Category: Election 2022

Former Kansas City, Kansas, Mayor Mark Holland making a bid for the U.S. Senate

Mark Holland lost re-election as mayor, but he’d have a strong shot at the Democratic nomination and an underdog race in the general election against incumbent U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran.

Mark Holland (File photo)

by Steve Kraske, KCUR and Kansas News Service

Mark Holland, who served as mayor of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County from 2013 to 2017, will launch a campaign for the U.S. Senate on Monday, sources tell KCUR.

Republican Sen. Jerry Moran has held the seat since 2011.

Because of his base in heavily Democratic Wyandotte County, Holland, 52, would have a strong shot at winning his party’s nomination. The only other Democrat who has announced a campaign is Michael Soetaert of Alta Vista, Kansas, who filed in April.

On Friday, Holland declined to comment on his plans.

Holland, a United Methodist pastor, is executive director of Mainstream UMC. It’s an advocacy group within the church that supports the ordaining and marriage of LGBTQ people.

He is the former senior pastor at Trinity Community Church in Kansas City, Kansas.

Incumbent Mayor David Alvey defeated Holland in 2017 52-47% when Holland was seeking a second term. During the campaign, Alvey accused Holland of alienating public service employees, especially the Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department.

As mayor, Holland had questioned how the department spends its budget, alienating the department’s firefighters’ union.

Holland would face a formidable challenge against Moran. Former President Trump has endorsed the senator, and Kansas remains a solidly red state that hasn’t sent a Democrat to the Senate since the 1930s.

The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy.
Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished by news media at no cost with proper attribution and a link to ksnewsservice.org.
See more at https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-10-01/former-kansas-city-kansas-mayor-mark-holland-is-making-a-bid-for-the-u-s-senate

A Holland for Senate organizational committee filing document is online at the FEC at https://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/184/202110019467155184/202110019467155184.pdf

Campaign poll: Kelly holds slim margin over Schmidt in Kansas governor’s race

Democratic governor’s job approval at 53%; GOP attorney general’s at 40%

by Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — An early survey in the 2022 election cycle shows Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly with a narrow advantage over Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt in a head-to-head gubernatorial showdown of two statewide officeholders gearing up for that campaign.

The poll by Clarity Campaign Labs, a liberal-leaning firm in Washington, D.C., at the behest of EMILY’s List, which promotes Democratic women candidates, indicated Kelly had a 3 percentage point advantage on Schmidt. Kelly held support of 47% of participants to Schmidt’s 44% in a survey with a 3.4% margin of error.

Kelly attracted backing from 83% of voters who considered themselves ideologically moderate and 21% who viewed themselves as somewhat conservative.

Laphonza Butler, newly appointed president of EMILY’s List, said Kelly had proven herself a champion of women and families during a period of unprecedented health and economic challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Butler expressed confidence in Kelly’s path to re-election.

“The numbers tell us that Kansans appreciate her leadership,” Butler said. “A majority of Kansans across party lines approve of Governor Kelly’s performance in office throughout her first term.”

Kelly and the Kansas Democratic Party have sought to convince voters the state’s economy was in a strong position. The governor has touted expansion in business investment and associated job growth. She says she was integral to achieving proper funding of K-12 public schools, restoring stability to the state’s transportation program and overhauling the child welfare system.

The Kansas Republican Party and Schmidt have argued Kelly fumbled the state’s response to COVID-19. They’ve asserted she responded to the pandemic by unnecessarily closing businesses, imposing mask mandates and limiting the size of gatherings at places of worship. In addition, the Kansas GOP has sought to nationalize the governor’s race by taking issue with policies embraced by President Joe Biden.

The survey taken more than one year prior to next year’s general election revealed 53% of respondents approved of the job Kelly had done as governor with 41% disapproving of her performance. Across the political spectrum, 27% of self-identified Republicans expressed approval of her track record as governor since 2019 along with 69% of independents and 94% of self-identified Democrats.

In terms of Schmidt, the pollsters said 40% of participants approved and 42% disapproved of his performance as attorney general. During the GOP primary campaign, Schmidt has sought to convince Republicans of his conservative credentials and eagerness to push back against policies of Biden.

In 2018, Kelly defeated the Republican nominee, Secretary of State Kris Kobach, by securing 47.8% of the vote. Kobach had prevailed in back-to-back statewide campaigns for secretary of state, but couldn’t translate high name recognition and a GOP registration advantage into victory in the governor’s race.

Kelly’s first campaign for governor emphasized unpopularity of former Gov. Sam Brownback, who had stepped down to work in the administration of President Donald Trump. Instead of distancing himself from Brownback, Kobach advocated resumption of the Brownback economic experiment that centered on slashing state income taxes. Spending wasn’t reduced a comparable amount under Brownback and the state struggled with budget problems until his tax program was repealed in 2017.

In her campaign for governor, Kelly asserted Brownback’s leadership jeopardized the state’s education and highway systems and undermined the safety net for vulnerable Kansas. She also said Kobach was “Sam Brownback on steroids.”

The survey for EMILY’s List showed Brownback remained unpopular among Kansas voters. In this poll, 17% said they were in favor of returning to Brownback-era policies. At the same time, 56% of respondents wanted to “go in a different direction” than policy championed by Brownback.

Overall, 30% approved of how Brownback did his job as governor and 62% disapproved of his performance as the state’s chief executive.

The telephone survey of 810 registered voters in Kansas was conducted Sept. 13-15. The sample was weighted by the polling firm to reflect a likely 2022 general electorate. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.45%.

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2021/09/24/campaign-poll-kelly-holds-slim-margin-over-schmidt-in-kansas-governors-race/.

Colyer diagnosed with prostate cancer, ends campaign for governor

by Sherman Smith, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — Jeff Colyer announced Monday he was ending his campaign for Kansas governor and receiving treatment for prostate cancer.

Colyer’s departure from the race clears the way for Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt to win the GOP nomination for governor in next year’s primary election. Colyer endorsed Schmidt’s campaign.

“While I have always focused on helping others, for the next few weeks I am going to focus on my health,” Colyer said. “I was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer like my father and grandfather. After treatment, I am confident for a full recovery.”

Colyer, a former governor and state legislator, said Kansas for the past three years has “felt the pain” of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s leadership, and that it was time for Republicans to rally behind Schmidt.

Schmidt said Colyer “is a longtime friend who has led an exemplary life of service.”

“I welcome and appreciate Gov. Colyer’s endorsement and agree that now is the time to come together to elect a Republican governor for Kansas next year,” Schmidt said.

Mike Kuckelman, chairman of the Kansas GOP, said Republicans are committed to restoring conservative leadership to the governor’s office.

“The Kansas Republican Party wishes Governor Jeff Colyer all the best as he and his family focus on his health,” Kuckelman said. “Governor Colyer has served Kansas well, and Kansas Republicans are very appreciative of his years of service.”

Colyer served as Sam Brownback’s lieutenant governor from 2011 to 2018 and took over the governor’s office when Brownback left for a position in the Trump administration. Former Secretary of State Kris Kobach defeated Colyer by 350 votes in the 2018 GOP primary, before losing to Kelly in the general election.

As governor, Colyer said, his accomplishments included increased transparency, paid parental leave for state employees, protecting religious liberties, advanced pro-life policies, mandated sexual harassment prevention, an upgraded credit outlook for the state, and transformation of the state-run Medicaid program.

“I am proud of what we have achieved,” Colyer said. “When I completed my term, we accomplished a lot: more Kansans working than ever before, record household income, record small business formation, and a budget surplus over $1.1 billion.”

Now that he has left the political battlefield, Colyer said, he will focus on his medical practice. He said he believes “God put us here to make a difference in people’s lives.” That includes providing medical services through an international nonprofit humanitarian organization.

“To my patients, I will continue to take care of you for years to come,” he said. “If I see you as a patient in the trauma bay, know that not only will I fight like hell for you but I also know first-hand how it feels to face adversity. I will continue my international work in warzones around the world.”

In a letter to campaign supporters, Colyer encouraged civic engagement.

“While some days it seems like the challenges we face are so daunting, we must continue to work towards new solutions,” he said. “What I have seen throughout my time in public service and this campaign is that there are more of us than you realize. In every community in this state, there are folks standing up and fighting for our values, for our state, and for Kansas’ future generations.

“Our best days are ahead of us. So don’t retreat. Stay involved, just like I’m going to, because our great country, our great state, and our great people are worth fighting for.”

Kansas Reflector stories, at www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2021/08/30/jeff-colyer-diagnosed-with-prostate-cancer-ends-campaign-for-kansas-governor/