Editor’s Note: Views from Kansas is a regular feature that highlights editorials and other viewpoints from across the state.

The Republican primary for the 2nd District U.S. House seat is crowded, with seven candidates jostling for attention over a long, hot summer. Chances are you’ll hear a lot more about Topekan Steve Watkins in these final days of the campaign, as his father just injected some $400,000 in advertising via a super PAC.

On one hand, that’s a lot of money. On the other, we’re not sure that’s the kind of news most candidates would relish being made public.

Parental support during campaigns is nice, but it’s usually reserved for photo ops and teary-eyed testimonials in campaign ads. You wouldn’t expect Dad to be paying for the ad himself. One might expect that if Watkins makes it through the primary, his likely opponent, Democrat Paul Davis, will be eager to remind voters of the ad buy.

How is this possible? The nation’s courts helped create situation, enabling the creation of super PACs back in 2010. This variety of PAC can raise unlimited funds but can’t contribute directly to candidates or coordinate with them. They have become vehicles of choice for often-anonymous political spending.

Whatever the wisdom of the Watkins situation, it raises broad concerns about the state of campaigns in 2018.

First, we have the assumption that only advertising matters in a campaign. We would like to see more candidates working to make direct, empathetic connections with voters. Those bonds make a difference when lawmakers finally take their seats to represent the people. Relying on advertising creates a more synthetic, transactional relationship.

Second, and more importantly, this suggests that elections are becoming an exclusive province of the wealthy. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income in Shawnee County is $52,088 a year (from 2012 to 2016). How many folks in this area would be able to support their children in this way?

We don’t begrudge anyone success, of course. But the policies that the national government enacts have gigantic effects on the lives of the middle class, working class and those living in poverty. As a city, state and country, we should be working to enable these folks to become involved in the system, not building ever-higher barriers of wealth and privilege.

Certainly a rational campaign finance system would help, as unlikely as such a system might seem now. Dedicated work on the part of politicians and nonprofits to engage with members of the public on ways they can make their voices heard would be appreciated, too.

So much of the disconnect experienced today between voters and their government boils down to the fact that citizens feel separate from those who represent them. To make a government that works better for everyone, everyone must feel welcome — and involved — in that government.

Perhaps that’s a cause that candidate Watkins might be interested in taking up someday.

— Originally published in the Topeka Capital-Journal