By Clay Wirestone | opinion editor
Good morning! Monday dawns, and with it a handful of thoughts from your favorite Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Election seasons always spawn scads of stories, and I have a lot of catching up to do. In the meantime, enjoy the fresh work week ahead!
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OPINION
Seven paragraphs to ponder as Kansas voters behold a blue wave gathering strength
By Clay Wirestone
Election season in Kansas, usually a fairly sedate affair with the exception of scattered gubernatorial races, has become a surprise scramble in the shadow of a national blue wave.
The ridiculous rhetoric and squirrelly stories have multiplied so quickly that this single opinion editor can barely keep pace. It doesn’t help that I launched a book last week, shortly after my child broke his hip (no that wasn’t a typo, and I will be writing on that subject eventually).
In a no-doubt vain attempt to stem the raging news torrent, here are seven short paragraphs on seven separate subjects. I’ll try to summarize where we are and what we know this first full week of October, heading straight toward the 2026 Kansas midterm elections.
Kevin Hardy / Stateline
Governors pledge to oppose federal overreach — even when their party runs Washington
Democratic and Republican governors say they will more aggressively push back on federal overreach regardless of which party controls Washington.
Earlier this month, the bipartisan National Governors Association for the first time in over a decade updated its internal principles on federalism — the system of power sharing between Washington, D.C., and the states. That document now says governors must defend state sovereignty, including through public criticism of federal overreach, legal challenges to federal action, and declining to use state resources to enforce federal laws.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Kansas Reflector staff will participate in the following free public forums.
6 p.m. Oct. 12, Riverbank Brewing in Council Grove. Opinion editor Clay Wirestone talks about his book and the latest news. Host: Flint Hills Books.
5:30 p.m. Oct. 19, Frank Carlson Library in Concordia. Host: NCK Voters.
6 p.m. Dec. 3, Prairie Star Restaurant in Manhattan. Host: League of Women Voters of Manhattan and Riley County.
If you're interested in having us talk in your town, email Sherman Smith at [email protected].
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