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Democrats have publicly made it a goal to break the Republican supermajorities in the Kansas Legislature, and now they have made it known what races are top priorities in the November election.
Ten Democratic legislative candidates, a mix of incumbents and challengers for House and Senate seats, are being spotlighted by the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.
“These ten Spotlight candidates represent the best opportunities to hold and flip seats to challenge the GOP’s unchecked, dangerous stronghold on power in the state legislature,” DLCC president Heather Williams said in a statement. “As the DLCC works to strengthen Democratic power across the country, we’re proud to champion these Kansas Democrats and their fight for restoring balance in the legislature.”
These 4 Senate races are Democrat priorities
Republicans hold 29 of the 40 seats in the Senate, where 27 is a supermajority. That means Democrats would have to pick up at least three seats to break the supermajority.
Sen. Jeff Pittman, D-Leavenworth, running for reelection against Republican challenger Jeff Klemp in Senate District 5.Andrew Mall is the Democrat challenging Sen. Mike Thompson, R-Shawnee, in Senate District 10.Karen Thurlow is the Democrat challenging Sen. Kellie Warren, R-Leawood, for Senate District 11.Stacey Knoell is the Democrat running against Rep. Adam Thomas, R-Olathe, to fill the vacated seat of Sen. Rob Olson, R-Olathe, for Senate District 23.These 6 House races are Democrat priorities
In the House, Republicans hold 85 of 125 seats while 84 is a supermajority. That means Democrats would have to pick up at least two seats to break the supermajority.
Rep. Allison Hougland, D-Olathe, is running for reelection against Republican challenger Lauren Bohi in House District 15.Vanessa Vaughn is the Democrat running for House District 39. She is challenging incumbent Rep. Angela Stiens, R-Shawnee, who was appointed to the seat earlier this year.Aimee Bateman is the Democrat challenging incumbent Rep. Pat Proctor, R-Leavenworth, in House District 41.Jacquie Whitney Lightcap is the Democrat challenging incumbent Rep. Jesse Borjon, R-Topeka, in House District 52.Veronica Gillette is the Democrat challenging incumbent Rep. Sandy Pickert, R-Wichita, in House District 88.Rep. Jason Probst, D-Hutchinson, is running for reelection against Republican challenger Kyler Sweely in House District 102.Democratic leader feels energy and momentum
The DLCC publicly unveiled the list of 10 spotlight candidates in Kansas on Thursday. The announcement comes after the DLCC previously identified its first four targets.
“These fierce Kansas candidates join hundreds of candidates who are mounting inspiring campaigns in every corner of the country to build Democratic power and counter MAGA control of state legislatures,” the DLCC said in a news release.
The DLCC is the official arm of the Democratic Party dedicated to state legislative races. Their backing of a candidate means more access to party infrastructure and other political resources and also signals to donors what races to contribute to. The spotlight program does not encompass all competitive races in the state.
Seven of the 10 candidates are from the Kansas City metro area, including five from Johnson County.
“Johnson County is ground zero for change,” said Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, D-Lenexa. “But we are still working in those other districts. We’re playing the long game in those areas, because I think there are more Democrats than we realize, and making sure that they’re building the bench and working in those areas so that in the next four years, eight years, 12 years, we’re going to see significant change there.”
The list includes three incumbent legislators, suggesting Democrats view those seats as most vulnerable to Republican challengers.
Sykes said Pittman’s spotlight is “making sure that he has the resources and that he returns.” She said Pittman has been active in his community, is “a good representative of Kansas value” and represents his district, even if that sometimes means breaking with the rest of the caucus.
Democrats looked for some key indicators, including districts where President Joe Biden beat former President Donald Trump in 2020, districts where the anti-abortion Value Them Both Amendment lost in 2022 and districts where Gov. Laura Kelly defeated Derek Schmidt in 2022.
That was the case in all three targeted Senate races in Johnson County, Sykes said. She added, “Two of those races have Republican incumbents in there that do not represent that district.”
She described Warren as “the architect of Value Them Both, leading the charge,” and Thompson, “I don’t think there’s a conspiracy theory or right wing agenda that he doesn’t jump on the bandwagon for.”
“That is not the values of Kansans,” Sykes said. “We are middle of the road. We like compromise and neither of those two senators, that is not how they legislate.”
Sykes said more voters have been engaged since Biden dropped out of the race and Democrats nominated Vice President Kamala Harris. That energy and momentum “will trickle down and help in these down ballot races.”
More: What song ushered in Kansas Democrats as they cast their vote for Kamala Harris?
GOP leadership are confident in their supermajorities
Republican legislative leadership has remained confident.
Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, previously told The Capital-Journal he thought the August primary election results were “fabulous.”
“I feel like, depending on how the general elections go, for the first time in my career we might actually have a functional supermajority,” Masterson said, pointing to the defeat of Sen. Dennis Pyle, R-Hiawatha.
In a post-election newsletter, House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, said, “It’s all hands on deck in order to preserve our House supermajority.”
In an appearance earlier this month on KQAM talk radio, Hawkins said House Republicans want to grow their supermajority so they can “run over the governor.”
“I actually think that there’s the possibility of us coming back plus two over where we’re at right now,” Hawkins said. “How does that happen? Johnson County. Johnson County is the battleground county of this state, and anybody that doesn’t realize that, they’re just missing the politics of Kansas.”
He said Republicans want to win back the three seats there that they lost in the last election.
He identified four pickup opportunities in Johnson County, plus one in Reno County:
Former Rep. Charlotte Esau, R-Olathe, versus incumbent the incumbent who ousted her in 2022, Rep. Dennis Miller, D-Olathe.Bohi against Hougland.Republican Kurtis Ruf against Rep. Nikki McDonald, D-Olathe.Republican Randy Ross against Rep. Dan Osman, D-Overland Park.Sweely against Probst.Kelly’s PAC will also be involved
Hawkins said in his radio appearance that Democrats tend to have scarce resources, but, “That is not the case this year.” He pointed to Kelly’s Middle of the Road PAC.
“She’s going to have some serious money to work with, and she will be targeting our folks in various places,” Hawkins said, mentioning Pickert’s race in Wichita.
Kelly’s PAC flexed its muscle in the Democratic primary, endorsing four candidates, all of whom won. That meant the defeat of three current legislators.
“I don’t take pleasure in ending somebody’s political career,” Kelly said after the election. “I do take pleasure in the thought of a Legislature that will work together, work with me, to work on behalf of the Kansas people.”
But Masterson said it doesn’t show anything other than Kelly is “strong inside her party.”
Some Democrats disliked that Kelly got involved in primaries.
“When I set up the Middle of the Road PAC, I set it up to help elect people who would work with me but work with the other side of the aisle also to get good things done for the state of Kansas,” Kelly said. “That’s exactly what I did, was use it to ensure that people coming in in those seats will be here for the right reason.”
Kelly said the PAC “will vet the candidates, and we’ll make contributions and we will endorse when the time is right.”
Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.
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Publish date : 2024-08-29 01:03:00
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