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WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer Monday welcomed 11 newly elected Senate Democrats at the U.S. Capitol, following midterm elections in which his party flipped both chambers in Congress. “Last week the American people put Donald Trump and the GOP on blast,” Schumer, a New York Democrat, said on the…
House Majority Leader Chris Croft, an Overland Park Republican, asked peers on the Legislative Coordinating Council to move ahead with implementation of a new bill-writing software system ahead of the 2027 legislative session in January. In this image from March 24, 2025, Croft speaks to peers in the House. (Photo by…
TOPEKA — Details of an agreement to end a lawsuit affecting the Kansas City Chiefs stadium development were revealed Monday. The agreement between the Unified Government of Wyandotte and Kansas City and the state of Kansas outlines boundaries of the STAR bond district, determines the local sales tax pledge area and…
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said in an interview that aired Sunday his mass deportation campaign, which helped propel his return to the Oval Office, had gone too far and potentially led to Republicans losing the U.S. House and Senate in the midterm elections. “I think it might be too tough, yeah,” Trump said…
Kansas Legislature's leaders stall attempt to roll back 4.4% raise for House and Senate members to the 1% boost given other state employees.
Earlier this year, Madison Harden-Stein and her colleagues at the Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms posed as consumers interested in buying insurance as part of a secret shopper study. They found that insurance brokers and sales representatives often pushed short-term health insurance plans with…
Last week’s midterm election was unprecedented but predictable, jaw-dropping but routine, earth-shattering but rock solid. For the first half of those comparisons, you just have to look at the numbers. Kansas elected its first Democratic senator since 1932. For the first time in its entire history as a state, Kansas…
The age of the typical first-time homebuyer last year remained stuck at a historic high of 40 years old as younger people continue to get the worst of brutally high prices and interest rates in much of the country. That’s according to new data from the National Association of Realtors, and it’s the second year
What’s next? There are few things more stirring than the Kansas sky at dawn, and the election results on the morning of Nov. 4 rolled like thunder across the prairie. We are less than a week out from that historic election, in which a Democrat from the Sunflower State was elected to the U.S. Senate
To prevent pregnancy after sex, U.S. teenage girls and young women are more likely to rely on unproven strategies such as prayer, exercise and jumping up and down than they are on evidence-based methods such as Plan B emergency contraception, according to a new study. The study, published in The Journal of Sex…
The crucial test for preelection polls is whether they broadly indicate how voters are likely to decide. By that fundamental measure, the 2026 midterm polls largely succeeded in anticipating outcomes on Election Day. If somewhat tentatively, the polls overall had been signaling important gains for Democrats. That is…
In a handful of holdout states, Democrats appear ready to use their newly won statehouse dominance to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. In at least four states — Georgia, Kansas, Texas and Wisconsin — the midterm election results have tilted the political calculus toward expansion, though lawmakers have…
TOPEKA — A national health expert expects Democrats to quickly move to reverse Medicaid cuts passed in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and to restore Affordable Care Act premium subsidies, which led to millions of people losing health insurance coverage. “The size of this blue tsunami means huge expectations for…
Two members of the Kansas Legislature allege Gov. Laura Kelly ignored state law by unilaterally selecting people to be added to the Capitol's Walk of Honor.
TOPEKA — The new governor and lawmakers will enjoy an improved budget forecast when they take office in January, based on a revised estimate of state tax collections and expenditures. Forecasters revealed the latest “consensus revenue estimate” on Thursday, based on input from the Kansas Legislative Research…
A new federal report released the week before Tuesday’s midterm elections found that Americans experienced declines in several categories of violent and property crime victimization in 2025, including aggravated assaults, burglaries and motor vehicle thefts. The preliminary survey findings from the U.S. Bureau of…
Take yourself back to 2017, the first year of President Donald Trump’s first term. Kansas was represented in Washington by two Republican senators and four Republican representatives. Sam Brownback served as governor, flanked by Kris Kobach as secretary of state and Attorney General Derek Schmidt — all Republicans. In…
Alabama Republicans had hoped Rep. Shomari Figures would deliver a concession speech on Tuesday night after the state legislature redrew his district to be more GOP-friendly. Instead, the Democrat declared victory — winning nearly 54% of the vote. “We know what happened with this district,” Figures told supporters as…
Kansas' rate of uninsured children surpasses the U.S. average for the second consecutive year with 8.5% of Kansans under age 18 without access to coverage.
TOPEKA — Political candidates who receive 4% of the vote aren’t usually happy about the accomplishment. But for Scott Morgan, his success as a United Kansas candidate isn’t — yet — all about the numbers. It’s about building recognition for a new political party. “For a five-month campaign with very little money, I…
TOPEKA — Ford, Finney and Seward counties in western Kansas historically haven’t been Democratic strongholds. But three cities in each county are home to large Latino populations, in part because of meatpacking industry jobs, and those three cities were hit recently with sweeping federal immigration raids that led to…
WASHINGTON — Democratic leaders in Congress have just a couple months to decide how they want to balance investigations into President Donald Trump and his administration with securing his signature on major bills to address the cost of living, a top concern for voters. While Democrats gained control of the House and…
If any one statement sums up the colossal miscalculation underlying Kansas Republicans’ historic wipeout Tuesday night, it’s a single social media post from Senate President Ty Masterson. You might remember Masterson as the GOP leader who hoped to succeed Democrat Laura Kelly as governor. He ran against fellow state…
TOPEKA — Kansas attorney general and secretary of state candidates are waiting for counts of provisional and mail-in ballots, as winners in the races remain undecided Wednesday. Democrat Chris Mann claimed victory over Republican incumbent Kris Kobach in the attorney general race. The two were 11,597 votes apart, with…
Kansas House Democrats are on the cusp of claiming 20 more seats, which will leave Republicans with a 68-57 advantage. It's smallest GOP edge since 1992.
The fingerpointing is coming from inside the house. Vice President JD Vance said in a lengthy social media post Wednesday that Republicans’ shellacking in the midterm elections the night before was mainly due to the administration’s war in Iran. Though Vance sought to soften the blow to President Donald Trump by…
Ahead of the midterms, Democrats wargamed dozens of scenarios looking at how President Donald Trump might try to undermine the election, everything from seizing voting machines to falsely declaring a foreign attack. But when the blue tsunami arrived Tuesday night, Trump seemed to let it wash right over him. In a…
TOPEKA — A Democrat in eastern Kansas flipped a state education board position previously held by a conservative Republican, shifting the board’s makeup to four Democrats and six Republicans. Four Republicans were elected Tuesday to the remaining open seats on the Kansas State Board of Education, which oversees Kansas…
WASHINGTON — Voting ended Tuesday in this year’s midterm elections, leaving officials and volunteers counting tens of millions of ballots to determine which U.S. House and Senate candidates will take the oath of office in January. The post-election process includes numerous steps and varying deadlines for when ballots…
TOPEKA — With Democrat Cindy Holscher holding a narrow lead in the Kansas governor’s race, Republican Ty Masterson said Wednesday the results warrant “another look.” Holscher declared victory, even though the race was too close to call, as election offices across the state braced for a hand count of ballots from 10%…
U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall officially lost his seat to the Rev. Adam Hamilton on Tuesday night as part of a resounding repudiation of Republicans across the United States. But Marshall actually lost that seat 20 months ago, when he clashed with everyday Kansans at a March 1 town hall meeting in Oakley. Facing tough…
Voters across the country administered a sharp reprimand to President Donald Trump and Republicans who hold majorities in Congress, with Democrats gaining comfortable majorities in the Senate and the House. Several U.S. Senate and House races remained uncalled by The Associated Press as Election Day ended on the East…
With most of the Kansas vote counted, the race for Kansas governor between Democrat Cindy Holscher and Republican Ty Masterson was too close to call.
TOPEKA — All four U.S. House members from Kansas held onto their seats Tuesday, including three Republicans who saw their margins of victory shrink considerably from two years ago. U.S. Reps. Tracey Mann, Derek Schmidt, Sharice Davids and Ron Estes will return to Washington, D.C. Davids, the lone Democrat in the…
OVERLAND PARK — The Rev. Adam Hamilton made history as the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate in Kansas in 94 years, defeating Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall at the end of a fervid race defined by clashing political visions and strong turnout in some of the state’s most populous counties…
In the final poll of the Kansas gubernatorial campaign, voters decide whether to elect Democrat Cindy Holscher and Republican Ty Masterson.
TOPEKA — Kansas voters passed a constitutional amendment that changes wording on voting laws allowing only U.S. citizens to vote – even though the state Constitution already says that – but that opponents worry can lead to more significant changes in the future. With nearly all precincts reporting at midnight, the…
TOPEKA — Narrow margins dominated four statewide races Tuesday, but as the clock neared midnight, two candidates claimed victory, leaving two races unsettled. Victorious were Republican Dan Hawkins for insurance commissioner and Republican incumbent Steven Johnson for treasurer. Neither candidate claimed victory in…
America voted. After the Trump administration pressured election officials, after concerns that armed federal agents would deploy to the polls, after fears U.S. Department of Justice election monitors would intimidate voters — ballots were cast by the millions Tuesday, mostly without incident. Across the United…
TOPEKA — A woman sat down just inside the door Monday at the Shawnee County Election Office in an area reserved for those needing assistance. She was determined to vote even though she was in labor, so a poll worker with emergency medical training brought her a ballot and stood by in case she needed
TOPEKA — Susan Schlag went to vote with her husband and 18-year-old son Tuesday morning, only to find that their Linwood polling place had run out of paper ballots. Although Schlag and her husband were able to wait in line for the single electronic voting machine, her son had to leave for a class at
TOPEKA — A Kansas postal worker was indicted on Election Day for stealing thousands of pieces of mail, including hundreds of Republican political mailers. Investigators for the U.S. Postal Service found more than 4,400 pieces of mail in Kelly Cram’s Baxter Springs garage. Nearly 400 of them were political mailers from…
Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who leaves office in early January, suggests the next governor hire good people and remember the value of kindness.
Overnight, between Saturday and Sunday, the hands of America’s clocks swept backward an hour. Groggy Halloween partiers slept an extra 60 minutes. Young and old alike dozed into the morning, waking refreshed and ready for a new month. Sure, most of us hate the spring time change, when a vanished hour pinches schedules…
WASHINGTON — One day before his party is forecast to lose control of the U.S. House, and possibly the Senate, President Donald Trump gathered guests and press at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to tout the “magnificent” renovation of the monument — a monthslong project plagued by algae, reclosure and false…
Republican Ty Masterson and Democrat Cindy Holscher, the Kansas gubernatorial candidates, urge voters to keep charging until polls close Tuesday.
American democracy faces one of its biggest stress tests of the modern era, as President Donald Trump’s sprawling campaign for power over elections encounters a firewall of judges, state election workers and voting rights leaders heading into Election Day. A cascade of courtroom losses over the weekend dealt a major…
LINDSBORG — Sarah Gonzales-McLinn, serving a life sentence for killing her abuser, cried when she talked about the advocates and legal aides who are trying to convince the governor to grant her clemency. For years, advocates have argued Gonzales-McLinn didn’t receive a fair trial because the jury didn’t know Hal Sasko…
TOPEKA — More Kansans cast their ballots in early voting than in the previous midterm election, and Democrats turned out in larger numbers than in the past, an organization that tracks state voter numbers reported Monday. Early in-person voting stopped at noon on Monday, although mail-in ballots will be counted as…
Dear William Allen White, It’s been some time since I last wrote you. The air is swirling across Kansas. Maddening gusts of uncertainty from east to west, and the entire nation is watching. I often call wind the prophet of change, and its message remains to be determined. You once said of our great state,
President Donald Trump urges GOP voters in a second trip to Kansas to vote for U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall in a campaign against Democrat Adam Hamilton.
WASHINGTON — When the polls close Tuesday night, the 2026 U.S. election will go down as one of history’s most expensive and extraordinarily ugly midterms — galvanizing record-breaking early voter turnout among a deeply divided electorate. Voters on Saturday crossed the high-water mark of 52.7 million early votes cast…
As concerns rise about the potential for federal influence over the results of next week’s midterm elections, many voting experts and advocates remain confident that the nation’s highly localized systems of administering and counting votes will persevere. Facing sinking approval ratings over high prices, the White…
In just 48 hours, Kansans will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shape history. The opportunity is unexpected — and unexpectedly urgent. I was thinking about that urgency the other day when I was part of a television panel discussion about politics at a public television station in Kansas. The set was quaint…
Medicaid recipients who are disabled or have a chronic illness will not have to prove they are unable to work to be exempted from new work requirements that take effect next year, a federal judge ruled Thursday. The decision by U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns in Boston grants a partial victory to the 25…
TOPEKA — Rep. Dan Goddard, who served in the Kansas House since 2023, died Thursday. He was 78. Goddard was a Parsons Republican who served in the Kansas Senate from 2017 to 2021 and was elected in 2022 to the House. In an interview with Kansas Reflector after announcing he would not run for reelection
TOPEKA — U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall may have violated federal campaign finance law when he paid a top aide with funds from a leadership PAC, which can’t be used to finance a candidate’s own campaign, according to a complaint filed Friday with the Federal Election Commission. End Citizens United, a campaign finance…
We know that President Donald Trump appreciates the finer points of a masculine physique. He’s told rally audiences repeatedly in recent weeks about the primo posteriors of Republicans running for office. He’s praised their good looks, straight from “central casting.” “I looked at his ass and then I looked at his…
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A young boy with autism played with brightly colored sensory toys Thursday morning in the Kansas City Immigration Court, his wide grin standing out in a room full of grim expressions. The boy sat shoulder-to-shoulder with attorneys and other unaccompanied minors called unexpectedly into court by a…
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly dives into Medicaid expansion failure, fear of AI and data centers, and importance of water and tax policy.
As the Trump administration waged a public legal fight with California over the ballots of suspected noncitizen voters in mid-October, behind the scenes a federal grand jury in Santa Ana issued a series of subpoenas to election officials in Los Angeles County at federal prosecutors’ urging. The subpoenas demanded a…
It was another financial institution’s commercial that motivated me to create something different. Two busy white, apparently nondisabled, suburban parents were standing on their carefully manicured lawn talking about how they needed to go to the bank to plan for the future of their adult son with Down syndrome. They…
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s rallies in Kansas and Iowa this weekend are back on after initial cancellations, States Newsroom confirmed Friday. The Midwest rallies mark the final sprint to Election Day on Nov. 3 — now just four days away — where the GOP is itching to maintain its narrow majority in the U.S.
GREAT BEND — A class action usury lawsuit filed Thursday accuses U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall and his former Great Bend medical practice of routinely charging patients illegal interest rates on unpaid medical debt. The lawsuit was filed in Barton County District Court in the final days of a bitter race between the…
TOPEKA — U.S. Department of Justice election monitors will be in Kansas on Tuesday but won’t interfere in the voting process, says a spokeswoman for the secretary of state. “The voter experience should be unchanged compared to previous elections,” said Whitney Tempel. “Any monitors or observers will be clearly marked…
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…
A University of Kansas conference probes the future of Kansas' rural economy, including conventional approaches and the idea of embracing data centers.
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. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., ordered the U.S…
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
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s rally in Salina, Kansas, on Saturday is canceled, the Kansas Republican Party confirmed to States Newsroom. An appearance scheduled for Sunday in Dubuque, Iowa, was also canceled, the Republican National Committee said in a late Thursday press release. In-person rallies packed…
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…
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…
I just got home from my mandatory poll worker preelection training. It was 90-plus minutes long, and this was just a refresher class for experienced poll workers, not the longer new poll worker class. I got an updated 51-page election board manual to review at home. My shift will be 14 hours long: Report before
Traducido por Claudia Amaro. TOPEKA — Cuando Children’s Mercy anunció que los pacientes no estarán cubiertos por el seguro bajo la Ley de Cuidado de Salud Asequible a partir del 1 de enero, los padres afectados se desahogaron en línea y algunos políticos culparon a la negativa a expandir Medicaid en Kansas. Children’s…
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is unlawfully scrutinizing naturalized U.S. citizens and placing them at risk of disenfranchisement, civil rights groups alleged in a lawsuit Wednesday, less than a week before Election Day. The lawsuit, filed in California, came as Homeland Security asked for an emergency…
Democrat Cindy Holscher and Republican Ty Masterson are campaigning for governor in Kansas on platforms featuring ideas for property tax reform.
TOPEKA — When Children’s Mercy announced patients won’t be covered by Affordable Care Act insurance beginning Jan. 1, stressed parents vented online and some politicians blamed the refusal to expand Medicaid in Kansas. Children’s Mercy, which has locations in Kansas and Missouri, has just one insurance plan on the ACA…
Less than a week before Election Day, President Donald Trump’s unprecedented drive for power over elections has set the stage for a series of courtroom fights that could quickly lead to a high-stakes showdown at the U.S. Supreme Court over the limits of federal authority. Democrats and voting rights advocates have…
In the first three years after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to an abortion in June 2022, more than 900 women faced criminal charges for conduct related to their pregnancies, according to a new report. Most state laws that prohibit or regulate abortion seek to penalize those who provide…
With midwestern naivete, I thought I could attend the rally in Park City on Oct. 19, hear President Donald Trump speak and determine for myself the validity of the “news.” Was Trump a doddering, senile shell? Was his MAGA base cheering barely controlled bloodhounds on the hunt for immigrants? Were the radical left…
High gas and diesel prices in Kansas funneling into debate in state's competitive U.S. Senate and gubernatorial contests on the Nov. 3 ballot.
WASHINGTON — Tens of millions of Americans have already made their way to the ballot box as early voting is underway in a midterm election that will determine control of the House and the Senate, possibly flipping one or both from Republicans to Democrats. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 34 million people have…
TOPEKA — Before Vice President JD Vance was finished speaking Monday in Topeka, Republicans announced President Donald Trump would make his second visit to the state in as many weeks. The White House has made itself visible in Kansas, drawing thousands to Olathe, the Wichita area and Topeka, and Trump is expected to…
Traducido por Claudia Amaro. TOPEKA — La gobernadora Laura Kelly sigue siendo la política más querida de Kansas, mientras el apoyo público se desmorona para el senador estadounidense Roger Marshall, el presidente Donald Trump, los partidos Republicano y Demócrata y la política en general. El Instituto de Asuntos…
The U.S. Department of Justice plans to send election monitors to every state ahead of Election Day, expanding a long-standing practice that’s spurred concern this year among Democrats and voting rights advocates because of President Donald Trump’s push to influence elections. The Justice Department for decades has…
TOPEKA — A lawsuit filed by local government officials challenging the state of Kansas over its deal with the Kansas City Chiefs to build a stadium was settled Friday. The Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City sued the state over concerns it was losing local control, specifically asking to stop…
TOPEKA — The Sternberg Museum of Natural History will remain open after fear of its closure pushed donors to gift $1.2 million toward its operating expenses, the president of Fort Hays State University told a legislative committee Monday. Despite the museum’s reprieve, legislators challenged the way Tisa Mason, who…
For the past five years, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have been trying to lower prices, but every piece of data shows that families are being pushed to the limit by the cost of living. President Donald Trump’s administration has paid particular attention to lowering the price of beef, which has shot up more than 20%
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance combine for third trip to Kansas in bid to salvage reelection campaign of U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall.
As days grow shorter and darkness arrives earlier across much of the country, a new study suggests that brighter streetlights may help reduce nighttime violence — at least temporarily. Researchers found that outdoor nighttime violent crime fell by about 46% in targeted areas of Newark, New Jersey, during the first six…
TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly remains the most-liked politician in Kansas, as public support crumbles for U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, President Donald Trump, the Republican and Democratic parties, and politics at large. The Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort Hays State University released its annual Kansas Speaks…
LAWRENCE — Linguists at the University of Kansas revealed that the way Kansans speak is much more diverse than some people think, and perceptions of a Kansas accent differ, depending on whether listeners are Kansans or non-Kansans Yes, Kansans do have an accent. “There is no such thing as an accentless way of…
Tight races in Kansas for U.S. Senate, governor and attorney general mean get-out-the-vote work to drive turnout is the focus of the midterm's final days.
Americans’ growing frustration over high prices has defined many political campaigns ahead of November’s midterm elections. Rising costs of healthcare, gas and groceries during President Donald Trump’s second term have put Republicans on defense, not only in Washington, but in statehouse and gubernatorial races across…
Greetings, fellow Kansan! You may feel disturbed and uncertain upon learning that our state has now entered that curious category known as swing. No worries, though. I can help! As a journalist, I spent 14 years in two states that were classified as swing. I first worked in St. Petersburg and Tampa, Florida, as the
WASHINGTON — Fewer than 5% of U.S. House races are seen by a top political analysis as truly competitive heading into November’s midterm elections, giving relatively few voters the ability to determine which party controls the chamber for the next two years. The other 414 of 435 House districts are viewed by the…
State and local government employees report high levels of job satisfaction across the country, but face significant rates of burnout and on-the-job harassment. That’s according to a new national survey of nearly 5,000 public servants across all 50 states released today by The People Lab at Harvard University’s…
This is my favorite time of year. It’s not a date but a feeling. It comes after the first frost but before the first snow, when the wind whispers through the falling leaves and the moon hangs like a lantern over the Kansas prairie. This is the season of my birth, and I still carry
This year’s statewide ballot measures are written, on average, at a graduate-school reading level, according to a new report. The readability of 2026’s ballot questions — which ask voters to weigh in on issues as varied as abortion, property taxes, voter ID and firearms — varies by state, political data tracking…
Lecompton Republican Kris Kobach and Lawrence Democrat Chris Mann, candidates for Kansas attorney general, attack each other with questions in TV debate.