Republicans Stress Need To Put ‘Kansas Common Sense’ In D.C. In 2nd District Race

By Noah Taborda, The Kansas Reflector

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Oct. 13, 2020

TOPEKA — U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy campaigned Tuesday in Topeka for State Treasurer Jake LaTurner and urged voters to consider the significant political divide between opponents Kansas’ 2nd District race.

McCarthy, a California Republican who made multiple stops in Kansas this week, said there may be no greater difference in policy in any race across the country than between LaTurner and his Democratic challenger, Topeka Mayor Michelle De La Isla.

“I hope that all Kansans will look at both candidates,” McCarthy said. “They’ll look at their record and who is best prepared, not from a political point of view but one for who best represents Kansas.”

The trip to the state’s capital highlights the importance of the district in a year where Republican Legislators are facing an uphill battle to reclaim control of the U.S. House.

Kansas’ Rep. Ron Estes and former Rep. Lynn Jenkins joined McCarthy in supporting LaTurner.

LaTurner and De La Isla are currently in a competitive race for the district, which includes Topeka, Lawrence and the southeastern part of Kansas. Both LaTurner and McCarthy said De La Isla does not have Kansans’ best interest at heart.

“What’s very clear is where her money comes from. That not the Democratic party but more of a progressive socialist party,” McCarthy said. ”That’s not the Kansas way, and that’s why you want someone who will represent you and your views and actually have your character.”

The Republican legislators claimed De La Isla has and will continue to support defunding law enforcement. This echoes a recently released advertisement by the LaTurner campaign telling people the Topeka mayor wants to defund the capital city’s police department.

The Topeka City Council, with backing from De La Isla as a council member and mayor, actually has raised the department’s annual budget since 2017 by $5 million.

LaTurner also said De La Isla is falsely identifying as a moderate candidate when in reality she supports initiatives like the Green New Deal. He described supporters of the proposed legislation as “liberal extremists.”

“There’s a big difference between Mayor De La Isla and myself. I am able to tell the people of Kansas who I am with honesty and conviction,” La Turner said. “The people of this district want somebody that’s willing to go to Washington, D.C., to lay down on the tracks and to get something done.”

Estes, the incumbent from the Wichita-area 4th District, said LaTurner would be able to sort through political gamesmanship to get results for the state.

“I know how important it is to get some good Kansas common sense back in D.C.,” Estes said. “That’s one of the things that we miss a whole lot. For somebody like Jake to be able to get up there and help solve problems and bring those solutions back home to folks in Kansas is so important.”

McCarthy and Estes also stopped in Pittsburg earlier Tuesday to campaign for LaTurner. The minority leader also visited the 1st District on Monday to assist former Kansas Lt. Gov. Tracey Mann in his race with Kali Barnett.

In response to McCarthy’s visit, the Kansas Democratic Party said Mann does not have Kansan’s best interest at heart.

“From telling struggling Kansans to simply “persevere” through the economic pain caused by COVID-19, opposing affordable health care and abandoning Kansas farmers to Trump’s reckless trade war, Tracey Mann has proved he will not deliver for the Big First,” said KDP spokeswoman Reeves Oyster. “Kevin McCarthy’s visit doesn’t change the truth: Tracey Mann is a career politician who will continue to put politics before the people of KS-01.”

The Kansas Reflector seeks to increase people's awareness of how decisions made by elected representatives and other public servants affect our day-to-day lives. We hope to empower and inspire greater participation in democracy throughout Kansas.