Schmidt or Schmitt?
Welcome to the Schmi(d)(t)t show.
It wasn’t enough for Kansas and Missouri attorneys general to have rhyming names, they had to pick the same year to elevate their careers. And both landed at the top of the Republican ticket in their state heading into the 2022 midterm election.
We’d like to introduce you to one of the most coincidental sources of confusion in Kansas and Missouri politics.
Derek Schmidt, Kansas’ attorney general, is the Republican nominee for governor. Missouri’s attorney general, Eric Schmitt, is the Republican nominee for Missouri’s open U.S. Senate seat.
You see our dilemma?
Welcome back to the Star Politics newsletter. Daniel Desrochers is still out this week, so The Star’s statehouse reporters are stepping in.
I’m Katie Bernard, I spend my time wandering the halls of Kansas’ Topeka statehouse. And I’m Kacen Bayless, The Star’s correspondent in Jefferson City.
On top of their similar names, the two attorneys general have similar backgrounds. Both are very tall men who got their starts in the state legislature before ascending to become the state’s top law enforcement officer.
During their time as lawmakers, Schmidt and Schmitt were both considered to be somewhat moderate. But they’ve both used their time as AG to build their conservative credentials in litigation against Democratic presidents.
Political observers of Missouri’s Eric Schmitt say they’ve seen the attorney general transform from a moderate state senator who was willing to work with both parties to a right-wing caricature embodying the pugnacious politics of former President Donald Trump.
Schmitt’s U.S. Senate campaign has centered on his highly-publicized lawsuits against school districts over COVID-19 restrictions and against the Biden administration. But his tenure in the state legislature was largely defined by cooperation instead of conflict.
In 2012, for example, Schmitt was endorsed by one of the state’s largest union organizations for supporting bipartisan legislation that was important to unions.
Meanwhile in Kansas, independent candidate Dennis Pyle, a conservative state senator, is seeking to use Derek Schmidt’s moderate past against him. Pyle has attacked Schmidt for his record in the Legislature, specifically his cooperation as Senate majority leader with Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius more than a decade ago.
Schmidt, who has served as attorney general since 2011, has signed onto a long string of lawsuits challenging federal policies under Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden – not so much under Donald Trump.
Confused yet? Don’t worry. We’re here to help. We put together a little Q&A so you understand the differences (and similarities) between the two Schmi(d)(t)ts.
Q: Which attorney general worked for moderate Republican Sens. Nancy Kassebaum and Chuck Hagel?
A: Derek Schmidt
Schmidt worked as a legislative aide to Kassebaum, a Kansas Republican who often bucked GOP leadership, and Hagel, a Nebraska Republican who went on to serve as Democratic President Barack Obama’s secretary of defense. He was also general counsel to moderate Kansas Republican Gov. Bill Graves.
Q: Which attorney general used a campaign advertisement to tout his enormous stature?
A: Eric Schmitt
Standing at 6 feet 6 inches tall, Eric Schmitt was once referred to as the tallest member in Missouri state Senate history. During his successful run for state treasurer in 2016, Schmitt released a campaign video called “Standing Tall” where he listed the pros and cons of being tall.
In the video, Schmitt said he “stood tall for taxpayers” while serving in the state Senate and would fight against wasteful spending as treasurer.
Q: Which attorney general has spent more than a decade in his current position?
A: Derek Schmidt
Schmidt was first elected Kansas attorney general in 2010 and is currently serving his third term. Before that, he spent 10 years in the Kansas Senate, eventually ascending to become Senate Majority Leader. Missouri’s Schmitt was appointed attorney general after Josh Hawley’s election to the U.S. Senate in 2018 and elected to a full term two years later.
Q: Which candidate signed a pledge promising to ban critical race theory from public schools?
A: Both.
Last summer, Schmidt signed the 1776 pledge promising to support legislation banning critical race theory from public schools. There is no evidence critical race theory, a law school level concept, is taught in Kansas’ public schools. Schmitt signed the same pledge in April.
Q: Which attorney general unsuccessfully tried to sue China for how it handled the COVID-19 pandemic?
A: Eric Schmitt.
Near the beginning of the pandemic in April 2020, Schmitt sued China, arguing that the country needed to be held accountable for the global outbreak. A U.S. District judge dismissed that suit in July, ruling that U.S. courts don’t have jurisdiction over China.
Q: Which attorney general backed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the 2020 election?
A: Both.
Schmitt and Schmidt both signed a legal brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a Texas-led lawsuit seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.
More from Missouri
It was a busy week in the Show-Me State.
Missouri Republican Gov. Mike Parson announced this week that state legislators will return to Jefferson City on Sept. 6 for a special session. Lawmakers will try to pass a sweeping income tax cut and extend tax credits for farmers.
Democrats and some budget analysts immediately criticized the plan, saying it threatens the kind of budget problems that plagued Kansas just a few years ago. Parson rejected that comparison and said his proposal to reduce tax rates wouldn’t lead to budget cuts.
Here are headlines from across the state:
Missouri Gov. Parson sets special session for sweeping income tax cut and farmer tax credits Kacen Bayless
League of Women Voters, NAACP sue Missouri to block new voter registration restrictions Kacen Bayless
Missouri Gov. Parson rejects comparisons of his tax plan to Kansas cuts under Brownback Jonathan Shorman
Former Jan. 6 investigator John Wood ends independent campaign for U.S. Senate in Missouri Jonathan Shorman and Kacen Bayless
‘I think that thing’s a disaster’: Gov. Parson slams recreational weed question on MO ballot Kacen Bayless and Jonathan Shorman
And across Kansas
The nine-county hand recount of Kansas’ abortion vote is over. It affirmed the state’s overwhelming support of abortion rights but election conspiracy theorists that funded the recount aren’t convinced.
Wichita anti-abortion activist Mark Gietzen filed a lawsuit demanding a statewide recount of every election that took place on Aug. 2. Gietzen’s lawsuit is highly unlikely to succeed. Officials across Kansas called the recount, and its results, evidence that Kansas’ election systems work as they’re meant to.
Here are headlines from across the state:
Kansas Democrat Sharice Davids distances herself from Biden student debt cancellation plan by Katie Bernard
Kansas Secretary of State charges nearly $120,000 for recount; Gietzen files lawsuit by Chance Swaim and Katie Bernard
‘Feels like you’re suffocating’: Kansas and Missouri prisoners without AC demand relief by Katie Moore and Luke Nozicka
Kansas recount confirms landslide win for abortion rights, but highlights risk to democracy by Katie Bernard and Jonathan Shorman
If Missouri approves recreational marijuana, how will Kansas react to legal weed in KC metro? By Jonathan Shorman and Kacen Bayless
The latest from Kansas City
‘A huge day’: Climate plan to make Kansas City carbon-neutral by 2040 moves forward by Anna Spoerre
Wyandotte County considers lower property tax rate, but homeowners may still pay more by Aaron Torres
Starbucks says it closed Plaza store for safety. Here’s the record of KCPD calls there by Andrea Klick and Robert Cronkelton
Have a news tip? Send it along to cbernard@kcstar.com or kbayless@kcstar.com
Odds and Ends
Marshall vs. Fauci
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, is asking U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to preserve all records related to outgoing National Institutes of Health Director Anthony Fauci and former Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute Francis Collins.
Marshall has feuded with Fauci over his response to COVID-19. Fauci was caught on mic calling Marshall “a moron” in January after a testy exchange during a Senate hearing.
College affordability
On the heels of President Joe Biden’s student debt relief announcement, Kansas House Democrats and Democratic Treasurer Lynn Rogers announced their own plan for higher education affordability.
A legislative package announced Thursday would offer a $150 tax rebate to parents of school aged children for supplies, extend the deadline for contributing to education savings accounts and provide tax cuts to businesses that make student loan payments on behalf of employees.
The announcement comes as Rogers and every member of the Kansas House is up for reelection.
Folding tables
When Missouri lawmakers return to Jefferson City in September for a special session, they may have to legislate from folding tables.
The Missouri House is getting new carpet and the chamber’s desk and chairs have been removed. The chamber’s electronic voting machine is also being replaced.
When asked this week if the renovations would be completed in time for the Sept. 6 special session, Gov. Mike Parson said, “I would hope. The last we were notified, it was supposed to be done by the end of August.”
Others, however, aren’t so sure.
Happy Friday
Read this story about how three amatuer sleuths solved a cipher from the Zodiac Killer. Enjoy the Kansas-born Horsefeather or a Missouri Mule named after Missouri’s official state animal in honor of President Harry Truman. Listen to the aptly named “Shit Show” by Peter McPoland.
Enjoy your weekend.
Looking for more?
Think this newsletter is missing something? Think it’s fabulous? Think we’re morons? Send your reactions to ddesrochers@kcstar.com.
For more politics news, follow @Kacen, @KatieJ_Bernard, @drdesrochers and @jonshorman.
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