🗳️Sharp Sheet: 2026 Primary
1 vote = THREE!
For Kansans - (fellow political nerds might also enjoy:)
If you requested a mail ballot, it should land today or by Monday at the latest!
Early in-person voting begins TODAY (info)!!!!
TWO IMPORTANT points to remember:
As soon as you vote (early in-person or by mail), MOST campaigns remove you from their advertising lists. Smart campaigns don’t want to spend money on people who’ve already voted!
Practice democracy AND clean out your mailbox/inbox/texts/social feeds.
BIG impact, TINY time commitment: VOTE in August elections!
In a record year - SOME August elections reach 30% turnout.
Your vote in these elections is, at minimum, 3x more the percentage of the total than in state/federal elections!
Don’t just take my word for it - here are some quick & easy resources to do your own research. Note - it says a lot about candidates which do not answer questions for their community or participate in forums. If they aren’t showing up now, guess what happens once they’re elected... #justsayin
DISCLOSURE - I’m a Republican, so can only vote in the Republican primary. However, my professional relationships cross the political spectrum, so I will give my perspective on Democrat races as I deem relevant.
Candidate Profiles:
Constitutional Amendment: Last on the ballot - FIRST in priority!
Please vote NO. no. Nah. 👎. Niet. Non. 🙅🏻♀️. La. 0. 🚫
VOTERS have already spoken on this and some are trying to turn back the clock and pull a fast one to buy Justices…
In the 1960s, there was so much corruption with elected judges that Kansans passed a constitutional amendment to change the Supreme Court process TO THE PROCESS WE HAVE NOW.
Two people, one lawyer and one non-lawyer from each Congressional District are appointed to the Nominating Commission. That’s the statute - so when someone tells you the Justices are hand-picked by lawyers, they’re LYING TO YOU.
The rest of the ballot:
US Senate - Republican
Pond Naramore: Let’s send a message that Kansas Republicans expect independent thinkers and aren’t happy with our current Representation in Washington!
US Senate - Democrat
Adam Hamilton: If you’ve read this newsletter for any amount of time, you know I often mention my church and the amazing mission work they do throughout the KC Metro, the US, and the world.
36 years ago, Pastor Adam started The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection (fondly nicknamed “COR”) in the chapel of a funeral home.
Now we have nine campuses in KC, one in Ohio, hundreds of employees and more than 20K members. I have been a member for 26 years.
COR defies the “megachurch” stereotype because of Adam and the team he leads. He’s the real deal.
PS: If you don’t think a pastor has political experience, I dare you to sit on any church committee or participate in any activity…!
US House
Can I be honest? No one will beat Sharice Davids in the foreseeable future. Not because she isn’t beatable, but because of Trump. Moreover, the Dem infighting might cost the US Senate race, but I guess Dems can at least identify with what we traditional Republicans have been dealing with for 30+ years!
Governor/Lieutenant Governor - Republican
Vicki Schmidt (Topeka) & Joe Newland (Neodesha)
Vicki is a longtime - in chronological order: colleague, friend, client, current 2-term State Insurance Commissioner, highest Republican vote-getter statewide and the ONLY Republican to win Johnson County in 2018 & 2022, and the only Republican running for Governor who supports public schools, teachers, recapturing health care dollars from the feds (Medicaid Expansion), and a whole host of other common sense issues.
Governor/Lieutenant Governor - Democrat
Curt Skoog (Overland Park) & Dr. Jen Bacani McKenney (Fredonia)
This is a tough one and I can already hear the blowback coming my way.
I respect both State Senators Ethan Corson and Cindy Holscher and they are both better than the behind-the-scenes drama surrounding them.
Skoog & McKenney joined the race late but made the most impressive and organized launch I’ve seen in a long time. They have stayed above the smoke created by the crossfire of the other two.
If Republicans nominate someone other than Vicki Schmidt, Johnson County will be in the cross-hairs of a Brownback 4.0 situation on steroids and we’ll need a strong pair in the general who can ignore the chaos in their party and capture votes from those of us 80% that sit in the oft-ignored political middle.
Secretary of State
The Republican in this race wants to get rid of mail ballots for all reasons and doesn’t think women should vote. So I’m not even going to tell you his name.
I don’t know either Democrat in the primary, but in November Scott Morgan is running on the United Kansas party. Scott was an excellent candidate against Kris Kobach in the Republican primary election years ago and he’s done some good work on elections and voting issues.
Attorney General - No Primary
Kris Kobach is the incumbent.
I’m putting in a good word for Chris Mann - a former law enforcement officer, hit by a drunk driver and couldn’t police anymore, so went to law school to help others defend against drunk drivers - for the November general election.
State Treasurer - No Primary
As above, I’m putting in a good word to re-elect Steven Johnson for the November general election.
State Insurance Commissioner - No Primary
This is the seat Vicki Schmidt is vacating to run for governor.
State Senator Dinah Sykes (Lenexa) is a former client who became a friend, switched from Republican to Democrat following one of Trump’s early antics, is in her 10th year in the Kansas Senate and serves as the Minority Leader.
Her general election opponent is the #1 reason Kansas:
Paid more than $1 BILLION for health care for other Americans and missed out on $7 BILLION in federal funds, while 150,000+ Kansans made too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford marketplace insurance if their employer didn’t offer it.
BTW: He cites blocking Medicaid Expansion as a badge of honor.
Does not have medical marijuana - again, for years he blocked it from coming to the House floor.
Johnson County Commission Chair - Nonpartisan
Mike Kelly
Kansas State Board of Education
District 1: Jennifer Lloyd
District 3: Amy Diediker
District 5: Jean Clifford
District 7: Ann Zimmerman
District 9: Destry Brown
Thank you for reading and sharing this year’s Sharp Sheet. If there’s a race you’re particularly interested in, reply to me and I’ll get you info!
Happy serving,
Stephanie Sharp