Out-of-state dollars dominate high-stakes Kansas races for Senate and House in 2020
Out-of-state money is flowing into Kansas for a high-stakes Senate election and two competitive congressional races.
Two of the top contenders to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Pat Roberts are getting the bulk of their money from out of state donors, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics.
Both Democrat Barbara Bollier and Republican Kris Kobach have received roughly two-thirds of their individual contributions from non-Kansan donors through the end of March. This figure excludes donations from political action committees.
The same is true for the state’s two freshman U.S. House members, Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids and Republican Rep. Steve Watkins, as they seek to defend their seats for the first time. Both are top targets for the opposing party in 2020.
Republicans have attacked Bollier and Davids for their out-of-state fundraising, but they’ve largely ignored Kobach and Watkins’ similar reliance on outside largesse.
Bollier, a state senator from Johnson County, raised $1.58 million from donors who live outside Kansas, about 63.5 % of her contributions from individuals, according to a geographic analysis on the center’s Open Secrets site.
Kobach, the former Kansas secretary of state, received less overall out-of-state cash, but it accounts for an even greater percentage of his fundraising with $292,521 or 69.2 % of his individual contributions.
The three top metro areas for Bollier’s fundraising are Kansas City, which spans Kansas and Missouri, New York and Boston. Kobach’s top three metros are New York, Kansas City and the Washington, D.C.
“Conservatives nationally are supporting me because they want to help Kansans put someone with a proven conservative record in the Senate,” he said in a statement.
‘New York elites’
The other top Republican contenders have relied primarily on Kansas donations: Rep. Roger Marshall with 75.8 % and state Senate President Susan Wagle 90.1 %.
Eric Pahls, spokesman for Marshall’s campaign, said in a statement the congressman’s campaign was powered by Kansans while “Kobach’s money comes from New York elites who could care less about Kansas.”
Marshall raised $297,225 from out-of-state, a bigger raw total than Kobach.
While Bollier’s campaign didn’t directly comment on the significance of out of state money in the race and instead said that Bollier “will continue working tirelessly to earn the vote of every Kansan.”
Kansas Republican chairman Mike Kuckelman said the money other states should raise alarms.
“It concerns me that this much money is flowing into the state,” Kuckelman said.
However, Kuckelman downplayed Kobach’s percentage of non-Kansas support, saying the overall dollar amount paled in comparison to Bollier.
While Bollier has benefited from out-of-state dollars, she’d be ahead of most of the Republican field without them.
Bollier collected $911,509 from Kansas donors, roughly triple Wagle’s in-state fundraising and roughly seven times Kobach’s.
The only candidate to pull in more from Kansas donors was Marshall, with $931,271. Marshall’s best metros are Kansas City, Wichita and Philadelphia.
Asked about Bollier’s strong showing, Kuckelman blamed the GOP’s crowded field for preventing Republican donors from coalescing around one candidate.
Kuckelman recently called for Wagle and former Johnson County Commissioner Dave Lindstrom to drop out of the race to enable a close-to one-on-one matchup between Marshall and Kobach. Lindstrom has called for Kuckelman to resign for trying to influence the primary. Neither has heeded the other’s request.
“Strategically, the best opportunity for Republicans to retain that U.S. Senate seat is a primary where we have one or two candidates,” Kuckelman said.
The party will livestream a May 23 debate on Manhattan between Kobach, Marshall, Wagle, Lindstrom and Bob Hamilton, a businessman who is largely self-funding.
Congressional races draw outside interest
Out of state fundraising is also playing a significant role in two of state’s U.S. House races.
In the Kansas 3rd congressional district, incumbent Democrat Davids raised $1.14 million or 63.7 % from out of state. Her top metros include Kansas City, New York and Washington.
Davids’ campaign said in a statement that 75 % of its fundraising has come from people giving $20 or less and touted her support from Kansans, which at $652,837 is more than double the in-state donations of any other candidate in the race.
The two top fundraisers among her four GOP challengers have both raised roughly half of their money from outside of Kansas: Amanda Adkins collected $297,909 or 48 %, while Sara Hart Weir raised $164,305 or 55.6%.
Adkins’ campaign touted its support in Kansas “from leaders in business to parents concerned about the direction of our country.” The former state GOP chair received $322,894 from Kansas donors, the most of any Republican.
Her top metro areas for support were Kansas City, St. Joseph, Missouri and Orange County, California.
Weir has $130,969 from Kansas contributors, significantly less than Davids or Adkins. In a statement her campaign touted its “robust Kansas grassroots and donations” and blasted Davids for money hauls in coastal cities despite her own fundraising outside Kansas.
In addition to Kansas City, Weir’s biggest metros for support were Washington and Baltimore.
In the adjacent Kansas 2nd congressional district, there’s a stark contrast between the incumbent’s out-of-state fundraising compared to his opponents.
Watkins, the freshman Republican from Topeka, received $359,568 or 69.2 % from out of state, while his two challengers collected more than 80 percent from Kansas.
“We welcome support from anyone who wants to keep the 2nd District in Republican hands so Kansans can continue reaping the benefits of President Trump’s America-first agenda,” Watkins’ campaign spokesman Bryan Piligra said in a statement.
Kansas Treasurer Jake LaTurner, a Pittsburg Republican primary challenger, got $587,140 or 88.3 % from in-state donors, three times what Watkins’ collected. Topeka Mayor Michelle De La Isla, the Democrat in the race, raised $204,225 or 81.5% from Kansas donors.
LaTurner’s spokeswoman Kara Zeyer said in a statement that Watkins’ out of state support wasn’t surprising “with his many scandals,” an allusion to a string of legal headaches facing the congressman. He added that Watkins “has had to turn to liberal donors in New York, Chicago and D.C. who approve of his behavior and voting record.”
Those three metros are among the top sources of Watkins’ money along with Kansas City and Topeka. However, Watkins votes with Trump 95.8 percent of the time and is being targeted by national Democrats.
Wichita Rep. Ron Estes, who represents the solidly Republican 4th congressional district, is the only U.S. House member from Kansas seeking re-election getting the bulk of his money from inside the state with $385,681 or 75.6 percent coming from Kansas donors.
This story was originally published May 7, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Out-of-state dollars dominate high-stakes Kansas races for Senate and House in 2020."
