How wealthy are Kansas congressional candidates? Financial disclosures show broad range
Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District takes in the state’s wealthiest and some of its poorest communities, from Mission Hills to Kansas City, Kansas.
The field of candidates seeking to represent the district, which includes Johnson, Wyandotte and Miami Counties, reflects that broad range on the economic spectrum. Two of the Republican contenders would be among the wealthier members of Congress, if elected.
Cerner vice president Amanda Adkins, 45, and former Burns and McDonnell executive Mike Beehler, 60, both have asset portfolios worth millions, according to the personal financial disclosure forms they filed with the U.S. House last month. The reports require candidates to disclose holdings only within certain ranges.
Former Roeland Park Mayor Adrienne Vallejo Foster, 47, and former National Down Syndrome Society President Sara Hart Weir, 38, report assets worth hundreds of thousands, but they also have student loans and other liabilities to pay off.
All of the Republicans have more wealth than incumbent Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids, 40, who ranked 94th of the 95 new members serving this Congress in total wealth, based on an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics. Her Republican predecessor, Kevin Yoder, was in the lower half of personal wealth in Congress during his eight-year tenure.
Members of Congress are far better off than most of their constituents, with a median net worth of roughly $1 million, whereas the median for all American households sits at $97,300.
Adkins, on leave from Cerner during the campaign, made $270,763 in 2019 from her role as the health care IT giant’s vice presid.ent for strategic growth. Income from various holdings during the same year was between roughly $200,000 to $2 million.
Adkins’ total assets range from nearly $2.7 million on the low end to more than $11.7 million on the high end. Her biggest two holdings are a pair of family blind trusts, which both range between $1 million to $5 million in estimated value.
Adkins did not include the trusts on an initial 2019 filing around the time she launched her campaign in September. She amended the report last month to include the trusts and also listed them on her 2020 disclosure.
Adkins said in an email that she “determined an amendment was needed” after an additional review of House ethics requirements. She did not answer an additional question about the role of wealth in the race.
Weir attacked Adkins for not disclosing the trusts in September.
“I’m pretty sure if most Kansans had an extra $5 million sitting around they wouldn’t forget they had it,” Weir said in a statement.
Beehler’s total assets are worth between more than $2.1 million to more than $10.4 million, with his most significant holding being between $1 million and $5 million in Burns & McDonnell stock.
Beehler worked for the engineering firm from 1995 to 2019 and earned $382,409 last year as a vice president.
Beehler said that he and his wife have “our version of the American Dream,” which would allow him to donate his congressional salary to local charities if elected.
Weir, the former president of the National Down Syndrome Society, made $188,775 last year, mostly from her final months leading the disability rights organization and as a consultant to the organization following her departure. Weir’s consulting work has come up in ongoing litigation involving NDSS’ former spokesman, whose firm paid Weir.
Weir has between roughly $311,000 to $615,000 in assets, with her largest holding a Morgan Stanley Roth Rollover IRA valued at between $100,000 and $250,000. She has between $20,000 and $30,000 in liabilities from a car loan and a student loan.
While Adkins and Beehler are the wealthiest candidates, Weir has steered more of her own money into the race than her opponents. Weir has loaned her campaign $135,000 and contributed $6,822 as of her April filing with the Federal Election Commission.
None of the other candidates have made any loans as of the start of April. Adkins has contributed $3,304, while Vallejo Foster has given her campaign $14,103, according to FEC data.
Vallejo Foster has between $476,000 and $790,000 in assets with her largest asset being her home valued at $275,000.
Vallejo Foster’s biggest liability is her mortgage of $181,000. Between the mortgage on her home, a second mortgage on a condo, student loans and a home equity loan, Vallejo Foster has nearly $357,000 in liabilities.
“As the grandchild of immigrants, and the youngest of twelve children, I have worked hard to get where I am today,” Vallejo Foster said in a statement
A fifth Republican candidate, former state Rep. Tom Love, 67, has not yet filed his financial disclosure since joining the race this month.
The economic gaps between the candidates reflects the disparities within the district.
Wyandotte County has a median household income of $44,873, more than $12,000 below the state median, with 18.4 % of the population living in poverty, according to 2018 Census data. Johnson County, where all of the candidates reside, has a median household income nearly double Wyandotte at $84,915 and only 5.5 % poverty.
Davids, the incumbent Democrat, won’t have to file a 2020 disclosure until after the August primary because of an extension granted to members of Congress during the coronavirus pandemic. When she entered Congress, she was among the least wealthy members. She has spoken about the need for more economic diversity in Congress.
Davids’ 2019 filing showed between $106,000 and $342,000 in assets, including a home valued at between $100,000 and $250,000. Davids’ campaign said her 2020 filing won’t show any major changes.
The filing was based on her 2018 finances before she received her annual congressional salary of $174,000. Davids had between $225,000 and $565,000 in liabilities, mostly from her mortgage and student loans.
“Representative Davids’ story is one that speaks to experiences of many Kansans: raised by a single mom who served in the Army for 20 years, started out at community college before earning a law degree, and juggled multiple jobs to put herself through school,” said Johanna Warshaw, Davids’ campaign spokeswoman.
This story was originally published June 23, 2020 at 12:54 PM.
