Kansas candidates hold KC-area events in battle for votes

U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids, the primary two Native American women elected to Congress, campaigned together in Overland Park on Friday amid a final scramble by candidates for Kansas votes.

The visit by a high-level Biden administration official got here as Republican and Democratic candidates were holding an array of last-minute get-out-the-vote events ahead of Election Day on Tuesday.

Davids’ Republican challenger, Amanda Adkins, has spent the past week touring the Kansas third Congressional district, touting her closing economic message. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly announced multiple events in the world for the weekend, while Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, Kelly’s Republican opponent, rallied supporters in northern Miami County on Friday afternoon.

Kelly, Davids and Chris Mann, the Democratic candidate for state attorney general, were all scheduled to headline a Sunday rally in Johnson County – a final push to drive up turnout in certainly one of most Democratic-friendly areas of the state. Kelly and Lt. Gov. David Toland scheduled a combined six campaign stops in Johnson County on Saturday and Sunday.

The frenzied campaigning will help determine whether Kansas Democrats – energized after voters in August rejected a state constitutional amendment on abortion – can withstand a midterm election on Tuesday expected to nationally favor Republicans, who’ve aggressively criticized Democrats and President Joe Biden over the economy.

“Our amazing, wonderful President Joe Biden must have Sharice back in Congress in order that he can count on her. He needs partners in Congress to work and he got a lot done just in two short years,” Haaland told a crowd of dozens inside Homer’s Coffee House.

Haaland, who emphasized she was appearing in her personal capability, appeared to grow emotional as she described her reference to Davids.

Davids and Haaland, of Recent Mexico, each made history in 2018 once they became the primary Native American women elected to Congress. Davids and Haaland hid together through the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol in 2021.

Haaland resigned from Congress in March 2021 after the Senate confirmed her to Biden’s cabinet. She is the primary Native American to function a cupboard secretary.

Several Biden administration officials have visited the world this yr. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg participated in a rally in Kansas City, Kan., last month, though it took place within the neighboring 2nd Congressional District. Davids also hosted Labor Secretary Marty Walsh in an official visit.

Adkins has been touring the suburban district holding economic-focused events all week. Adkins, a former Cerner executive, appeared at a news conference with Rep. Drew Ferguson, the chief deputy whip for House Republicans, on Thursday and on Friday held a roundtable with women who own businesses.

“I believe the oldsters in Kansas recognize that they were sold a bill of products they usually were promised things and Ms. Davids went the precise wrong way,” Ferguson told reporters.

Adkins, who also ran against Davids in 2020, has hammered the congresswoman over inflation, the variety of migrants crossing the southern border and the spread of fentanyl – common Republican messages themes nationally. She told reporters on Thursday that many individuals within the district already consider a recession is underway.

“They’re taking a look at where we’re at as now we have just a few days left heading toward the election and recognizing that policies of Joe Biden as president and the votes that Sharice Davids has taken … it has all contributed negatively to this country,” Adkins said.

Adkins singled out Davids’ vote in favor of the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 spending package approved by Congress in early 2021. Republicans say the federal spending has helped fuel inflation.

“I proceed to listen to on the campaign trail that individuals are searching for change,” Adkins said. “Clearly, it is a super-competitive cycle and district.”

Davids has said Adkins, a former chair of the Kansas Republican Party, associates with extreme politicians, pointing to her past as a campaign manager for former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback. Davids has also heavily emphasized abortion rights, especially within the wake of the August vote, wherein Kansans overwhelmingly voted down an amendment that may have allowed the Legislature to severely restrict or ban the procedure.

In August, “people across political parties, across ideologies got here together to ward off against a few of this extreme stuff that we’re seeing,” Davids said on the Friday event as she stood next to Haaland. “And I do know that we are able to do this.”

A Recent York Times-Siena College poll released last week gave Davids a 14-point lead over Adkins, a result that has been widely discounted amongst political operatives and observers in Kansas who consider the race is closer. As of Friday, in simulations run by FiveThirtyEight, Davids won 79% of the time.

National Democrats have significantly outspent national Republicans within the third District race. The Congressional Leadership Fund, an excellent PAC that’s closely aligned with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, has spent greater than $2.5 million on the race, but it surely hasn’t spent any money supporting Adkins or attacking Davids because the middle of October, an indication that national Republicans are prioritizing other districts in the ultimate stretch.

The redrawn third District, stretching from southern Wyandotte County through Johnson County and into rural areas southwest of the Kansas City metro, features one of the crucial competitive House races within the country. The district, which went for Biden by about 4 percentage points in 2020, includes a few of the most fertile ground for Democrats within the state.

That makes it must-win territory for Democrats hoping to win statewide, including not only Kelly but in addition state attorney general candidate Chris Mann, who’s running against former Republican Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. Davids, Kelly and Mann were all scheduled to campaign together in Johnson County on Sunday.

On the Republican side, Schmidt campaigned within the third District on Friday. The GOP candidate for governor held a rally in Bucyrus, in northern Miami County – a part of a final sprint of 90 visits by Schmidt and his running mate, Katie Sawyer, across the state in the ultimate 17 days of the race.

In a 10-minute stump speech, Schmidt urged supporters to get out to the polls.

“This by all measurements is an in depth race,” Schmidt said. “If our people show up who consider that we are able to do higher than the last 4 years, the end result won’t be close on Election Day.”

The governor’s race stays very close, in response to a poll released this week by Emerson College Polling for Nexstar Media Group. The survey found 46% support for Kelly and 43% for Schmidt, inside the poll’s margin of error.

As Election Day approaches, Schmidt has prioritized more reliably Republican areas in his campaigning. A recent campaign finance report showed his campaign had spent no TV promoting dollars within the Kansas City media market. Advertisements on Schmidt’s behalf have run in the world from groups including the Republican Governors Association.

Meanwhile, Kelly made stops in Johnson County and Salina to have a good time a groundbreaking for Panasonic’s recent electric vehicle battery plant and expansion of an existing pizza manufacturing facility.

“We’ve worked hard to assist Panasonic and other corporations construct their futures here in Kansas,” Kelly said during a groundbreaking event for the battery plant. “Our historic investments in K-12 and better education have supported a talent pipeline and outstanding workforce.”

While the events were in Kelly’s official capability as governor, her campaign promoted the groundbreaking on social media and in news releases.

The Star’s Daniel Desrochers contributed reporting

This story was originally published November 4, 2022 5:23 PM.