photo by: KU Marketing

The Dole Institute of Politics is pictured in this undated photo.

The Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas will hold its biennial Post Election Conference next month to discuss the 2026 midterm elections, featuring a slate of analysts, political journalists and a former Kansas governor.

The institute of politics hosts the event every other year after midterm and general elections to discuss election results and their potential impact on Kansas and the country.

This year’s conference will take place Dec. 9, from 11 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. at the Dole Institute, 2350 Petefish Drive. Jerry Seib, a Dole Institute visiting fellow and former Wall Street Journal executive editor, will moderate the event, according to a university press release.

“This year’s midterm sent shockwaves across Kansas and throughout the nation,” Seib said. “Washington now has a new governing alignment, and the country has a significantly different political map heading into the 2028 presidential election cycle. We will take a deep dive into what exactly happened and what the consequences will be.”

Expected panelists for this year’s conference include:

• Bob Beatty, professor of political science, Washburn University

• Gabe Fleisher, founder and editor of Wake Up to Politics

• Matthew Kelly, Kansas government reporter for The Kansas City Star

• Alex Latcham, executive director of the Senate Leadership Fund

• Molly Murphy, president of Impact Research

• Kathleen Sebelius, former Kansas governor and secretary of Health and Human Services

• Luke Thompson, president of Cerberus Strategies

• Amy Walter, editor-in-chief of the Cook Political Report

• Jeff Zeleny, chief national affairs correspondent for CNN.

All sessions will take place in person at the Dole Institute. The tentative schedule is:

• 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Kansas panel

• 1:30 to 3 p.m., national panel, first session

• 3:15 to 4:45 p.m. national panel, second session

Updates about the conference can be found on the Dole Institute’s website at www.doleinstitute.org.