‘We are all united’: Kansas Democratic delegates back Harris

Posted on by Brett Stover

Kansas’ delegates to the Democratic National Convention are backing Vice President Kamala Harris after a Monday meeting.

That pledge from the state’s 39 Democratic delegates, along with thousands more from delegates nationwide, gives Harris enough support to win the nomination on the first ballot when the party holds its convention Aug. 19-22 in Chicago.

The Kansas Democratic delegation met on a brief Zoom call that ended before 6 p.m. Monday evening. They voted by acclamation and without opposition, delegates at the meeting told State Affairs.

The delegation’s vote comes as Democrats across the country have rallied behind Harris following President Joe Biden’s unprecedented decision to drop out of the presidential race on Sunday. Several top Kansas Democrats backed Harris’ bid earlier Monday, including Gov. Laura Kelly.

Ron Hobert, president of the Kansas American Federation of Teachers and a convention delegate, said the meeting was “absolutely wonderful” and saw delegates discuss how they felt about the situation with Kansas Democratic Party Chair Jeanna Repass.

“We are all united,” Hobert said. “We are ready for this battle.”

Hobert said he was saddened by Biden’s announcement. His union endorsed Harris on Monday, and Hobert feels confident that Harris will continue Biden’s work.

Although the American Federation of Teachers staunchly opposes school vouchers, Hobert said he didn’t have an opinion on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a potential Harris running mate who’s supported the policy in the past.

“I honestly haven’t done my research” on potential vice presidential candidates, he said.

Another Democratic delegate is Kent Roth, a lawyer from Ellinwood and the husband of fellow delegate and Kansas House candidate JoAnn Roth. The pair would also be two of Kansas’ six Democratic electors if the party’s nominee wins the state in November.

“We think the best way to represent the decision of the voters that vote in the Kansas Presidential Preference Primary is to support Kamala Harris, because her name was up there [on the ballot],” Roth told State Affairs. “We’re Kamala Harris delegates now.”

It’s not Roth’s first convention, though it’s his first as a Democrat – in 1996, he was selected as a delegate to the Republican National Convention.

It’s also the second national convention for Lawrence school board member Carole Cadue-Blackwood, who was a Biden delegate in 2020 when the DNC was held online because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cadue-Blackwood said she supports Biden’s endorsement of Harris and would be “over-the-moon happy” to vote for the vice president in Chicago.

She didn’t have a take on who Harris could pick as her vice presidential nominee, saying that she can “daydream” about the selection but that it’s “above my paygrade.”

Telecommunications attorney Gina Spade, a longtime volunteer and a delegate, will head to Chicago for her first convention. She was sad when Biden dropped out and said he’s a great person and a great president.

“I did not run to be a delegate anticipating that I would be doing anything other than voting for him for the nomination,” Spade said before the meeting. “But you know, things happen that are outside of everyone’s control.”

Just before 9 p.m. Monday night, the Associated Press reported that Harris had secured more than 2,200 delegates, more than the 1,976 required to win on the first ballot and become the Democratic Party’s nominee.

How many delegates does Kansas get?

Kansas has 39 total delegates to the Democratic National Convention, plus three alternates.

Thirty-three of those were pledged to Biden after the president won 83.7% of the vote during the March 19 primary. The other six are automatic delegates, which include Repass, Gov. Laura Kelly and U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kansas.

Of the 33 delegates, 22 were picked in congressional district-level conventions April 20. The remainder — seven at-large delegates, three alternates and four Party Leader and Elected Official Delegates (PLEOs) — were elected at a state convention May 25.

Repass, chosen that day to chair the Kansas delegation, said in a statement at the time that she “could not be more pleased at the representation that Kansas will have” at the convention.

Who are the delegates?

Automatic Delegates

  • Gov. Laura Kelly
  • U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids
  • Jeanna Repass, state party chair
  • Shaun Junkins, state party vice chair
  • Sen. Usha Reddi (DNC Committeewoman)
  • Hank Chamberlain (DNC Committeeman)

Party Leader and Elected Official Delegates PLEOs

  • House Minority Leader Vic Miller
  • Senator Pat Petty
  • Rep. Barbara Ballard
  • Rep. Brandon Woodard

At-Large Delegates

  • John Nave, executive vice president of the Kansas AFL-CIO
  • Ron Hobert, president of the Kansas American Federation of Teachers
  • Terry Crowder, African American Caucus chair
  • Kelly Atherton, Lyon County party chair
  • Daisy Karimi, KS Young Democrats executive board member
  • Mike Morton, 4th Congressional District party chair
  • Jae Moyer, LGBTQ+ Activist & member of the Johnson County DEI Coalition

District-Level Delegates

  • Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes
  • Sen. Ethan Corson
  • Former Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple
  • Former Rep. Jennifer Day
  • Chris Courtwright, former chief economist for the Legislature
  • Ty Dragoo, state legislative director for the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART)
  • Deann Mitchell, Johnson County party chair 
  • Emily Walters, Crawford County party chair
  • Richard Nobles, 3rd Congressional District chair
  • Raiden Gonzales, KS Young Democrats — 2nd vice president
  • Jackson Bertoncino, KS Young Democrats — 2nd congressional district chair
  • Reed Krewson, KS Young Democrats — 3rd congressional district chair
  • Ariel Dillon, KS Young Democrats — 4th congressional district chair
  • JoAnn Roth, House District 113 candidate
  • Jessica Porter, House District 50 candidate
  • Carole Cadue Blackwood, Lawrence school board member
  • Christopher Pumpelly, founder and CEO of Proud of Wichita, Inc.
  • Lauren Martin, former party political and data director
  • LaWanda DeShazer, Wichita city council candidate
  • Gina Spade, attorney 
  • Kent Roth, attorney
  • Caleb Newfer

Alternate Delegates

  • Sherry Giebler, Senate District 37 candidate
  • Brock Booker, 2019 Wichita mayoral candidate
  • Greg Mitchell

Brett Stover is a Statehouse reporter at State Affairs Pro Kansas/Hawver’s Capitol Report. Reach him at [email protected] or on X @BrettStoverKS.

Short list of Harris VP picks include Arizona’s junior senator

Posted on by Yellow Sheet Report Staff
Kelly is being floated as a candidate for vice president now that Biden has stepped aside, but his nomination could create chaos for the state’s future elections. While an Arizonan on the presidential ticket could energize voters, it could mean another Senate race – the state’s sixth in as many election cycles. Kelly could stay in the seat while running for vice president, but if the hypothetical Harris-Kelly ticket won in November, Hobbs would be tasked with appointing his successor until a special election could be held in 2026. Then, candidates would have to compete for a full term in the seat in 2028. In every election since 2016, Arizona voters have seen a U.S. Senate race on their ballots. In 2016, McCain was reelected, but passed away in 2018 and was replaced by Jon Kyl. In 2018, Sinema beat Martha McSally for Arizona’s second Senate seat, but McSally was appointed to Kyl’s seat after he resigned in 2018. Kelly then defeated McSally in a special election for McCain’s seat and won the seat’s regularly scheduled election in 2022. Now Gallego and Lake are facing off for the state’s fifth consecutive Senate race. And the winner of that contest would face re-election in 2030. Paul Bentz, pollster for HighGround Public Affairs, said these races have been high-spending and very public, which often contributes to voter fatigue. “If they were to pick Kelly and win, unfortunately, voters wouldn’t get the break that we were anticipating,” Bentz said. Other candidates rumored to be on the shortlist for Harris’ running mate include Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper. Bentz says Kelly, a former astronaut, has a lot of attractive qualities that would make him a good vice president, but he is likely a long shot. “He’s not as well known, he hasn’t been on the political scene as long, he’s not as polished,” Bentz said. It’s unclear when a vice presidential candidate will be picked or if one will be identified before the Democratic National Convention starts on Aug. 19.

State’s Democratic leaders back Harris for president

Posted on by Yellow Sheet Report Staff
The who’s-who of Arizona’s Democratic political scene quickly pledged their support for Harris after Biden dropped out of the presidential race Sunday – with one notable exception: former Democrat Sinema. While big names like Kelly, Gallego, Stanton and Hobbs rushed to praise Biden and endorse Harris, Sinema has remained silent despite her official X account being active Monday. Sinema endorsed Biden in 2020 before she left the Democratic party to register as an independent. She had not yet endorsed Biden for reelection. A spokesperson for her office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Most of Biden’s supporters in Arizona had already expressed support for Harris on Sunday, with Hobbs bringing up the rear and endorsing the vice president late Monday morning. An endorsement from Sinema, known for working closely with Republicans, could help sway centrist voters in Arizona. Adding Kelly to the ticket could increase the odds of a Sinema endorsement, as the two have worked closely on legislation in the Senate.

State to voters: Get those ballots in

Posted on by Yellow Sheet Report Staff
Tuesday is the deadline for voters to mail back their mail-in ballots. Only 23% of ballots requested statewide have been returned, according to numbers from Data Orbital. More than 1.1 million ballots were requested by Arizona voters, but just over 270,000 have been returned as of July 20. If voters who requested an early ballot do not mail it back by Tuesday, they can still drop it off at polling locations in their county. According to Data Orbital, Cochise, Gila and Pima Counties are seeing the highest ballot return rates in the state. Most of the voters that requested early ballots were either Democrats or Republicans, while the majority of independent voters did not request ballots. However, of the independent voters who did request ballots, 35.4% have returned them. Voters can vote early in person at certain locations until July 26 or can wait until the day of the primary, July 30, to vote in person. 

Amid student cell ban furor, 1 district has a year of data to report

Posted on by Matthew Sasser

As summer wanes and many North Carolina schools prepare to open their doors within a month, many districts, including Wake County, are pondering whether to implement student cell phone bans. 

Granville County Public Schools Superintendent Stan Winborne said he’s seen heightened media coverage and school board discussions about the issue recently.

Last year, Granville, which serves just over 6,500 students, charted its own course when it decided to ban K-8 students’ cell phone use through an “Off and Away, All Day” policy. Cell phones would be allowed to be kept in backpacks, but a visible cell phone would trigger discipline. 

High school students in Granville were permitted to use cell phones between classes and during lunch, but never in the classroom. 

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction doesn’t collect any data on school district cell phone policies.

“Honestly we were just thinking about ourselves,” Winborne said about his decision to implement this policy after it received unanimous school board approval. “I don’t know if we were the first. I haven’t really heard of a lot of other people taking as hard of a line as we are. I imagine they are; I sure hope they are.”

A “frequent and often” communication campaign to families in Granville about the policy made its implementation fairly simple, according to Winborne. Students were made aware early on that teachers, administration and the school board were serious about the issue.

“I think we all recognize the distractions and problems that cell phones in schools cause,” Winborne said, adding it’s a major source of conflict particularly among adolescent students.

“They’re not learning; they’re not engaged in what’s happening at school. There’s this growing body of research out there of how devastating it can be for their well-being.”

Granville schools saw 11% fewer referrals and 15% fewer suspensions last year. While test results haven’t been officially released yet, Winborne said the district has seen improvements in academic outcomes. 

“We can control the school environment,” Winborne said. “That’s our job. I think it’s going to be a much healthier, safer place for the kids if we can remove it [the presence of cell phones]. … I think we all know it’s instinctively better for them to not have it.” 

Granville has partnered with University of North Carolina researchers to conduct an impact study on the effect of the cell phone ban. From his one year of observation, Winborne anticipates the study’s results will be largely positive. 

“We need to do what is right for our children,” Winborne said, noting he sees the anxiety in his own children when he takes away a phone. “We can’t control what happens outside of school. But within the walls of our school, we can, and we should be providing an environment that is going to be nurturing and supportive and try to remove these negative influences that are impacting their learning.” 

Winborne said he would support regulations on cell phone usage in school districts across North Carolina. Kansas convened a task force to address this issue last week. 

In Granville, the cell phone policy remains unchanged and will be in effect for a second school year, starting in August.

For questions or comments, or to pass along story ideas, please write to Matthew Sasser at [email protected] or contact the NC Insider at [email protected] or @StateAffairsNC 

Gallego Seeks Answers as Ports of Entry are Impacted by Global IT Outage

Posted on by Arizona Legislative Report Staff
PHOENIX – On Friday, Rep. Ruben Gallego (AZ-03) sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, expressing his concerns regarding the impacts of the global Microsoft/CrowdStrike outage on Ports of Entry. “During this unprecedented event, it is of paramount national security and economic concern that our Ports are able to operate smoothly,” Rep. Gallego wrote . “Although backup systems have allowed Ports to remain open, delays are still a cause for concern, in addition to any vulnerabilities that may arise.” In order to ensure that our Ports remain secure and efficient even in these unusual circumstances, Rep. Gallego posed the following questions:
  • How are the impacts of this software failure being alleviated at Ports of Entry?
  • What additional resources do Ports need for maintenance of operations?
  • Is CrowdStrike providing any additional resources to assist in security and processing efforts, including on-the-ground support to repair impacted systems and devices?
“Arizona’s Ports of Entry play a critical role in our economy, security, and the day-to-day lives of many Arizonans,” Rep. Gallego concludes. “I stand ready to assist you in providing for their continued secure and efficient operation.” Full text of the letter can be found HERE.

Legislative Town Hall: “The War for Water: Why It Matters, and How to Win It”

Posted on by Arizona Legislative Report Staff
STATE CAPITOL, PHOENIX – Arizona State Representative Alex Kolodin reminds the public and media about the upcoming legislative town hall on the critical issue of water conservation and augmentation, titled “The War for Water: Why It Matters, and How to Win It.” This special event is scheduled for Wednesday, July 24, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. in Room 1 of the Mountain View Park Community Center, located at 8625 East Mountain View Road in Scottsdale.   Event Details Date:                       Wednesday, July 24, 2024 Time:                       6:00 p.m. Location:                 Mountain View Park Community Center, Room 1 8625 East Mountain View Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85258   Featured Participants
  • State Representative Alex Kolodin
  • Tyler Francis, District and Association Council Member, Salt River Project
  • Mark Lewis, VP Engineering, Water Resource Institute
  • Regina Cobb, Former State Representative
  • Amanda Monize, Board Member, Central Arizona Water Conservation District
  Special Guest Emcee James T. Harris, Morning Host at 550 KFYI (Phoenix) and 790 KNST (Tucson)   Members of the public and news media are welcome and encouraged to attend this important event to discuss Arizona’s water future and strategies for securing our water resources.   For those unable to attend in person, the event will be livestreamed at: www.youtube.com/@arizonacapitoltv . A recording of the event will also be available the following day at: www.azleg.gov/archivedmeetings .

Wadsack pulls ‘persecution’ card

Posted on by Arizona Legislative Report Staff

Former lawmaker Vince Leach is running a new round of ad attacks against his LD17 GOP primary opponent, Wadsack, based on a recent speeding citation that she called “political persecution.” She was pulled over in March for driving 71 MPH in a 35 zone, the Tucson Sentinel reported, but was not cited at the time because of legislative immunity. She immediately identified herself as “Senator Justine Wadsack” and told the officer she was rushing to get home because she only had four miles of charge left on her Tesla. After her legislative immunity expired at the end of session in June, an officer called her to schedule a time for her to sign the citation, which she refused. She called the speeding citation “political persecution” and became upset when the officer called her “Mrs.Wadsack” instead of “Senator Wadsack,” according to the Sentinel reporting, which was based on a police report and body cam footage. “I think it is an affront to the voters and public to think that somebody at the state legislature would use that (a Senator title) to forgo a ticket,” Leach told our reporter. He said the Tucson police did what they should by waiting to cite her until after legislative immunity ended, but that she should take accountability now. “Justine Wadsack thinks she’s special,” Leach’s most recent ad against Wadsack said, alongside an audio clip of her introducing herself as a Senator. “That’s her trying to use her office to dodge a speeding ticket.” Leach said that being sworn in does not give you the authority to use your title the way she had. “I pick up the phone and say, hi I’m Vince, that's the way I've been since day one that I was a representative,” Leach said. The news story also brought into question Wadsack’s residency, which Leach challenged in 2022. The article also pointed out that she was stopped outside LD17, just a few blocks from where she owns a home with her husband, and 19 miles from her listed residence in the district. Wadsack did not respond to our reporter’s inquiry by our deadline.

ADOT launches Safety Message Contest

Posted on by Arizona Legislative Report Staff
On Tuesday, July 23, ADOT will bring back its popular Safety Message Contest for its eighth year. The contest allows the public to submit their own traffic safety message suggestions and vote on their favorites from a pool of 10-12 finalists ADOT selects. The two messages with the most votes will be crowned the winners and displayed on overhead message boards statewide. On July 23, a news release with more information will be shared.   ADOT representatives will be available for interviews at ADOT’s Traffic Operations Center, where the Dynamic Message Signs are programmed. Visuals will include a wall of monitors with feeds from ADOT’s highway camera system.  Please RSVP or let ADOT Communications know if you are interested in attending by emailing [email protected] . Event details: What: ADOT launches Safety Message Contest Who: Interviews with ADOT representatives in the Traffic Operations Center When: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Tuesday, July 23 Where: 2302 W Durango St, Phoenix, AZ 85009

CHC BOLD PAC Proudly Endorses Vice President Kamala Harris for President Primary Election Press Conference

Posted on by Arizona Legislative Report Staff

Washington, D.C. – Today, CHC BOLD PAC Chairwoman Linda Sánchez released the following statement on President Biden’s decision not to run for re-election and Vice President Harris’ candidacy for president:

“I want to thank President Joe Biden for his extraordinary leadership as president of the United States and for his decades of service to our country,” said Chairwoman Linda Sánchez.  “Throughout his term, we’ve seen historic accomplishments from rebuilding our economy and infrastructure, leading our nation’s comeback from a global pandemic, and lifting up millions of Americans, especially Latino working-class families. President Biden’s tenure will be remembered for his accomplishments that stand among the best in history. “As we look ahead, we know that these accomplishments would not have been possible without Vice President Kamala Harris and CHC BOLD PAC is proud to endorse her for president. This administration has led with working families in mind and shown an unwavering commitment to Latinos. There is so much work left to do and the stakes couldn’t be higher. Make no mistake, Latinos nationwide will bear the brunt of the consequences of a Trump second presidency, just like they did in the past. BOLD PAC will remain laser focused on doing what it takes to ensure that Trump remains a one-term president. Vice President Harris is the leader we stand behind at this critical moment.  “BOLD PAC will continue to focus on ensuring that the Latino community understands the stakes in this election – our rights, our freedoms, and our very democracy are on the line. BOLD PAC is investing in targeted outreach so that Latino voters mobilize for Democrats up and down the ballot this cycle and power Vice President Kamala Harris to victory. We look forward to mobilizing our community to support her and to build on the accomplishments of the past four years. Pa’lante!”

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