TOPEKA — Secretary of State Scott Schwab on Thursday encouraged Kansans to run for office ahead of Monday’s registration deadline.
Candidates who are running for seats at the national, state, county, township and precinct level have until noon Monday to file for the Aug. 6 primary.
“To those who are eligible, I encourage you to run for office,” Schwab said. “Whether it’s a local or state position, public service is a meaningful way to contribute to your community and state.”
Monday also marks the deadline for voters to change their party affiliation before the primary election.
The state’s 2024 election cycle already is heating up, with all 40 Senate and 125 House seats up for grabs this cycle.
In 2022, more than half of House candidates didn’t even face an opponent in November. This year, Democrats at the local and national level have vowed to put up more of a fight in Kansas legislative races in an attempt to break the Republican supermajority in the House and Senate.
In January, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, a national group focused on winning Democratic seats in state Legislatures, announced they would hone in on Kansas.
And political action committees are expected to use Medicaid expansion as a political wedge in primary and general election races.
Medicaid expansion would expand state health insurance coverage to an estimated 152,000 Kansans. Under the Affordable Care Act, the federal government covers 90% of the extra cost of Medicaid services in exchange for expanding eligibility to those who earn up to 138% of the federal poverty rate.
Expansion is supported by a majority of Kansans, including Republican voters, but GOP legislative leaders have blocked the move for years, clashing with Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly over the issue.
“Kansas Republicans’ decade-long obstruction illustrates the dangers of their unchecked power in the Legislature — hundreds of millions of federal dollars are being left on the table, and people’s lives are at stake,” said DLCC spokesperson Abhi Rahman after efforts to advance a Medicaid expansion bill failed in April. “Republicans must be held accountable for their refusal to act on this common sense policy. The DLCC is sounding the alarm on the urgency around breaking the Republican supermajority and defending Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto power in 2024.”
