Campaign-status update - KS-04: Cole Epley said July 1 that he was dropping out, and Ryan Gilbert announced July 16 that he was suspending his campaign. Both names remain on the printed ballot, but neither is included in the active-candidate tables below. Sources: KMUW and KWCH.
How to use this guide
Choose a race, compare only cited statements and records, and select any gauge card to jump to that candidate. “Insufficient evidence” means the published material did not meet the guide’s threshold; it is not a judgment of the candidate.
How AI assisted this guide. AI was used to organize the supplied ballot, locate and compare public sources, identify linked campaign issue pages, extract source-supported claims, build the tables, and check that in-page source links resolve. The work was refined through successive source audits after gaps were identified, including a campaign-site navigation audit, a Ballotpedia addition, and a public-office record audit. Every entry is intended to be traceable to a linked public source. AI does not make endorsements or infer policy views from party, occupation, office, an isolated vote, endorsements, or silence. Where reliable sources did not establish a claim, the guide leaves the gap visible. Campaign claims are attributed as such; official acts and local reporting are separately labeled. Readers should open the cited sources, especially for issues that matter most to them.
Campaign-platform audit coverage and changes
Completed July 31, 2026. This is the controlling campaign-site review for this edition. It corrects the prior under-review of Damon Anderson's platform. “Sparse” means a reviewed site did not publish specific, voter-relevant policy detail; it does not imply a candidate lacks views.
| Active candidate / ticket | Official campaign pages reviewed | Audit result |
|---|---|---|
| Damon Anderson | Home; Priorities; Where I Stand / Issues. | Materially expanded. A detailed multi-topic platform was found and is reflected in the Senate table; prior “limited” wording is removed. |
| Christy Davis | Home; Issues; visible About/Get Involved navigation. | Expanded and directly sourced. Health care, public education, immigration, agriculture, housing, public programs, and democracy positions are published. |
| Adam Hamilton | Home / Meet Adam; Issues; Volunteer and Contact navigation. | Published issue material is reflected or corroborates existing affordability, health-cost, and reproductive-rights entries; no new gauge basis asserted. |
| Jason Hart | Home; About; Issues; Media Kit navigation. | Materially expanded. The Issues page supplies direct positions across health, rural policy, education, immigration, reproductive rights, technology, veterans, and democracy. |
| Kevin Latz | Home; About; Issues index and all 12 linked issue pages. | Detailed pages cover affordability, children, health care, firearms, immigration, reproductive rights, democracy, LGBTQ+ rights, climate, and data centers. Existing table entries are retained and directly sourced. |
| Erik Murray | Home / Meet; 13 Areas of Focus; News and Events navigation. | Materially expanded. Added his published 13-topic platform to the Senate table. |
| Anne Parelkar | Issues; Health-care plan; campaign home navigation. | Existing detailed campaign entries remain supported; no additional reliable, distinct claim was needed. |
| Patrick C. Schmidt | Home; visible campaign navigation. | Sparse. The reviewed campaign site supplied biographical material but no detailed issue platform; official legislative sources remain the basis for listed policy actions. |
| Michael “Mike” Soetaert | Home; Progressive platform. | Existing detailed platform and explicit self-identification remain supported. |
| Sandy Spidel Neumann | Home / About; Issues; News and Voting navigation. | Expanded and directly sourced. Her issue index publishes economic, agriculture, health-care, veteran, education, and ethics topics. |
| Noah Taylor | Home; More Issues. | Existing detailed campaign entries remain supported. The rendered extended-issues page did not expose additional safely attributable text in this pass. |
| Chris Carmichael; Katy Tyndell | Carmichael home; Tyndell home; visible campaign navigation. | Published material corroborates existing district-table entries; no additional specific claim added. |
| Ethan Corson / Renee Duxler; Cindy Holscher / KC Ohaebosim; Curt Skoog / Jennifer Bacani McKenney | Corson ticket; Holscher ticket; Skoog ticket; visible navigation. No separate running-mate campaign sites were identified in the reviewed directory. | Corson and Skoog pages corroborate existing ticket entries. A browser-rendered consent layer limited additional Holscher page text, so no claim was inferred. |
| Jennifer Day; Samuel Lane | Day home; Lane home; rendered navigation. | Sparse. No detailed issue subpage with additional high-confidence material was exposed; existing campaign and biography claims remain. |
| Chris Mann | Home / Meet; Priorities; News navigation. | Materially expanded. Added directly stated Attorney General priorities. |
| Juan C. Luengo | Home; Five Pillars; Meet JC. | Existing detailed Treasurer-office proposals and biography remain supported. |
| Dinah Sykes | Home / Meet / priorities; Volunteer and Newsletter navigation. | Expanded and directly sourced. Added campaign statements on affordability, consumer protection, transparency, fairness, and insurance access. |
| Silas J. Miller; John Carmichael | No separate official campaign sites were identified through the current candidate directory or the sources already cited. | Unavailable for campaign review. No campaign-specific claim added; official legislative and Ballotpedia material is retained. |
The Kansas Democratic Party candidate directory was used only to locate official campaign links; it is not used to infer positions. Cole Epley and Ryan Gilbert remain excluded because their withdrawal/suspension notices are documented above.
Earlier campaign expansion (retained history)
- Damon Anderson: added the campaign's anti-big-money and revolving-door reform focus. Campaign priorities
- Christy Davis: added locally reported positions on affordable health care, farmers, schools, and a higher minimum wage. Kansas Reflector
- Kevin Latz: added locally reported positions on a government-paying single-payer model that retains private insurance, Medicaid and food-assistance cuts, reproductive rights, and gun safety. Kansas Reflector
- Anne Parelkar: added the campaign's Medicare for All, universal-care, worker, environmental, and consumer-policy material. Issues; Health-care plan
- Michael “Mike” Soetaert: added the campaign's explicit “DSA Progressive Democrat” self-identification and its voting-rights, reproductive-rights, LGBTQIA+, campaign-finance, and peace positions. Campaign platform
- Noah Taylor: added detailed campaign positions on health access, Social Security and Medicare, labor, rural water and data centers, immigration, reproductive rights, and gun safety. Campaign issues
- Juan C. Luengo: added campaign's five Treasurer-office proposals and verified business/community background. Five pillars; Campaign biography
- Prior limited-information findings: this sixth edition supersedes the earlier Anderson finding after locating his Issues page. Patrick C. Schmidt's campaign site remains biographical rather than a detailed issue platform; no reliable, specific campaign site was identified for Silas J. Miller or John Carmichael. These gaps remain unfilled.
Ballotpedia addition
Added July 31, 2026. Ballotpedia is used here as a separately attributed source: biographical details and Candidate Connection material can reflect candidate-provided information. This update adds only specific details visible on candidate pages; it does not treat Ballotpedia’s listings as a basis to infer ideology or fill unanswered policy gaps.
- Newly expanded: Adam Hamilton, Jason Hart, Jennifer Day, Samuel Lane, Chris Mann, and John Carmichael. The additions are biographical, professional, educational, or community-affiliation details from their individual Ballotpedia pages. Sources
- Still limited: no newly supported Ballotpedia claim was added for the other active candidates. An unavailable, ambiguous, or page-less name match was not treated as candidate evidence.
- Gauge treatment: no gauge changed in this update. The added material does not provide the three distinct documented policy positions required by the guide’s published methodology.
Public-record audit coverage and changes
Coverage was completed July 31, 2026. “Sponsored-bill list” means every entry in the official page’s browser-rendered list, including pagination. The official site did not distinguish original sponsorship from co-sponsorship in that list, so the audit does not claim that distinction unless a linked bill page does.
- John Carmichael: reviewed official profile, committee list, all 13 entries in the browser-rendered sponsored-bill list, and both 2025 and 2026 official vote-record PDFs. His row now lists the resulting multi-issue sponsorship record and selected recorded votes. Audit sources
- KC Ohaebosim: reviewed official profile, committees, all 10 sponsored-bill entries, and both 2025 and 2026 official vote-record PDFs. Added the bill categories and selected recorded votes to the audit supplement; the ticket gauge is unchanged. Audit sources
- Patrick Schmidt: reviewed official profile, committees, and all eight sponsored-bill entries. Added property-tax, paid-leave, and veteran-related measures previously omitted. The page’s linked vote-record files could not be retrieved in this audit, so no new Patrick vote is asserted. Audit source
- Ethan Corson: reviewed official profile, committees, and all 20 sponsored-bill entries, including worker-choice, teacher-retirement, child-labor, anti-lobbying, stock-trading, property-tax, first-responder, and law-enforcement measures. No vote is asserted because the linked vote-record files could not be retrieved. Audit source
- Cindy Holscher: reviewed official profile, committees, and all 28 sponsored-bill entries, including school meals, firearm storage, campaign finance, solar panels, paid leave, health-care AI transparency, guaranteed-income authority, marijuana scheduling, tenant protections, and law-enforcement facial-covering rules. No vote is asserted because the linked vote-record files could not be retrieved. Audit source
- Dinah Sykes: reviewed official profile, committees, and all 23 sponsored-bill entries, including child tax credit, prescription-drug affordability, health-insurance coverage, worker choice, paid leave, tenant protections, and eviction standards. No vote is asserted because the linked vote-record files could not be retrieved. Audit source
- Silas Miller: reviewed official profile, committees, and the sole sponsored-bill entry: SB 424, the Student Secular Bill of Rights. His linked vote record could not be retrieved; insufficient evidence remains appropriate. Audit source
- Jennifer Day: reviewed the official 2021 House archive and its complete listed sponsored bills. Her archived vote record was not linked from that page. Official archive
- Curt Skoog and Mike Soetaert: reviewed prior official/local office documentation. No comprehensive online municipal vote/action index tied to their candidacies was located; no unsupported local-government action was added.
Prior public-record summary
This preliminary table is retained for comparison only. The audit-coverage section above and the updated candidate rows below are the controlling summary for this fifth edition.
- Patrick C. Schmidt: added current Senate office, committee assignments, original sponsorship of paid prenatal leave and a veteran disability property-tax exemption, plus co-sponsorship of paid sick leave, a minimum-wage increase, and senior/veteran homestead-tax eligibility legislation. Official record
- Ethan Corson, Cindy Holscher, and Dinah Sykes: added current Senate leadership/committee records and identified their shared co-sponsorships of 2025 paid-sick-time, minimum-wage, and homestead-tax bills. Official records
- KC Ohaebosim: added current House term and committee assignments. Official record
- Jennifer Day: added her 2020–21 House service and two bills she sponsored: a Capitol concealed-handgun ban and death-penalty abolition. Official record
- Silas Miller and John Carmichael: added committee work and documented legislative actions while retaining an insufficient-evidence gauge where those records do not establish three distinct policy positions. Miller record; Carmichael record
- Curt Skoog and Mike Soetaert: their existing mayoral/former-city-council service is retained; the reviewed official material did not establish additional specific office actions suitable for this guide.
Public-office record supplement
This is an action record, not a scorecard. “Original sponsor” and “co-sponsor” identify bill sponsorship, not a vote or enacted law. “Amendment” and “testimony” identify the documented action only. Bill outcomes are included when established by the official record.
| Candidate | Office / public-service record | Documented public action | Source and gauge treatment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick C. Schmidt | State senator, District 19, since 2025; serves on Government Efficiency, Judiciary, Transportation, and the Select Committee on Veterans Affairs. | Original sponsor: SB 201, a homestead property-tax exemption for certain service-connected disabled veterans/former law-enforcement officers; and SB 153, 20 hours of paid prenatal personal leave. Co-sponsor: SB 215 (senior/disabled-veteran homestead eligibility), SB 216 (earned paid sick time), and SB 218 (minimum-wage increase). Each listed bill died in the 2025–26 session. | Official profile and bills. Gauge changed to Lean left because this is direct, multi-issue sponsorship evidence; it does not rely on party identity. |
| Ethan Corson | State senator, District 7, since 2021; Senate Caucus Chair; ranking minority member on Assessment and Taxation, Judiciary, and Transportation. | Co-sponsor: SB 215 (senior/disabled-veteran homestead eligibility), SB 216 (earned paid sick time), and SB 218 (minimum-wage increase). These bills died; the record does not represent enactment. | Official profile and bills. Existing Center-left gauge retained. |
| Cindy Holscher | State senator, District 8, since 2021; previously House member 2017–20; Senate Minority Whip; ranking minority member on Government Efficiency and Public Health and Welfare. | Co-sponsor: SB 215 (senior/disabled-veteran homestead eligibility), SB 216 (earned paid sick time), and SB 218 (minimum-wage increase). These bills died; the record does not represent enactment. | Official profile and bills. Existing Lean-left ticket gauge retained. |
| KC Ohaebosim | State representative, District 89, since 2017; ranking minority member on Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications; member of General Government Budget and Transportation. | Listed as sponsored: paid sick leave, paid family leave, Medicaid expansion, tuition tax credit, school meals, medical cannabis, property-tax reduction mechanism, and protection-from-abuse changes. Recorded Nay votes: HB 2052, HB 2240, and SB 391 (exact bill descriptions are in the official vote records). | Official profile and vote records. Ticket gauge unchanged; the guide does not create a separate individual ticket gauge. |
| Curt Skoog | Overland Park mayor, serving a second four-year term; previously served on the City Council, including as council president. | Existing local reporting documents his mayoral budget/consensus approach. Reviewed official city material confirmed prior council service but did not yield a specific additional action for this edition. | KWCH profile; city record. Existing Centrist ticket gauge retained. |
| Jennifer Day | Former state representative, District 48, 2020–21. | Sponsored: HB 2140, to prohibit concealed handguns in the State Capitol; and HB 2300, to abolish the death penalty and create aggravated murder. The official record does not establish enactment in the cited listing. | Official legislative archive. Gauge changed to Center-left using these two sponsored bills plus her separately sourced election-access policy platform. |
| Dinah Sykes | State senator, District 21, since 2017; Senate Minority Leader; ranking minority member on Education; vice chair of Confirmation Oversight. | Co-sponsor: SB 215 (senior/disabled-veteran homestead eligibility) and SB 216 (earned paid sick time). These bills died; the record does not represent enactment. | Official profile and bills. Existing Center-left gauge retained. |
| Silas J. Miller | State senator, District 25, since 2025; House member 2023–25; ranking minority member on Financial Institutions and Insurance; member of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Commerce. | Original sponsor: SB 424, the Student Secular Bill of Rights; it died. Amendment: official bill pages list Miller as offering floor amendments to SB 381 and SB 497; their text/intent is not summarized here. | Official profile and bills. Insufficient evidence retained: committee membership and these actions do not establish three clear policy positions. |
| John Carmichael | State representative, District 92, since 2013; serves on Corrections and Juvenile Justice, Energy/Utilities/Telecommunications, Judiciary, and several special/joint committees. | Listed as sponsored: 13 bills spanning Medicaid expansion, a $15 minimum wage, renter homestead refunds, earned-income-tax-credit expansion, property-tax changes, opioid-antagonist access, medical/adult-use cannabis, death-penalty abolition, and protection-from-abuse provisions involving pets. Recorded Nay votes: HB 2052, HB 2240, and SB 391 (see candidate row for exact bill descriptions). | Official profile and vote records. Gauge changed to Left on the complete multi-issue sponsored-bill list; the site does not distinguish original from co-sponsorship. |
| Michael “Mike” Soetaert | Former Wellington City Council member (Kansas Reflector). | Prior local-reporting guide already documented the office history. No additional official city record with a specific, verifiable action was located in this review. | Kansas Reflector field guide. Existing Left gauge is based on the separately documented campaign platform and explicit DSA self-identification, not council service. |
Evidence-based left-to-centrist gauge
The dial runs from left (far left) to centrist (far right). Placements synthesize only the sourced positions in this guide: public provision/economic redistribution, social rights, regulation, market orientation, and bipartisan/moderation language. They are analytical summaries, not statements of fact about identity. “Insufficient evidence” is used where fewer than three distinct, source-supported issue positions make a fair placement impractical.
Scale: Left = multiple explicit universal/public-provision or redistributive positions; Lean left = progressive positions across several areas; Center-left = progressive rights/public-service positions with market or bipartisan emphasis; Centrist = evidence favors moderation/consensus and a mixed approach.
U.S. Senate
Damon AndersonCenter-left
Christy DavisCenter-left
Adam HamiltonCenter-left
Jason HartCenter-left
Kevin LatzLean left
Erik MurrayLean left
Anne ParelkarLeft
Patrick SchmidtLean left
Mike SoetaertLeft
Sandy Spidel NeumannLean left
Noah TaylorLean left
U.S. House, KS-04
Chris CarmichaelLeft
Katy TyndellCenter-left
Governor
Corson / DuxlerCenter-left
Holscher / OhaebosimLean left
Skoog / McKenneyCentrist
Statewide and legislative
Jennifer DayCenter-left
Samuel LaneInsufficient evidence
Chris MannCentrist
Juan C. LuengoCentrist
Dinah SykesCenter-left
Silas J. MillerInsufficient evidence
John CarmichaelLeft
United States Senate
Eleven active Democratic candidates. Four topical columns meet the one-third evidence threshold (at least four candidates).
| Candidate | Experience / local profile | Affordability / economy | Health care | Reproductive autonomy | Immigration / ICE | Notes and sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Damon Anderson | Founder and CEO, Tallgrass Freight Company (Kansas Reflector). | Campaign supports small/family farmers, right to repair, SNAP, crop insurance and CRP; says it would back labor unions and stronger worker power. It also calls for a balanced-budget amendment and reforms targeting money in politics and the revolving door. | Campaign supports policies for affordable health care and prescription drugs; it criticizes health-industry lobbying. No single-payer endorsement found. | Campaign says Anderson is pro-choice and would support policies protecting a woman's decision-making. | Campaign calls for a strong border and a modern, effective immigration system; it supports E-Verify, a guest-worker program, secure borders, and an efficient legal process while calling for dignity and respect. | Campaign also supports AI safety regulation and a job-displacement safety net, publicly funded prisons with re-entry services, public-service accountability before privatization, and LGBTQ+ rights. No explicit socialist declaration located Gauge changed to Center-left on this multi-topic campaign platform, not party affiliation. Campaign issues; priorities |
| Christy Davis | Former federal agricultural official; fifth-generation Kansan from Chase County (Kansas Reflector). | Campaign says it would support farmers and rural infrastructure, fair policies and financing for small businesses, job training, affordable housing, broadband, clean water, hospitals, and public schools. | Identified affordable health care and mental-health care as critical rural issues; the campaign says it would defend Medicare, Medicaid, and public education from cuts and privatization. No single-payer proposal found. | Participated in a candidate event where reporting said all candidates supported bodily autonomy; she noted her county’s near-even 2022 abortion-amendment vote. | Campaign supports legal pathways and ending inhumane detention while describing immigration reform as respecting work and humanity. | Campaign also says it would protect voting rights and transparency. No explicit socialist declaration located Campaign site; KR campaign report; KR candidate event |
| Adam Hamilton | Pastor of one of the nation’s largest United Methodist congregations (Kansas Reflector/AP); Ballotpedia says he was born in Prairie Village and founded his Kansas City-area church in 1990. | Campaign focuses on food, energy, and health-care costs; local reporting identifies rural affordability as a core concern. | Campaign identifies high health-care costs as a priority; no single-payer endorsement found. | Reportedly voted against Kansas’ 2022 constitutional amendment that would have enabled tighter abortion restrictions. | - | No explicit socialist declaration located KR; campaign; Ballotpedia |
| Jason Hart | Former assistant U.S. attorney; specialized in child-abuse prosecution. He quit the job to run (Kansas Reflector). Ballotpedia also lists Dodge City High School, University of Kansas bachelor’s and law degrees, and prior work in the Shawnee County District Attorney’s Office and Kansas Attorney General’s Office. | Campaign calls to stop tariff-driven market disruption; support rural water conservation and foreign markets for farmers/ranchers; protect public education; and hold big tech accountable with privacy and AI safeguards. | Campaign supports expanding Medicare and Medicaid, breaking up vertically integrated health markets, and separating health insurance from employment. | Campaign supports Kansans' 2022 abortion vote, bodily autonomy, and longer paid parental leave. | Campaign calls for non-cruel immigration solutions and business/NGO sponsorship. | Campaign also supports fully funding VA providers, transitional services, publicly funded elections, overturning Citizens United, and banning congressional insider trading. No explicit socialist declaration located Gauge remains Center-left, now supported by the full platform. Campaign issues; KR profile; Ballotpedia |
| Kevin Latz | Pediatric orthopedic surgeon and sports-medicine physician; Mission Hills husband and father of three (Kansas Reflector). | Opposes cuts to federal food assistance; says restoring USAID funding could help Kansas farmers. | Supports a single-payer, government-paying model that includes private insurance; opposes Medicaid cuts. | Supports reproductive rights. | - | Supports a federal gun-purchase waiting period, mandatory safety training, and a gun-show sales moratorium; also favors tighter adolescent social-media rules. No explicit socialist declaration located KR profile |
| Erik Murray | Real-estate developer in Kansas City, Kansas; involved in redevelopment of the former Indian Hills shopping center (Kansas Reflector). | Campaign supports fully funding education, building more housing, higher wages, at least a $15 federal minimum wage, fairer taxes on corporations and the ultra-wealthy, antitrust enforcement, and ending broad tariffs. It says universal basic income should be seriously studied if AI causes structural job loss. | Campaign calls for restoring ACA cuts, protecting and expanding Medicaid, and building toward universal coverage. | Campaign calls for restoring reproductive freedom and protecting privacy rights. | Campaign calls for strong, secure, orderly borders alongside a humane, efficient system with pathways and enforcement. | Campaign also supports voting rights, ending Citizens United, banning congressional stock trading, lobbying/revolving-door reform, and equal civil-rights protections. No explicit socialist declaration located Gauge remains Lean left on the detailed campaign platform. Campaign platform; KR candidate event |
| Anne Parelkar | Overland Park immigration attorney; candidacy followed confrontation with Sen. Marshall at a town hall (Kansas Reflector). | Campaign calls for worker protections, help for family farmers facing consolidation, price transparency, right-to-repair, and curbs on corporate/oligarch influence. | Campaign explicitly calls for Medicare for All, Medicare for all children as an initial step, universal care, an end to surprise billing, and price transparency. | Campaign says it would protect reproductive care and women’s right to choose. | Calls for a full ICE investigation; says abolition should follow if the agency has nothing worth preserving, with funds used for immigration reform. Campaign also calls for protections for citizens and non-citizens. | Campaign calls for clean air, water, and land protections and a foreign policy against “forever wars.” No explicit socialist declaration located campaign issues; health plan; KR candidate event |
| Patrick C. Schmidt | Topeka state senator, District 19, since 2025; former Naval Intelligence officer; husband and sixth-generation Kansan from a family of farmers, veterans, teachers, and coal miners. | The official page lists eight sponsored bills, including owner-occupied property-tax exemption/appeal measures, homestead eligibility for seniors and disabled veterans, and Purple Heart recognition. The page does not identify original versus co-sponsorship for every entry. | Listed sponsored bills include paid prenatal leave, paid sick time, and an increased minimum wage. The 2025–26 bill pages identify Schmidt as original sponsor of SB 153 (prenatal leave) and SB 201 (disabled-veteran/former-law-enforcement homestead exemption); all listed bills died. | - | - | Committees: Government Efficiency, Judiciary, Transportation, and Select Committee on Veterans Affairs. No explicit socialist declaration located Gauge is Lean left on direct multi-issue sponsorships; sponsorship is not a vote or enactment. Linked vote-record PDFs could not be retrieved, so no new vote is stated. official audit; campaign |
| Michael “Mike” Soetaert | Former Wellington City Council member and repeat candidate (Kansas Reflector). | Campaign calls to overturn Citizens United and boycott PACs/Super PACs. | - | Campaign supports reproductive rights and bodily autonomy. | - | Explicit self-identification: “DSA Progressive Democrat” Campaign supports the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, Freedom to Vote Act, LGBTQIA+ equality/Equality Act, and a cabinet-level Department of Peace. It identifies Soetaert as gay and describes peace as his life mission. campaign platform; KR field guide |
| Sandy Spidel Neumann | Former financial-services executive from Mission (Kansas Reflector). | Campaign issues page identifies transparent reporting, middle-class opportunity, reversing harmful tariffs, reopening markets, and protecting farmers' livelihoods. | Campaign calls for restoring Medicaid, protecting ACA subsidies, and lowering drug costs; no single-payer proposal found. | Self-described as a pro-choice Catholic and said medical decisions belong with women, their families, and doctors. | Called for agent body cameras, unmasking, and better training; criticized arrest-quota-style goals. | Campaign also identifies veteran services, education, ethics, accountability, and transparency as issue areas. No explicit socialist declaration located Campaign issues; KR candidate event |
| Noah Taylor | Former Army infantryman; co-founder of Leading Kansas. Raised in El Dorado; lives in Wichita with his wife and two children (campaign). | Opposes tariffs; supports action on corporate price-gouging, utility monopolies and corporate landlords; opposes Social Security/Medicare privatization and favors equal payroll-tax treatment for the ultra-rich. | Supports ACA tax credits, prescription caps, reversing Medicaid cuts, rural-hospital protection, and billing transparency; also calls for VA staffing and shorter wait times. | Supports abortion rights; cites his family’s miscarriage experience and his wife’s work as an OB/GYN nurse. | Calls to overhaul ICE, protect DREAMers, provide a path to legal status, and fund “smart” border security. | Supports unions, voluntary water-conservation incentives, local approval and resource protections for data centers, union jobs, background checks, red-flag laws, and safe gun storage. No explicit socialist declaration located campaign issues |
United States Representative, Kansas 4th District
Two active Democratic candidates after the documented Epley withdrawal and Gilbert suspension.
| Candidate | Experience / local profile | Health care | Reproductive autonomy | Immigration | Climate / energy | Affordability / notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Carmichael | Andover resident; vice president at D-J Engineering in Augusta; retired U.S. Air Force colonel. KMUW lists degrees from St. Petersburg College, Florida State, University of Oklahoma, and Air Force Institute of Technology. | Supports affordable access; campaign also says he would fight for a universal health-care system. | Supports nationwide protection of reproductive rights, contraception, IVF, and medically necessary care. | Supports a secure border plus an earned path to legal status for law-abiding long-term residents, Dreamer protections, legal immigration, and due process for asylum claims. | Supports clean energy, grid modernization, conservation programs, and resilient infrastructure. | Identifies cost of living as chief district challenge; favors prescription-cost, child-care, housing, infrastructure, manufacturing, and agriculture measures. Universal health care alone is not treated as socialist self-identification. | KMUW voter guide; campaign |
| Katy Tyndell | Wichita resident; manager at Tallgrass Management; former staff attorney for National Congress of American Indians; BA Stanford, JD University of Maryland (KMUW). | Calls affordable health care a core affordability issue; no single-payer proposal identified. | Supports federal codification of reproductive protections. | Would revisit the 2024 bipartisan immigration bill; supports legal paths to citizenship, stricter asylum rules, funding, and border enforcement. | Says Congress should invest aggressively in clean energy, grid modernization, and innovation while recognizing continuing oil-and-gas use. | Identifies affordability as the top district issue; local reporting highlights consumer costs and health-care affordability. No explicit socialist declaration located | KMUW voter guide; campaign |
Governor and Lieutenant Governor
Three active Democratic tickets. All three have source-supported information on health care, cannabis, and fiscal/budget issues, so those are shown as columns.
| Ticket | Experience / local profile | Health care & schools | Cannabis | Budget / Chiefs stadium issue | Other priorities and notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethan Corson / Renee Duxler | Corson is a Fairway state senator and formerly chief of staff at the International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. Duxler is from Salina. | Campaign: stronger schools and health care. In debate reporting, Corson said he would pursue fiscal stability and jobs/business development. | Supports recreational legalization (Kansas Reflector). | Voted for the 2026 stadium-authority bill; said it gave Olathe and Wyandotte County communities a voice. Says he would veto pork-barrel projects. | Gov. Kelly endorsement ad cited Medicaid-expansion support and abortion rights. No explicit socialist declaration located | KMUW/PBS debate; KR cannabis report; campaign |
| Cindy Holscher / KC Ohaebosim | Holscher is an Overland Park state senator; said she designed and implemented budgets as a Sprint executive. Ohaebosim is a state representative. | Calls for increased health-care and housing access; campaign supports public education. | Supports recreational legalization (Kansas Reflector). | Voted against the 2026 stadium-authority bill, arguing against tax deductions for billionaires/corporations; had earlier voted for 2024 STAR-bond authorization. | Campaign proposes data-center guardrails/moratorium; local reporting emphasizes affordability and lower property taxes. No explicit socialist declaration located | KMUW/PBS debate; KR cannabis report; campaign |
| Curt Skoog / Jennifer Bacani McKenney | Skoog is serving a second four-year term as Overland Park mayor. McKenney is a family physician in Fredonia and owns her own practice (KWCH). | Prioritizes health-care access, public schools, and rural economic development; cites balanced city budgets as mayor. | Would initially focus on a medical-marijuana plan led by his running mate (Kansas Reflector). | Identifies the state budget challenge; says consensus-building is his approach. | Local reporting says Skoog’s rural plan includes sustainable farming, business development, attainable housing, and equitable education funding. No explicit socialist declaration located | KMUW/PBS debate; KWCH; KR cannabis report |
Secretary of State
Two active candidates. No additional topic column is warranted: available material mainly concerns the same core election-administration issue.
| Candidate | Documented focus | Experience / public service | Notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jennifer Day | Safe, secure, and accessible elections; countering election disinformation; voter participation; streamlined business registration. | State representative, District 48, 2020–21; business experience in technology, real estate, and finance; former election worker and League of Women Voters volunteer. Ballotpedia lists a Pepperdine University B.A. and affiliations with the League of Women Voters, Moms Demand Action, National Organization for Women, and Johnson County Democratic Women. | Sponsored while in the House: HB 2140 (prohibit concealed handguns in the State Capitol) and HB 2300 (abolish the death penalty/create aggravated murder). No explicit socialist declaration located Gauge is Center-left on these sponsored bills plus the campaign’s election-access positions; sponsorship does not establish enactment. | official archive; campaign; KR race context; Ballotpedia |
| Samuel Lane | Fair and accurate elections; says he would visit all 105 county election offices in his first year if workload permits. | Lifelong Kansan and lifelong independent who is running as a Democrat; has met with county election commissioners/clerks (campaign statement). Ballotpedia says he was born in Leavenworth, graduated from Leavenworth High School, attended the University of Kansas, and has worked in testing/inspection across construction, manufacturing, retail, and shipping, as well as as a line cook. | No explicit socialist declaration located Ballotpedia shows a candidate-completed Candidate Connection survey; this guide adds no survey stance unless the specific answer is directly documented. | campaign; KR race context; Ballotpedia |
Other named Democratic candidates
Single-candidate races do not require a comparative topic column. Locally reported information supplements the original guide where available.
| Office / candidate | Stated focus | Experience / locally reported information | Notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attorney General Chris Mann | Rule of law, public safety, constitutional rights, and consumer protection. | Former Lawrence police officer and Wyandotte County prosecutor; worked for the Kansas Securities Commission; private-practice attorney. Local reporting says he was injured by a DUI driver while an officer, ending that career; he later helped shape DUI laws and chaired Mothers Against Drunk Driving nationally. Ballotpedia lists a Washburn Law School J.D. and service on the Kansas Advisory Board of MADD. | Campaign priorities include local investigative/prosecution resources; law-enforcement recruitment and training; consumer-scam/fraud enforcement; naloxone, prevention, and treatment in the drug crisis; better-funded domestic-violence shelters; elder-abuse enforcement; youth-suicide prevention; AI-chatbot protections for children; and a proposed Agriculture and Natural Resources division within the Attorney General's office. No explicit socialist declaration located | Campaign priorities; KWCH; KR; Ballotpedia |
| State Treasurer Juan C. Luengo | Campaign proposes expanding 529 education savings to four-year college, trades, and apprenticeships; using linked deposits through Kansas banks/credit unions for small-business, farm, and construction lending; a nonpartisan economic council with plain-language public reports; returning more unclaimed property; property-tax relief advocacy; and improved Treasury customer service. | CEO of Engage Insurance Group; campaign says he has worked in risk management since 2007, serves on the boards of Mental Health America of the Heartland and The Builders’ Association, and previously served the Greater Kansas City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Kansas City Regional Association of REALTORS®. | Uses public financial tools alongside private banks and credit unions; no explicit socialist declaration located. Sole named Democratic candidate on supplied ballot. | five pillars; campaign biography; ballot |
| Commissioner of Insurance Dinah Sykes | Campaign says it would make insurance more accessible and affordable, protect policyholders, hold insurers accountable, require clear communication about policies and rates, and fight unfair practices and discrimination. It says Kansans should be able to obtain quality health insurance without unaffordable costs. | Kansas Senate minority leader from Lenexa. Local reporting links her to prescription-drug middleman (PBM) oversight and price transparency work. | No explicit socialist declaration located | Campaign priorities; KR; KMUW/KR |
| State Senate 25 Silas J. Miller | No additional local reporting with a sufficiently specific campaign position located. | Kansas House 2023-25; Senate 2025-present; insurance broker (official legislative record). | Sole named Democratic candidate on supplied ballot. | KS Legislature |
| State House 92 John Carmichael | Official page lists 13 sponsored bills (the page does not distinguish original from co-sponsorship): Medicaid expansion; $15 minimum wage; renter homestead refunds; earned-income-tax-credit expansion; standard-deduction and property-tax changes; opioid-antagonist access; medical and adult-use cannabis; death-penalty abolition; and protection-from-abuse provisions involving pets. | Kansas House 2013-present; retired attorney. Official record lists current work on corrections/juvenile justice, energy/utilities/telecommunications, and judiciary, plus special/joint committees. Ballotpedia lists Wichita State University and University of Kansas degrees, Washburn Law School adjunct teaching, an appointment to the Governor’s Committee on Kansas Libraries, and chair roles at the Kansas Human Rights Commission and Kansas Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. | Recorded votes: Nay on final action for HB 2052 (concealed-carry-related changes), HB 2240 (legislative approval of Medicaid coverage/cost expansion), and SB 391 (restricting local source-of-income housing rules). “Nay” describes the roll call only; the guide does not infer unstated reasoning. Gauge is Left based on the full multi-issue sponsored-bill record, not party affiliation. Sole named Democratic candidate on supplied ballot. | official profile, sponsored-bill list, and vote records; Ballotpedia |
Topic callout: socialized health care / single payer
What this term means here
The guide distinguishes lower costs, expanded coverage, Medicaid, universal coverage, and a government-paying/single-payer system. It does not use one label as a catch-all.
Explicit active-candidate positions
Chris Carmichael supports a “universal healthcare system.” Anne Parelkar calls for Medicare for All and a path to universal care. Kevin Latz supports a government-paying single-payer model that retains private insurance.
What it does not establish
These health-care positions alone do not establish socialist self-identification. Mike Soetaert’s separate label is based on his explicit “DSA Progressive Democrat” statement.
Excluded candidate
Ryan Gilbert’s suspended campaign supported single-payer care, but he is not an active candidate and is excluded from the comparison tables.
Open the cited candidate sources in their table rows for the underlying statements.
Sources
Local-news reporting is included as requested. Links in the tables point here. Campaign and official pages are retained for direct candidate statements and records.
- Supplied sample ballot (local PDF).
- KMUW / Wichita Eagle KS-04 guide and KWCH withdrawal report.
- KMUW / Wichita Eagle KS-04 voter guide.
- Kansas Reflector - Senate field and biographies.
- Kansas Reflector - Senate candidate event.
- Damon Anderson campaign - priorities.
- Damon Anderson campaign - Where I Stand / issues.
- Christy Davis campaign - home; and issues.
- Jason Hart campaign - issues.
- Kevin Latz campaign - issues index, with links to the reviewed individual issue pages.
- Erik Murray campaign - 13 Areas of Focus.
- Sandy Spidel Neumann campaign - issues.
- Chris Mann campaign - priorities.
- Dinah Sykes campaign - priorities.
- Kansas Democratic Party - current candidate directory and campaign links.
- Kansas Reflector - Davis, Parelkar, and Spidel Neumann campaign forum.
- Kansas Reflector - Kevin Latz profile.
- Anne Parelkar campaign - issues.
- Anne Parelkar campaign - health-care plan.
- Mike Soetaert campaign - progressive platform.
- Noah Taylor campaign - expanded issues.
- Patrick Schmidt campaign.
- Kansas Reflector - Jason Hart profile.
- Patrick Schmidt official Senate profile; SB 201; SB 153; SB 215; SB 216; and SB 218.
- Ethan Corson official Senate profile; Cindy Holscher official Senate profile; Dinah Sykes official Senate profile; SB 215; SB 216; and SB 218.
- KC Ohaebosim official House profile.
- City of Overland Park 2013 financial report listing Councilmember Curt Skoog.
- Jennifer Day official Kansas House archive.
- Silas Miller official Senate profile; SB 424; SB 381; and SB 497.
- John Carmichael official House profile; HB 2149; SB 254; HB 2528; and HB 2297.
- John Carmichael official profile and browser-rendered sponsored-bill list; 2025 vote record; and 2026 vote record.
- Ballotpedia - Adam Hamilton.
- Ballotpedia - Jason Hart.
- Ballotpedia - Jennifer Day.
- Ballotpedia - Sam Lane.
- Ballotpedia - Chris Mann.
- Ballotpedia - John Carmichael.
- KC Ohaebosim official profile and browser-rendered sponsored-bill list; 2025 vote record; and 2026 vote record.
- Patrick Schmidt official profile and browser-rendered sponsored-bill list.
- Ethan Corson official profile and browser-rendered sponsored-bill list.
- Cindy Holscher official profile and browser-rendered sponsored-bill list.
- Dinah Sykes official profile and browser-rendered sponsored-bill list.
- Silas Miller official profile and browser-rendered sponsored-bill list.
- KMUW / High Plains Public Radio - governor debate.
- Kansas Reflector - governor candidates and marijuana.
- KWCH - Skoog entry and McKenney biography.
- Kansas Reflector - statewide filing context.
- KWCH - Mann profile.
- Kansas Reflector - Mann announcement.
- Kansas Reflector - Sykes announcement.
- KMUW - PBM legislation.
- Kansas Secretary of State - candidate information.
- Juan C. Luengo campaign - five pillars.
- Juan C. Luengo campaign - biography.
- Carmichael campaign.
- Tyndell campaign.
- Anderson campaign.
- Hamilton campaign.
- Taylor campaign.
- Corson campaign.
- Holscher campaign.
- Day campaign.
- Lane campaign.
- Kansas Legislature - Silas Miller.
- Kansas Legislature - John Carmichael.
Research updates and methodology
Full documentation of how this guide evolved, its source coverage, and the role of AI. These sections are retained for transparency and placed after the voter-facing comparisons.