WRITER: Peter Hancock

Kansas ethics panel may seek more disclosure on independent campaign advertising

TOPEKA - Kansas lawmakers may be asked next year to broaden a state law so that voters will be able to know who is sending out and who is paying for certain kinds of campaign material that is not directly related to any candidate's campaign. The Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission will decide next month whether to include that as one of its recommendations for the 2019 Legislature to consider. Under current ...

Despite hopes for 2018, Kansas Democrats still face long-term challenges

TOPEKA — Former Kansas governor and Obama-era cabinet secretary Kathleen Sebelius offered an interesting observation when she spoke to a Lawrence audience last week. Responding to a question about whether she would ever run for public office again, she gave an emphatic "no," and then offered this advice for both political parties. "We should never, in my humble opinion, we should never have a 70-year-old ...

2nd District candidates clash during televised debate

TOPEKA - The two major party candidates for the 2nd District congressional seat took some of the sharpest verbal jabs at each other yet in the 2018 campaign, clashing on issues ranging from Medicare and Social Security to the partisan nature of Washington politics. During a televised debate Monday night on KTWU-TV in Topeka, Democrat Paul Davis and Republican Steve Watkins each tried to portray the other as an ...

A 'most treasured' honor: Eisenhower statue dedicated on Kansas Statehouse grounds

TOPEKA - Members of former President Dwight Eisenhower's family joined Gov. Jeff Colyer and other dignitaries Monday to dedicate a statue of the former commander in chief on the Statehouse grounds in Topeka. "I believe of all the honors my grandfather might have gotten at one time or another, this would be one of his most treasured," Mary Eisenhower said of the statue. "He loved Kansas. He loved Kansas so much ...

Kansas City-area businessman Greg Orman speaks to reporters after he and his running mate Sen. John Doll delivered more than 10,000 signatures to the Secretary of State's office in Topeka, Kan., Monday morning, Aug. 6, 2018, to formalize their campaign for governor. (Thad Allton/The Topeka Capital-Journal via AP)

Independent Greg Orman still sees path to victory in governor's race

TOPEKA – Greg Orman rose to prominence in the Kansas political world quickly in 2014 when he ran as an independent candidate and threatened to unseat incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts. It was a race that drew national and international attention because the balance of power in the Senate was at stake that year. And Orman actually led in several polls leading up to Election Day, leading many to ...

Kansas reports job losses in September; unemployment rate unchanged

TOPEKA - The Kansas economy lost an estimated 6,900 jobs in September, including 3,800 private-sector jobs, while people who remained employed worked more hours, according to preliminary, seasonally adjusted figures from the Kansas Department of Labor. The state's unemployment rate, which is measured by a different survey, remained unchanged from August at 3.3 percent. "The losses were spread across government ...