Kansas officials scramble to disavow racist texts between Young Republicans
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kansas GOP officials distance party and deactivate Young Republicans group.
- Vice chair fired after messages showing repeated use of racial slurs exposed.
- GOP leaders deny ties to implicated members amid calls linking group to pipeline.
Hello, Star readers.
Today, we’re examining concerted efforts by top Kansas Republicans to distance themselves from the Young Republicans now at the center of a scandal over a racist and hateful group chat.
Next, we’ll get into:
•100K signatures rejected?: Missouri Republican officials say tens of thousands of signatures collected to repeal the gerrymandered congressional map are invalid. That’s not their only play.
• SNAP suspended: Thanks to the federal government shutdown, more than half a million Missouri residents who rely on food assistance will be unable to access their payment next month.
This week in politics
In the hours and days after a Politco exposé revealed the chair and vice chair of the Kansas Young Republicans sent bigoted messages in a group chat with members from three other states, Kansas GOP officials emphatically disavowed the hateful and violent rhetoric.
“Their comments do not reflect the beliefs of Republicans and certainly not of Kansas Republicans at large, who elected a Black chair a few months ago,” said Danedri Herbert, chair of the Kansas Republican Party, who deactivated the Young Republicans group last Tuesday.
Herbert also works in Attorney General Kris Kobach’s office, where she was a direct superior to William Hendrix, the 24-year-old Young Republicans vice chair who reportedly typed variations of the N-word in Telegram messages more than a dozen times over the course of seven months. Hendrix was fired for his involvement in the scandal.
Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican who’s running for governor, took to social media to “categorically deny any association” with Hendrix and Chair Alex Dwyer after a photo circulated of the pair posing for a photo with Masterson at his campaign kickoff event.
State Sen. Cindy Holscher, an Overland Park Democrat who’s also running for governor, said “The rot starts at the top” of the Kansas GOP and called the Young Republicans group “a pipeline to leadership to Topeka.”
More from this past week
• A Johnson County Democrat who moved back to Kansas earlier this year to run for U.S. Senate is attacking Roger Marshall over his $1.2 million Florida home.
• A politically connected Missouri law firm has a plan for bolstering Medicaid. But it involves asking voters to strike down a law that is crucial to keeping the Chiefs and Royals in Missouri.
• A former longtime Kansas City firefighter had to be pulled off his co-worker during a 2024 altercation at a fire station. He just pleaded guilty to assault.
Looking for more?
• For more politics news, follow @bymatthewkelly.bsky.social, @kacen.bsky.social, and @grice1911.bsky.social.
• Want to read more newsletters from The Star? You can subscribe to our free daily newsletters, the Morning Rush or the Afternoon Catch-Up.
That’s all for now! See you next week.
Did someone forward this newsletter to you? You can sign up here. If you’d prefer to unsubscribe from this newsletter, you can do so at any time using the “Unsubscribe” link at the bottom of this message.