat Stacey Knoell
Senate District 23 – Johnson County
Opponent: Republican Rep. Adam Thomas
Against Democrat Stacey Knoell
Senate District 23 – Johnson County
Opponent: Republican Rep. Adam Thomas
For Democrat Jason Anderson
Senate District 35 – Johnson County
Opponent: Republican TJ Rose
Against Democratic Sen. Jeff Pittman
Senate District 5 – Leavenworth County
Opponent: Republican Jeff Klemp
For Republican Jeff Klemp
Senate District 5 – Leavenworth County
Opponent: Democatic Sen. Jeff Pittman
Against Republican Jeff Klemp
Senate District 5 – Leavenworth County
Opponent: Democatic Sen. Jeff Pittman
For Democratic Sen. Jeff Pittman
Senate District 5 – Leavenworth County
Opponent: Republican Jeff Klemp
Against Democrat Andrew Mall
Senate District 10 – Johnson County
Opponent: Republican Sen. Mike Thompson
Against Democrat Andrew Mall
Senate District 10 – Johnson County
Opponent: Republican Sen. Mike Thompson
For Democrat Andrew Mall
Senate District 10 – Johnson County
Opponent: Republican Sen. Mike Thompson
A
Against Republican Sen. Mike Thompson
Senate District 10 – Johnson County
Opponent: Democrat Andrew Mall
Against Democrat Bill Hammond
Senate District 117 – Johnson County
Opponent: Republican Rep. Adam Turk
Against Democrat Vanessa Vaughn West
House District 39 – Johnson County
Opponent: Republican Rep. Angela Stiens
For Republican Rep. Sandy Pickert
House District 88 – Wichita
Opponent: Democrat Veronica Gillette
For Republican Sen. Kellie Warren
Senate District 11 – Johnson County
Opponent: Democrat Karen Thurlow
Against Sen. Kellie Warren
Senate District 11 – Johnson County
Opponent: Democrat Karen Thurlow
