ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
Election Day is Tuesday, and Thursday, some state and federal Republican candidates did some last minute campaigning in Liberal.
The Kansas GOP Party’s Run Right Bus Tour pulled into town Thursday morning at Billy’s, and Kansas Republican Party Chairman Mike Brown confirmed what most believe has happened as a result of the Biden Administration with a show of hands from those in attendance.
“Everybody is struggling,” he said. “Nobody is in as good of a position as they were in four years ago.”
Brown later introduced Kansas First District Congressman Tracey Mann, who said people often hear current elections are the most important of this lifetime.
“I actually never say that, but it sure seems to me these days, every election is important,” he said. “Elections have consequences, and it seems to me not very long ago, the divide in politics was you were a Republican or a Democrate, you were right or you were left, you’re conservative or liberal. Now it feels like the line is you’re normal or you’re crazy. It’s crazy to think we’d not have a border in this country. It’s crazy to think we would not fund our police. It’s nuts to think we would let non-American citizens vote in our federal election. It is nuts to think we would just forgive people their student loans. It is wild the times we’re living in, but we have a big opportunity on Tuesday to get this country back on track. Let’s take that opportunity.”
With the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, commonly referred to as the Trump tax cut, set to expire Dec. 31, 2025, Mann said having Congress act and a president in the White House willing to sign an extension of the bill is imperative to the future of many.
“Every Kansan, every American is going to see the federal taxes go up in about 14 months,” he said. “In our district, on average, federal taxes will increase 27 percent if we don’t get those tax cuts extended. There’s a lot on the ballot. There’s a lot that matters.”
Like others in attendance Thursday morning, Mann said prayer is likewise essential at this time.
“We’ve got to keep praying for the country while we believe our greatest days are yet to come,” he said. “We still get to live in the dead center of the greatest country in the history of the world, but we need to make good decisions to make sure the America we all know and love continues to be the great nation it is for our lifetimes and for our kids and grandkids as well.”
Next, Kansas 38th District Senator Ron Ryckman was introduced, and he said the Kansas Senate will likely see a different look starting in 2025.
“There’s at least 11 Republicans who are not going to run,” he said. “There’s different ones in primaries. There’s some tight races, so it’s going to be a different makeup. We’ve got to make sure we get that two-thirds vote to override the governor’s veto. We had three Republicans who voted with the governor, and all three of them are not coming back.”
Ryckman too encouraged everyone to pray for the coming days.
“Pray for your leaders,” he said. “Pray for our government.”
Kansas 125th House District Representative Shannon Francis despite his race being uncontested, it is still a critically important race for the Sunflower State.
“There’s also a lot of races that are competitive in the Johnson County area,” he said. “If you support Western Kansas values, if you want less regulation, you need to encourage your family members who live in Johnson County to get out and vote and to support the Republican candidates.”
Francis also said the super majority Republicans hold in the Kansas Legislature is incredibly important.
“Without that, we don’t have a stick against the governor when she issues vetoes,” he said. “It’s typical to override a veto any day of the week. It’s impossible if we don’t have a Republican super majority because our Democratic friends in the legislature often vote straight with the governor. There’s a lot of things on policy that affect us. We talk about Waters of the U.S. I know it’s critically important to the agricultural community. We talk about men in women’s sports. The list goes on and on. The Republican Party represents our values, and we need to support them.”
