ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Many people from many different walks of life have put their names forward as candidates for Kansas’ U.S. Senate seat, including Patrick Schmidt.
As Schmidt tells it, Kansas has always been his home.
“I am a sixth-generation Kansan, I grew up in Kansas City, and after college, I was commissioned as a naval intelligence officer,” Schmidt said. “When I came off active duty, I came back to Kansas and wanted to continue serving and was still in the Reserves, but I ran for Congress in the second district in 2022. I didn't make it, but I was proud of how we got a lot more people out. We had a really good campaign, and that helped me get to the Kansas Senate last cycle in 2024. My wife and I had our first child this past November, and that really made me think of how the challenges I see facing Kansas and the rest of the country are a lot bigger than what we can deal with in the Kansas Senate. I feel like we don't have the best or most serious leadership at the federal level right now, and I want to try to propose something different so we can help regular U.S. citizens.”
Like many other candidates, Schmidt said recent events influenced his decision to run for federal office.
“I came into the Kansas Senate in 2025 thinking we could get some solutions to property taxes figured out, I think it's the biggest issue facing Kansas right now,” Schmidt said. “And it's not an issue affecting one side of the aisle or another, everyone wants something to be done about property taxes. And based on what I've seen this year, it's been used as just a political tool with no real intention of getting things done. The only property taxes that we got cut in 2025 was for people who own private jets, and the only property taxes that we cut in 2026 was if you own gold or silver coins. All of that made me think how the people in leadership in Topeka are not really serious about that issue. And meanwhile, we're seeing costs go up now pretty dramatically as a result of the trade war in the actual war that we have going on in the Middle East. Overall, we just have rubber stamps representing Kansas in this office right now. We know from the e-mails and phone calls we get, and we know it from polling data how people in Kansas are not happy about who they have in Congress right now. My wife and I having our first child really was a clarifying moment for me, and I don't want him to grow up in the country on the track that we're on right now.”
Schmidt said a major goal of his, should he be elected, is to help bring about accountability.
“People want accountability, and that's something I've heard from Democrats, Republicans and independents,” Schmidt said. “We have a great tradition of independence and people who spoke out for Kansas instead of their political party. Politicians used to be people who did right for their whole state and their constituents and not in service to their party. That's certainly something I'd like to continue. I also think lowering costs is a number one priority someone in this office should have, and the cost of having a new child are front and center of my mind when it comes to that. There are also many people all across the state who don't feel like they're ever going to be able to afford to own their own home and pay for pay for their family, and there needs to be action taken to help with that.”
Should he be elected to the U.S. Senate, Schmidt said his experience with the Kansas Senate should prove invaluable.
“Being in the state legislature helps you cut your teeth in terms of understanding how legislatures work. Being in the state legislature has also helped me in figuring out how to build relationships – for example, I started working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle so Kansas could have the strongest laws in the country around protecting children from inappropriate content generated by artificial intelligence,” Schmidt said. “When I was starting on that project, I was thinking ‘We've got children being exposed to really inappropriate content,’ and these same programs are on Facebook and Twitter and ChatGPT. I thought ‘We could put some protections around this in Kansas so parents have more tools to protect their children, so this should not be a partisan issue. I remember not too long ago, there was an article in the Wall Street Journal where the White House told state legislatures – including Kansas – they didn’t want these laws to pass, and I think that is wrong. I am not afraid to say what I’m thinking in Topeka, and I will not be afraid to say what I’m thinking in Washington, DC.”
While on the campaign trail, Schmidt offered encouragement for constituents to contact him with questions and concerns.
“If anyone wants to get in touch with me, they can send me a message through my Facebook page, or they can send me an email at
