ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

The First Congressional District of Kansas is one of many offices up for election this coming fall, and Lauren Reinhold is one of the candidates looking to replace Tracey Mann in that office.

As Reinhold tells it, working with the federal government is not entirely new to her.

“This is the first time I've run for office, but I was a federal employee for 16 years. I've been in Kansas since 1993 when I came at age 22 and attended the University of Kansas for law school. So I've lived here most of my life now and still live in Lawrence,” Reinhold said. “I'm a lawyer and I’ve practiced immigration law and legal aid law and other similar jobs after graduating from law school. I rejoined the government in 2010 with the government as an attorney advisor at the Social Security Administration (SSA) in their disability division. During that time, I was also a union officer and worked my way up to being a human resources specialist. I also had a short stint at the National Labor Relations Board, which regulates the collective bargaining process, but I wasn't there very long. I got lured back to another leadership position at SSA, and I was there until early 2025 when DOGE came in and made it clear that everything was going to be different, and I reluctantly took the buyout and chose to fight for our federal services outside of the executive branch, and that's what led me to run for office – my experience of understanding government, knowing how it should work, and then watching the disruption that’s been going on.”

Reinhold said it was a somewhat easy decision to run for office.

“When I left the government, I started exploring the run for office. I had the idea immediately, because I was so concerned about our federal services,” Reinhold said. “But what really convinced me to do it was getting out and talking to Kansans throughout this district, and seeing how the DOGE disruptions were going to affect their lives, and seeing the specter of programs slipping away, of benefits slipping away, seeing what they were doing to disrupt the markets for farmers, and knowing that under this new era of really disrupted, reduced government. So I chose to get ready and fight for fight for Kansans.”

It was this past fall when Reinhold said she officially began campaigning.

“A lot of candidates have an exploratory period, and I had the fortune of being off work but still paid through Sept. 30, where I could explore,” Reinhold said. “It takes a while to get things up and moving with a campaign, and it takes a lot to assemble a team get your Web site together, and I wanted to make sure I launched in a way that was very professional and not so slapdash. My exploratory period extended the entire second half of 2025, and then spent November and December getting the team together, getting things professionalized, and making sure we knew what this was going to look like. It was Jan. 3 when I officially filed.”

So far, Reinhold said, the campaign trail has been a positive experience.

“People have been very welcoming, and people want to talk and really be heard,” Reinhold said. “Our lawmakers currently in power are not out there talking to people in this district and people are willing to share their thoughts. I’ve learned a lot, and I’m still learning about all the different communities and different interests. I’m getting a lot of guidance about what farmers are experiencing, and I'm hearing how farmers are concerned about their markets being disrupted. People are telling me they are struggling to make ends meet, even if they're middle class. Maybe they were doing fine before with plenty of disposable income, but now they’re seeing that shrink and seeing their futures disrupted. People are telling me they're concerned about their schools staying open, and even for the schools that are open, they're concerned about infrastructure in their counties, in their communities such as the hospitals and knowing they're secure and going to be there when they're needed. People are becoming increasingly concerned they're not going to be able to make ends meet, and a lot of people are more and more experiencing that difficulty. I'm talking to people about what's really going on, what the resources in their community include, and then the things that are lacking, and so it's been a wonderful learning experience hearing from so many different people.”

Another particular concern of hers, Reinhold said, is reform at the federal level.

“First of all, Congress needs to take back its power. Congress is not doing the work, not asserting its role as far as  oversight in the government,” Reinhold said. “They're letting executive branch run amok, and there needs to be an appropriate balance between the legislature and the executive branch. We've seen Congress's power nosedive, and the first thing is for this Congress to be one that's dedicated to working the hardest, probably, of any Congress ever, because there's so much to fix and assert. Congress’ authority to declare war and enact tariffs, among others, this Congress has let all of that go so and I feel like this district does not want a rubber stamp representative, and our current congressman is rubber stamp stamping all of the executive actions. What I'm hearing people say is they want Congress to take power back for the people, even if they disagree with classically Democrat or Republican principles. They want Congress to speak for the people again.”

Reinhold offered encouragement for people to contact her with questions and concerns and said she is ready to get to work should she be elected.

“Anyone wanting to get in touch with me can fill out a contact form at laurenforkansas.com, or they can follow me on all social media sites, and I’ll be happy to talk to them,” Reinhold said. “This campaign is based on service. It is built on my lifetime of public service, and I want to keep serving the public and fighting for what's right for the public. I've made Kansas my home for more than three decades now, and I love Kansas, and I want to serve. I want to help Kansas and I want to encourage other Kansans to get involved in that too so we can really come together and fight for what's good for all of us.”