(Updated to include comments from No Labels, Van Meteren and the Republican candidate Senate District 5 candidate.)
State Sen. Marci Francisco has been a Democrat for 56 years.
But this week, she learned that she was mysteriously nominated as a candidate from the No Labels Party for Senate District 2 in Lawrence.
“I didn’t apply for this nomination. I didn’t request it. I didn’t know it was happening,” said Francisco, who is engaged in a Democratic primary with Rep. Christina Haswood of Lawrence.
As it turned out, Francisco was nominated by No Labels Inc. and its chair, conservative political consultant Kris Van Meteren, according to documents obtained from the secretary of state’s office.
It potentially would give Francisco the ability to run under the No Labels party banner if she fails to win the primary, something the senator said she has no intent of doing.
“I filed as a Democrat. I’m running as a Democrat. I’m going to be supporting Democrats,” Francisco said in an interview.
Van Meteren also nominated his wife as a No Labels candidate for Senate District 5, where she’s facing a primary against Republican businessman Jeff Klemp to challenge Democratic incumbent Jeff Pittman in November.
The documents list Van Meteren as chair, incorporator and director. State records show that No Labels was incorporated on June 3, the deadline for candidates to file for office. Voting records also show he’s a registered Republican in Leavenworth County.
The address for the registered office of No Labels is the same address listed for Echo Van Meteren on the secretary of state’s website.
The nomination certificates say the candidates received a majority of the vote of No Labels party members at a convention.
Francisco said she did not attend a convention.
The national No Labels Party ripped into Van Meteren’s roles, calling it “fraudulent.”
“We just became aware of the effort in Kansas to nominate a state candidate under the No Labels Kansas Party,” the party said in a statement.
“We have contacted the authorities to alert them this is a fraudulent effort. No Labels is not running candidates on the state or federal level,” the party said.
When the party started last year, the No Labels movement was chaired by Glenda Reynolds of Whitewater, according to the secretary of state’s office.
Ernest Reynolds was listed as a committee member. Another committee member was Victoria Schultz of Leawood.
Shane Mathis of Lecompton was listed as the secretary/treasurer of the group.
Van Meteren did not respond to an email Tuesday asking about his position with No Labels, so it was unclear how he became involved in the organization or his relationship to the original organizers of the state party.
On Wednesday morning, Van Meteren responded with an email but didn’t directly address how he came to use the No Labels name.
A spokesperson for the National No Labels Party said Wednesday that it was not recruiting state legislative candidates.
Van Meteren acknowledged that he didn’t ask Francisco if he could nominate her for the position, saying it would have put her in an awkward position in her own party.
“My understanding is that when she is successful in the upcoming primary election, she will have the option to choose under which party’s banner she will proceed to the general election,” Van Meteren said in an email.
“No Labels’ assumption is that she will do so as a Democrat and her nomination by No Labels, in that case, would be removed by the secretary of state, he said.
“Kansas law stipulates that one candidate cannot appear more than once on the same ballot for the same office,” he said.
However, by nominating the Francisco and his wife from a second minor party, it is possible that they could run in the general election under the No Labels banner if they lose their respective party primaries.
Under state law, if a candidate is nominated by a minor party – let’s say No Labels – and loses in the major party primary, they could be on the general election ballot, according to state election officials.
No person’s name can be printed more than once on a primary election ballot, although in this case Francisco and Van Meteren would only be on the ballot once in the primary.
As nominees of No Labels, they would not appear again until the general election.
The No Labels nominations would effectively give either Franciso and Echo Van Meteren the ability to advance to the general election if they lose the primary.
Klemp asked Echo Van Meteren to repudiate the No Labels effort started by her husband.
“This tactic seems aimed solely at disrupting the Republican Party and being a spoiler,” Klemp said in a statement on Wednesday morning.
“I would respectfully ask Echo to denounce this No Labels effort like other candidates who have been pulled into this are doing in other districts.
“If accurate and if there is no denouncement, this is deeply disappointing, and the Republican party will have to follow the Republican constitution and sanction her for her filing in another party.
“This type of political gamesmanship from insider politicians and handlers is one of the issues that frustrates Kansans and one of the reasons I am running,” he said.
Echo Van Meteren did not return a call Tuesday seeking comment about the No Labels effort.
State law requires candidates from major parties to file by petition or to personally file a declaration that must be attested.
It’s different for a minority party.
The chair of the minor party is only required to deliver a certificate to the secretary of state’s office showing the candidates who have been picked, which happened in the case of Francisco and Echo Van Meteren.
State election officials said the law does not require someone to accept the nomination from a minor party and agree to have their name on the ballot.
There’s also nothing expressly in the law that allows the name to be withdrawn from the ballot in this situation.
State law allows names to be withdrawn from the ballot after the filing deadline in cases of death, medical hardship or the candidate moves out of state.
But election officials are reviewing this particular situation.
Van Meteren said in an email that his wife got into the race last July to defeat Pittman, the Democratic incumbent.
“Defeating Jeff remains her focus and objective to this day,” Van Meteren said.
“If she does not win the GOP primary election, I’m sure she will weigh her options at that point,” he said.
“If she thinks, given her deep roots and widespread support in Leavenworth, she can peel votes away from Jeff, I’m sure that will be a factor in whatever she decides to do.”
Haswood, the Democratic candidate running against Francisco, criticized the No Labels involvement in the 2nd District Senate race.
“Republican operatives are meddling in Lawrence elections. We still have a lot to learn about the No Labels process, but the way I understand it now, when I win this primary, I’ll be the only Democrat on the ballot in the November election,” Haswood said.
In January, the Kansas secretary of state agreed to designate the No Labels movement in Kansas as an official political party after it submitted a petition with a sufficient amount of signatures required to become a party.
No Labels had been working on a national level to form a third-party presidential ticket – called a “unity ticket” – that could bring together a moderate Republican and Democrat on a presidential ticket.
No Labels had intended to put forward a third-party ticket for president, but the effort fizzled after the national party dropped plans to put forward a candidate.
There are now 80 Kansans registered as members of the No Labels Party, according to data from the secretary of state’s office.
There are four No Labels members in Douglas and Leavenworth counties each.
