Trump cancels rally. Kansas' most expensive election. Secretary of state race. Population decline.

By Anna Kaminski | reporter

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s rally in Salina, Kansas, on Saturday is canceled, the Kansas Republican Party confirmed to States Newsroom.

The cancellation came just five days ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3, when Trump’s GOP is vying to maintain its razor-thin majority in the U.S. House and control of the Senate.

Meanwhile, election forecasters say Democrats remain heavily favored to win the majority in the House, and Senate races have also moved in the direction of Democrats. Trump is up against dismal approval ratings amid the war in Iran and its effect on gas and diesel prices.

TOPEKA — Ad spending on the U.S. Senate race in Kansas has exceeded $84.5 million between the two major-party candidates, creating the most expensive election in state history.

Spending has exceeded the state’s previous record of $49.1 million in 2020, when U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall first ran for senate, according to AdImpact, an ad tracking and analysis company.

TOPEKA — In the race to become the state’s top elections officer, Kansas voters can pick from a Democrat who spent five months in the Legislature five years ago, a former Republican who is trying to establish an alternative party, and a Republican legislator whose campaign focuses on the fear of noncitizens voting.

The three are running to replace Secretary of State Scott Schwab, who pursued the GOP nomination for governor rather than seek a third term.

LAWRENCE — Former state Rep. Josh Svaty says decades of declining population makes it impossible to rely on property tax revenue to finance local government in rural Kansas.

The U.S. Census Bureau says 78 of the state’s 105 counties lost population since 2020, a trend that replicated shrinkage in 80 counties during the previous decade.

By Eric Thomas

A swirling media storm.

That’s how I would describe the last few months in Kansas. The U.S. Senate race between Roger Marshall and Adam Hamilton has brought disinformation chaos to television advertising, journalism and social media.

Now this: A report this week from a cybersecurity firm based in Tel Aviv alleges that “coordinated activity” from inauthentic social media accounts has been routinely injected into the race.

The Trump administration’s sweeping efforts to combat noncitizen voting and assert authority over elections came under intense scrutiny in courtrooms across the country on Thursday, as Democrats and voting rights groups alleged federal election interference.

Costs are soaring for people who care for their older parents and other family members, according to a new study.

Out-of-pocket expenses are nearly 60% higher than they were just five years ago for family caregivers, who now spend an average of $11,508 a year on caregiving, according to a report released this week by AARP, a nonprofit that advocates for people aged 50 and older.

The way we speak is a culmination of our life experiences, according to Jeff Holliday, a linguist and professor at the University of Kansas. He and Lacey Wade, also a professor and linguist at KU, recently authored research on how people inside and outside of Kansas perceive Kansas speech.

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