Kansas

Sunday Reader: Super PAC fundraising; A new TV ad record

July 19, 2020

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Good morning everyone:

Last week was like a track meet with so much news happening. A congressman charged with voter fraud, school openings to be delayed, state fair canceled, coronavirus cases burgeoning and plenty of other politicking in between. It’s why we have enlisted some help, so if you get a call from someone who is not yours truly, don’t be suspicious, although you are free to give me a buzz or email me to confirm.

One housekeeping note. We are developing a little bit of a policy change here at SSJ, since we have received some limited concerns on this matter. Generally, this site does not make it easy to share things on social media — and there is a reason for that. We want to make it a little easier going forward, however.

The secret to sharing the content that can been seen by others is to use the link contained in the email that you receive with each story. Cut and paste the link onto Facebook or Twitter and you are good to go. Some folks have already figured this out or have already asked if it was OK to do that. Now, you know how and, yes, it is OK.

Now onto the more significant stories we published last week and the news you may have missed but need to know…

Campaigns move on as candidates adjust in different ways to the pandemic.
A new ad campaign seeks to boost the efforts of moderate Republican lawmakers in the primary by linking them to President Donald Trump.
We were the first to report last week that a super PAC with ties to Bernie Sanders (and Democrats) is running ads that appear to target Congressman Roger Marshall while playing up Kris Kobach’s unrelenting conservative credentials to a Republican primary audience.
Federal public defender Carl Folsom III is back up for a judgeship after the Senate voted down his confirmation.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Barbara Bollier blows it out in fundraising for the second quarter.
Democratic Congressional hopeful Michelle De La Isla turned in another solid quarter in fundraising as she leads the GOP field in the 2nd Congressional District.
Fundraising roundup for the 3rd Congressional District.
Former Lt. Gov. Tracey Mann is grinding it out in the 1st Congressional District race with personal contributions while Republican rival Bill Clifford is propelled by loans.
The governor nominated a new Appeals Court judge.
Commerce Secretary David Toland is adding to his staff.
The governor plans to delay the opening of schools until Sept. 9. She said she will sign the executive order Monday.
Republican Sara Hart Weir took some swipes at GOP rival Amanda Adkins in the 3rd Congressional District debate last week.
And, of course, there were the voting fraud charges against 2nd District Congressman Steve Watkins last week for using a UPS Store address instead of his home on a voter registration record. Watkins said the charges were political.
A corollary to that story: Congressman Ron Estes is backing Kansas Treasurer Jake LaTurner in the Republican primary for the 2nd District race.
Planned Parenthood announced its endorsements.

Keep Kansas Great

In case you forgot, Keep Kansas Great is the PAC supporting Congressman Roger Marshall in the Republican U.S. Senate primary.

In its latest filing with the Federal Election Commission, the PAC reports it raised $238,000 for the quarter ending June 30. It had $227,767 on hand after raising $393,000 for the year to date.

Retired Topeka businessman Mark Heitz gave $100,000 to the PAC, and Cherokee Warrior, owned by southwest Kansas industrialist Cecil O’Brate, gave $15,000.

Four years ago, O’Brate donated heavily to a PAC to help Marshall defeat former Congressman Tim Huelskamp.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons put $75,000 into the PAC, followed by United States Sugar Corp., which gave $12,500.

Florida Crystals Corp. of West Palm Beach, Florida, also gave $12,500, and $10,000 came from Barry Downing, president and CEO of Northrock Inc. in Wichita, which has a number of charitable and business interests.

The latest report filed with the FEC shows the PAC has spent $165,232 on the race during this calendar year as of the end of the quarter.

Thiel ups the ante in Senate race

Paypal founder Peter Thiel has funneled another half-million dollars into the PAC backing former Secretary of State Kris Kobach in the Senate race.

Thiel put $500,000 into the Free Forever PAC, bringing his total to $850,000 for the cycle, according to the latest filing with the Federal Election Commission. The PAC has raised a total of $882,000 since last year.

The PAC raised $527,500 for the quarter, of which $500,000 came from Thiel.

Another $20,000 came from GOP donor and venture capitalist Andy Miller of Nashville, Tennessee, and another $5,000 came from DEPCOM Power, a solar engineering firm in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Reports show that Miller has contributed heavily to tea party candidates over the years and in 2016, he and his brother, agreed to pay $7.75 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act.

The Millers were reportedly minority owners in a company that the federal government said knowingly billed federal healthcare programs for services that were not reimbursable. Three years ago, Miller said he was moving to Kansas.

Overall, the PAC finished the quarter with $602,814 in the bank.

New ad record

If you feel like you are suffering from an overdose of Bob Hamilton television commercials, there’s a very good reason.

Washburn University political scientist Bob Beatty says the plumber has set a new record for the number of ads in a Kansas Senate primary.

Beatty, who has made collecting and analyzing political ads one of his specialties, said Hamilton has produced 15 television ads for the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.

He said Hamilton breaks the record for most number of different ads in a Kansas Senate primary, which was previously held by U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran with 10 in 2010.

The record for most ads overall is Bob Dole in 1974 with 35 different ones, Beatty said.

Remaking the Supreme Court Nominating Commission

Women will now be in the majority on the nine-member panel that screens justices for the Kansas Supreme Court.

Lawyers from the 3rd Congressional District recently elected Katie McClaflin to the panel. She defeated Thomas Hammond II for a seat on the committee.

She is one of the five lawyers who are designated to sit on the commission. She replaces Lenin Guerra, who was elected to the seat in 2016.

Guerra was the only candidate when lawyers from the 3rd Congressional District chose someone for the commission four years ago.

Membership on the commission is significant as it gets ready to consider the governor’s third appointment to the state Supreme Court.

McClaflin is a family law attorney who graduated from the University of Kansas in 2002. She also earned her law degree from KU in 2005.

Her legal work is focused on divorce and child custody matters, as well as drafting and litigating premarital and postnuptial agreements. She is a past president of the Johnson County Bar Association.

McClaflin’s election, coupled with Gov. Laura Kelly’s appointment of former Unified Government Mayor Carol Marinovich, will put five women on the panel.

The panel also includes Gloria Farha Flentje of Wichita, who was elected by lawyers in the 4th Congressional District; Linda Weis of Manhattan, who was appointed by Gov. Sam Brownback; and Frances Gorman Graves of Bartlett, who was appointed by Kelly.

Watkins losing support

Congressman Steve Watkins last week lost his endorsement from Kansans for Life as he stepped down from his committee assignments after being charged with voter fraud.

“The abortion industry is determined to take control of the endangered 2nd
Congressional District seat,” said Melissa Leach, KFL’s PAC Manager.

“Democrat Michelle De La Isla is well financed and is laser focused on keeping the speaker’s gavel in pro-abortion Nancy Pelosi’s hands.

“Pro-life voters in northeast and southeast Kansas can best stand up for the pre-born and their mothers by uniting behind Jake LaTurner this primary election.”

Here’s more coverage from The AP’s John Hanna.

Kansas: A coronvirus hot spot

The Center for Public Integrity last week uncovered a White House document revealing that Kansas was one of 18 states considered to be in a “red zone” for COVID-19 cases, meaning they had more than 100 new cases per 100,000 population.

The White House report dated July 14 showed that 11 states are in the red zone for test positivity, meaning more than 10% of results came back positive.

Kansas was in the yellow zone for positives tests, with a rate between 5% and 10%.

Kansas had 125 new cases per 100,000 population in the week before the report came out, compared to a national average of 119 cases per 100,000 people.

Schwab & masks

Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab announced last week that voters would be allowed to cast ballots at the polls whether or not they wear a mask.

“Our priority has been, and continues to be, ensuring every Kansan has the opportunity to exercise their right to vote in the 2020 elections,” Schwab said in a statement.

Schwab told county election officials that no one who is otherwise qualified to vote shall be turned away from a polling location for not wearing a mask.

“Exercising one’s fundamental right to vote is not, and should not be, contingent upon whether or not they choose to wear a mask,” he said.

“Voter intimidation or suppression based on the use or nonuse of a face mask will not be tolerated and is subject to litigation,” Schwab said.

The secretary of state said every polling location in Kansas will have personal protective equipment kits that contain masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, disinfectant and plexiglass shields to protect voters.

In addition, voters will be given disposable stylus pens for voting.

Schwab reminded voters to maintain a minimum of 6 feet distance from others while waiting in line, and they should anticipate greater distance between voting booths at their polling location.

It was unclear how, or if, Schwab’s announcement would apply in the handful of the largest counties that have adopted Gov. Laura Kelly’s statewide mask mandate.

The governor’s executive order extends to indoor public spaces as well as outdoor if social distancing of at least 6 feet can’t be maintained.

The order covers businesses, requiring employees to wear masks if they’re working in any space frequented by the general public.

Employees also must wear masks if they are walking through common areas, such as hallways, stairways, elevators and parking facilities.

Mask news

Here is our roundup of the latest mask news from around the country:

Harvey and Reno counties last week reversed earlier decisions and adopted Gov. Laura Kelly’s mask mandate.
NPR looks at how businesses respond to customers who won’t wear masks.
Walmart and Sam’s Club stores are requiring masks.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the country could get the coronavirus under control if everyone wore masks.
There are now 28 states with mask mandates.
The president says he doesn’t plan to issue a national mask mandate.
A legal drama is playing out in Georgia over Gov. Brian Kemp’s lawsuit to stop local governments from requiring masks. The governor is drawing backlash from Georgia mayors.

Reopening schools

A new battle has opened over how to deal with the coronavirus pandemic as conservatives try to get the Board of Education to reject Gov. Laura Kelly’s plan to delay the opening of schools until at least Sept. 9.

The Associated Press reported last week that it did not appear that the governor yet has six of the 10 votes on the school board needed to get her proposal approved.

The governor on Monday plans to sign an executive order delaying the opening of schools, but needs approval from the Board of Education.

Schiff is special guest at Democratic gala

It’s the biggest night of the year for Johnson County Democrats.

It’s time for the county party’s Forever the Free State Gala, which is attended by throngs of Democrats in one of the biggest fundraising events of the year.

This year, Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff will headline the event set for Aug. 23.

The California congressman, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, may be best known for being one of the impeachment managers who made the case against President Donald Trump in the Senate.

This year’s event will be virtual because of the coronavirus pandemic, but county Democrats are taking steps to give it an intimate touch.

First, they will have bottles of wine, wine glasses and special Free State Gala-branded masks delivered to adult who buy tickets to the event.

They also won’t be employing your traditional Zoom software for this event where everyone can hear what everyone else is talking about.

Instead, Democrats will use Shindig, which will allow folks attending the event to break off and socialize with one another in their own private video chats, much like they would if they were mingling at any other large gathering.

Unemployment rate slips in June

As the economy started to open up, Kansans began returning to work as the state’s unemployment rate fell 2.5 percentage points in June.

The state’s unemployment dropped for the second consecutive month, falling to 7.5% in June from 10% in May.

In April, the state’s unemployment reached 11.9%, its highest point in more than 40 years as the economy shut down as the coronavirus hit the state.

While the unemployment rate fell in June, it is still higher than in March, when it was 2.8% and still well above the 3.1% unemployment rate in June 2019.

For the week ending July 11, there were 17,173 initial unemployment claims filed with the state, compared to 12,881 the week before and 2,950 for about the same time period in 2019.

The claims for the week of July 11 were higher than a couple weeks in June, when the number of initial claims fell below 9,000.

The balance of the unemployment trust fund is now at $710 million. Before the pandemic took hold in the state in March, there was about $1 billion in the fund.

Jim Ryun to be honored

The son of track star and former Congressman Jim Ryun announced last week that his father would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Donald Trump next week. Ned Ryun made the announcement on KLWN radio.

In July 1966, Jim Ryun ran the mile in a world record 3 minutes and 51 seconds and became one of the most noted athletes in the nation.

Ned Ryun, whose father represented the 2nd Congressional District from 1996 to 2007, said said the event will be relatively small, with close friends and family.

“This is such an incredible honor and a privilege,” Ned Ryun said during the broadcast.

Among those expected to attend the ceremony, Ned Ryun said, are Alan Webb, who in 1999 broke Jim Ryun’s 36-year-old high school record for the mile, and Matt Centrowitz, who during the 2016 Olympics became the first American man to win the 1,500 meters since 1908.

“It’s going to be a great day,” Ned Ryun said. “It’s such an incredible honor and privilege for my dad, but it’s going to be very special to be there and watch this happen.”

China sanctions Brownback

Last week, China announced it was sanctioning former Gov. Sam Brownback – now the U.S. Ambassador for Religious Freedom – and three U.S. lawmakers because they have criticized the ruling Communist Party’s for how it treat people of faith. Here is coverage from The Associated Press via ABC News. Here’s more coverage from Fox News.

State fair canceled

The coronavirus claimed the Kansas State Fair as a victim last week when the event was canceled for 2020. It had been scheduled from Sept. 11-20.

The fair is credited for producing an ‌estimated‌ ‌$74.6‌ ‌million‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌Kansas‌ ‌economy‌ ‌annually. ‌The‌ ‌economic‌ ‌impact‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌fair’s‌ ‌60-mile‌ ‌radius‌ ‌is‌ ‌more‌ ‌than‌ ‌$40‌ ‌million.

Here’s coverage from ‌KSNT, KAKE and the Hutchinson News.

New executive director for the Children’s Alliance

The Children’s Alliance of Kansas has announced that Rachel Marsh will become the organization’s new executive director starting Sept. 15.

For the last 14 years, Marsh has been employed by Saint Francis Ministries, where she now works as vice president of advocacy.

Marsh has worked at the Capitol promoting public policies and resource development directed at assuring a safe, responsive and effective child welfare system.

She has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Kansas State University, a law degree from Washington University in St. Louis and a master’s in social work from Washington University.

Marsh succeeds Christie Appelhanz, who has worked as the organization’s executive director for more than five years.

Appelhanz is going to work as the Region VII regional administer for the Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

New ads

Here are last week’s latest and greatest television ads from the world of politics, including a couple from state legislators that we bet you haven’t seen before. Of course, a big thanks from Washburn’s Bob Beatty, who helps keep us apprised of the ads we miss since we are in the Kansas City television market.

Mary Jo Taylor – Kansas Senate