By Anna Kaminski | reporter
Good morning, and happy Friday!
From candidate attacks to campaign ads to new declarations, the jumbled energy and political tensions of election season in Kansas felt more present than ever this week.
These things are important to cover. They show you who a candidate is — their character, their policy goals, their stances on key issues — and they hopefully equip readers with the information they need to make the consequential decision of casting their ballots.
The latest coverage is from our summer intern, Baya Burgess, who wrote about a former state legislator making another go of it, aiming to flip a Leavenworth House seat that was held most recently by Republican Rep. Pat Proctor, who is running to be the state’s top elections official. Plus, regular columnist Eric Thomas draws a link between Kansas’ U.S. Senate race and the recent developments from this week’s primary in Texas.
On another note, enrollment in Kansas’ food assistance program has dropped 12% since the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed last year, according to new data reported by Tim Carpenter.
“These are not just abstract numbers. These are Kansas kids losing access to food,” said Haley Kottler, senior campaign director at Kansas Appleseed.
Read more of the latest below. Have a good weekend.
Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector
More than 10,000 Kansas children lose food assistance in wake of One Big Beautiful Bill Act
TOPEKA — A Kansas advocacy organization sounded an alarm about a report indicating 10,300 children in low-income families across the state stopped receiving food aid since President Donald Trump signed sweeping federal legislation nearly one year ago.
Kansas Appleseed, a nonpartisan organization active in state policy debates, highlighted the analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities indicating 21,900 Kansans left the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program since July 2025.
Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector
OPINION
Texas Democrats shiver with excitement over US Senate race. Kansas Dems face a bigger challenge.
By Eric Thomas
Eighty-seven years.
That’s how long it’s been since a Democrat represented Kansas in the U.S. Senate. Of course, it has been even longer since a Democrat won an election, with George McGill in 1932.
In the years following, we have been through a second world war, lived under 15 presidents and elected 12 new senators for Kansas.
Eighty-seven years is a long time, especially in politics.
Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector
Former Kansas legislator files to run for Leavenworth House seat, focusing on bipartisanship
TOPEKA — Former state legislator Jeff Pittman of Leavenworth is seeking to return to the House with a campaign message grounded in bipartisanship.
Pittman, a Democrat who served in the House from 2017-2021 and Senate from 2021-2025, chose a Republican campaign treasurer, according to a May 27 press release.
“I’m running because Leavenworth citizens deserve experienced leadership, commonsense focus on local results, and a unifying voice,” Pittman said in the release.
Trump order limiting voting by mail will stand for now, federal judge rules
A federal judge on Thursday declined to block President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting voting by mail, finding that it was too early to challenge the directive.
The decision by D.C. District Court Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, represents a setback for Democratic groups, lawmakers and other groups including the NAACP that have sued to stop the order ahead of the midterm elections in November. The March 31 order faces at least five lawsuits.
Democrats in US Senate want ‘true costs’ of Iran war estimated by official scorekeeper
WASHINGTON — A group of U.S. Senate Democrats has sent a letter to the head of the Congressional Budget Office, asking him to include outside projections for the cost of the Iran war in the agency’s official cost estimate.
“The American people deserve to know the true costs of this conflict, and they deserve transparency and honesty when their government commits the nation to war,” the senators wrote in the May 27 letter to the nonpartisan agency. “Your timely and comprehensive estimate of the immediate and long-term budgetary consequences will help ensure that the Iran war remains subject to rigorous and appropriate legislative oversight.”
UPCOMING EVENTS
Kansas Reflector staff will participate in the following free public forums.
6:30 p.m. June 12, Kansas Museum of History in Topeka. Opinion editor Clay Wirestone will join a panel discussion: "From the Desk of William Allen White: What Can Journalism Today Learn from the Sage of Emporia?"
5:30 p.m. June 16, Bradbury Alumni Center at Washburn University in Topeka. Editor-in-chief Sherman Smith will lead a discussion on the proposed constitutional amendment to elect Kansas Supreme Court justices. Host: Kansas Appleseed. Register here.
6 p.m. June 24, Groover Labs in Wichita. Editor-in-chief Sherman Smith will lead a discussion on the proposed constitutional amendment to elect Kansas Supreme Court justices. Host: Kansas Appleseed. Register here.
6 p.m. June 25, Clint Bowyer Community Building in Emporia. Editor-in-chief Sherman Smith will lead a discussion on the proposed constitutional amendment to elect Kansas Supreme Court justices. Host: Kansas Appleseed. Register here.
7 p.m. June 27, Park City Senior Center. Host: Park City Community Pride.
2 p.m. Sept. 27, Red Rocks Visitor Center in Emporia. Host: Red Rocks.
If you're interested in having us talk in your town, email Sherman Smith at [email protected].
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