One for the money
There was a wave of concern among some Kansas Democrats in 2022 that new congressional district boundaries, drawn by the Republican-controlled Legislature, could spell the end of Rep. Sharice Davids’ time in Congress.
After all, the map took what was the most diverse congressional district in Kansas and turned it into the least diverse in the state. It lopped off mostly Democratic voters in Wyandotte county and added mostly Republican voters in Franklin, Anderson and Ohio counties.
It seemed to give a home field advantage to Republican candidate Amanda Adkins, who had lost to Davids by 10 percentage points in 2020. Davids, the Kansas delegation’s sole Democrat, could still win, many thought, but it would close.
Instead, Davids ended up beating Adkins by 12 percentage points, improving on her margin from 2020.
Despite that double-digit win, her district is still a target in 2024. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has put her on their front liners list — the group of lawmakers they believe are most vulnerable — and the National Republican Congressional Committee is targeting her seat.
Though no Republicans have officially said they will challenge her, Davids is building up her campaign funds. Davids has not yet filed her official report with the FEC, but her campaign says she raised more than $500,000 in the first quarter of 2023.
That’s about the same as she raised in the final stretch of her campaign in 2022. In that cycle, she raised more than $7.9 million.
Already, the NRCC is sending out press releases criticizing Davids votes and calling on her to respond to national controversies of the day. Republicans believe that because the numbers are still in their favor in the 3rd Congressional District — there are more registered Republicans than registered Democrats — that they can turn the tide.
If recent elections are any indication, that will be tough.
The 3rd District is centered around Johnson County, a former Republican stronghold that has increasingly voted for Democrats. The county is largely suburban and it’s the type of district that has helped Democrats get power in Washington, particularly after the election of former President Donald Trump in 2016.
If the trend in Johnson County continues, it might go from a district that has switched party hands several times over the past two decades to one where Democrats dominate. That would put it in the category of most congressional districts in this country, where the results are typically settled in a primary rather than in the general election because of the partisan lean of the district.
More from Missouri
As conspiracy theories about election security have swept across the country in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, election officials from both parties stepped up to defend the country’s elections process. Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft has not been one of them. Now he’s running for governor of Missouri as a Republican.
Here are headlines from across the state:
Jay Ashcroft elevated voting conspiracy theories. Now he’s running for Missouri governor, Kacen Bayless
Jackson County GOP to host conspiracy theorist Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, Kacen Bayless
Republican pushing trans care ban suggests 12-year-olds should be allowed to marry, Kacen Bayless
Missouri lawmaker posts video of kids chanting ‘Let’s go Brandon’ at wrestling event, Kacen Bayless
Prosecutor drops sex charges against former Agape doc as ‘more serious’ case proceeds, Laura Bauer and Judy L. Thomas
And across Kansas
Lawmakers in Kansas passed a bill last week that opponents warn could put the due process of human smuggling victims at risk. The bill creates a state-level crime of human smuggling in an attempt to prosecute people who transport illegal immigrants across Kansas. But it means prosecutors will have to prove that both perpetrator and victim broke the law by entering the country in order to get a conviction.
Prosecuting human smugglers may soon require deciding whether victims broke law, Jonathan Shorman and Katie Bernard
GOP presidential front-runners are skeptical of Ukraine aid. Why is Pompeo leaning in?, Daniel Desrochers
Kansas AG Kris Kobach joins Texas lawsuit over lesser prairie chicken endangered status, Katie Bernard
Advocates say this policy could prevent fentanyl deaths. Its future in Kansas is uncertain, Katie Bernard and Jonathan Shorman
Republicans keep pushing to aid private schools. Do they have a chance?, Katie Bernard and Jonathan Shorman
The latest from Kansas City
In Kansas City …
Births, deaths and a viral video: KC Zoo’s penguin exhibit draws acclaim and scrutiny, Anna Spoerre
Kansas City area highways have an embarrassing trash problem, Robert A. Cronkleton
KS cops ‘chased’ elderly man for driving 3 mph over limit then tased him, lawsuit says, Luke Nozicka
Have a news tip? Send it along to ddesrochers@kcstar.com
Odds and ends
Dems join abortion brief
Kansas City area Democratic Reps. Sharice Davids and Emanuel Cleaver signed onto a legal brief opposing the decision by a Texas judge to revoke the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, a drug often used for medication-based abortions.
The judge’s ruling threw the FDA into chaos, particularly because there are still several states where abortion is legal — like Kansas — and a second federal judge on the same day issued an order saying the drug should still be available. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court partially lifted the Texas judge’s ban on the drug.
Davids, a Kansas Democrat who has campaigned heavily on abortion rights, said the Texas ruling flies in the face of Kansans rejecting a ballot measure that could have allowed the Legislature to ban the procedure in the state.
“This ruling threatens Kansans’ ability to access the medication they need and undermines the clear statement that Kansans made in August: we don’t want politicians making these critical medical decisions for us,” Davids said. “That’s why I’m joining my colleagues to urge an appeal and affirm our support for the FDA.”
The case, which will likely end up at the Supreme Court, could have major implications on the pharmaceutical industry. More than 400 leaders of pharmaceutical companies and investment firms joined a letter speaking out against the Texas judge’s ruling, according to the New York Times, saying under the ruling, any medicine could be at risk of a judge blocking its approval.
Erin Morrow Hawley is arguing the case for the Alliance Defending Freedom, a socially conservative legal group. She clerked for Supreme Court Justice John Roberts and is married to Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican. Both are staunch opponents of abortion rights.
More WOTUS
This year, the courts will decide what to do about jurisdiction over water rights, after President Joe Biden vetoed legislation that would have blocked his new rules granting federal jurisdiction over certain waterways on a case by case basis.
They got an early start this week when a federal judge in North Dakota temporarily blocked Biden’s rule, saying the rule went beyond the powers handed to the administration by Congress. The rule is now blocked in 24 states.
“This injunction means that more than half the states will be spared, for the time being, from the Biden Administration’s overreaching, burdensome WOTUS rule,” said Rep. Sam Graves, a Missouri Republican who has fought against federal jurisdiction on the issue. “Both Houses of Congress have voted in bipartisan fashion to put an end to this federal jurisdiction grab, but the President, in favoring far-left environmental activists, vetoed our legislation.”
Jurisdiction on water is notoriously complicated and this tangled web of rules — which have changed several times over the past 10 years — adds to even more confusion.
Ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court will provide clarity this year, when they will likely determine what types of waterways fall under the Clean Water Act, potentially putting an end to the battle over WOTUS.
Biden Rugby
President Joe Biden traveled to Ireland this week, marking his first presidential visit to his ancestral homeland. But in an address to the Irish parliament, he may have ruffled feathers among those who support America’s current national pastime.
“I’d rather have my children playing rugby now for health reasons than I would have them playing football,” Biden said, according to Washington Post reporter Tyler Pager. “Fewer people get hurt playing rugby.”
Is it really true? Could the rough and tumble, non-padded rugby really be safer than football, where players don layers of padded equipment?
The argument that rugby is safer than football has to do with the way you tackle in each sport. In rugby, you’re not allowed to use your head to tackle and the lack of equipment requires a technical precision that isn’t always the case in football.
But claims about tackling style don’t appear to be validated by science. A study by the National Institutes of Health comparing injury levels in college football compared to college rugby found that rugby was actually more dangerous.
Happy Friday
Read this about the living Sherlock Holmes. Or is he? Have a picnic lunch this weekend. Here’s Dean Martin with Catarina Valente.
Enjoy your weekend.
Looking for more?
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This story was originally published April 13, 2023 at 10:53 PM.
