Three Johnson County Kansas Senate races are crucial. Here’s what voters should know | Opinion
The Kansas City Star Editorial Board is not making endorsements in Kansas Senate District 9, 10 and 11 general election races. But we are highlighting them in hopes that voters will take a closer look at the candidates — and with a clear understanding of the stakes involved. For more information about the Nov. 5 election, check out our Voter Guide, a collaboration between The Kansas City Star and the KC Media Collective. See all our published endorsements on our Elections Recommendations page.
Too often, the Kansas Legislature finds itself mired in dysfunction and paralysis. Gov. Laura Kelly can often be the only barrier to catastrophe in Topeka.
Three state Senate races in Johnson County are crucial to breaking through the gridlock. We urge voters in these districts to study the issues carefully and cast votes accordingly.
State Senate District 9
Senate District 9 includes much of southwestern and rural western Johnson County. The race pits incumbent Beverly Gossage, a Republican, against Norman Mallicoat, the Democrat.
Gossage has used her seat to repeatedly block Medicaid expansion, which is critical for the state’s rural hospitals as well as the working poor. Instead, she promotes junk insurance which provides little protection for those who need it.
Gossage has pushed legislation harmful to transgender Kansans. She supported a bill requiring doctors performing an abortion to ask the patient to answer a series of intrusive questions before the procedure, including asking “the most factor” in seeking an abortion.
Gossage was one of 27 senators overriding the Kelly veto of the bill.
Mallicoat, a self-described moderate Democrat and a veteran, promises to defend abortion rights in the state Senate. He also wants to expand Medicaid.
State Senate District 10
In this district, which includes north central Johnson County and much of Shawnee, incumbent Republican Mike Thompson is running against Democrat Andrew Mall.
Thompson rejects the results of the 2020 election (he “orchestrated a two-day debauchery of fear mongering about advance ballots, drop boxes, and voter registration efforts” in 2023, according to a column in the Kansas Reflector.)
He rejects the voice of Kansans on abortion rights. He denies climate change, and has called green energy efforts “lunacy.” He’s a creationist.
He doesn’t like wind energy. He’s a COVID-19 vaccine skeptic. He has harassed witnesses in Topeka who don’t share his goofy agenda. He wants a national constitutional convention.
He bases much of his judgments on his years as a television weatherman. Breaking news: He was really bad at that, too.
Democrat Andrew Mall wants to fund special education fully. He also wants to expand Medicaid. District 10 voters must consider their choice carefully in this race.
State Senate District 11
In this district, incumbent Republican Kellie Warren is opposed by Democrat Karen Thurlow. The district includes eastern Johnson County, including parts of Leawood.
Warren once ran for Kansas attorney general, and was endorsed by Susan B. Anthony Pro- Life America: “Kellie Warren is an unflinching champion for the unborn and mothers … calling out the pro-abortion extremism of Governor Laura Kelly,” the group said in 2022.
This year, the rhetoric has cooled. “The voters spoke on this issue in August 2022,” her website says. “I have not advocated for an abortion ban in Kansas.”
This year, Warren said she wants a bipartisan approach to government, but at the same time, she resisted a bill that could mean fewer wrong criminal convictions.
Karen Thurlow is a lawyer. She supports reproductive health care choice, which Kansans overwhelmingly endorsed. She has criticized Sam Brownback’s tax policies, and supports property tax reform.
Johnson County voters have important choices to make in November. They have good options.