photo by: Dmitry Martirosov/Journal-World

An attendee holds a sign that reads "Where is Tracey?!!" at the Lawrence Public Library on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. Rep. Tracey Mann, the Republican incumbent, did not attend the event.

I’m pretty sure I would have been annoyed if Congressman Tracey Mann had shown up for Saturday’s candidate forum in Lawrence.

I suspect it would have been a scene of much drama and protest. The boos, the chants, the interruptions while he tried to speak and other such tactics that have become common fodder for social media feeds whenever a politician from one party ends up in a room of people from the other party.

Don’t get me wrong, I like a honk-for-fill-in-the blank event as much as the next guy. The same for the sidewalk protests that give me a multitude of signs to look at while I’m driving or walking by. But the meeting takeovers, I find them annoying. They strike me as people who don’t understand either the art of leverage or persuasion. They often overplay their hand and just come off as rude.

Political discourse in America needs lots of things, but more rudeness isn’t one of them.

So, I was prepared to be annoyed because, while I don’t know for sure such a takeover would have happened, I think there was a decent chance of it. Of course, Mann, a Republican who represents Lawrence and its awkward place in the 1st Congressional District, didn’t show up for the candidate forum at the Lawrence Public Library, hosted by the local chapter of the Women for Kansas organization.

That left me feeling a different way: Mad.

Who does Tracey Mann think he is? He’s the U.S. Congressman for Kansas’ 1st Congressional District, which stretches from the Kansas-Colorado border and moves eastward to include cities such as Dodge City, Garden City, Salina and a long list of others. You can search that list of cities all day and not find one larger than Lawrence.

Lawrence is the largest city in the 1st Congressional District. It also is the city that was shoved into the district against its wishes by the GOP-controlled Kansas Legislature. If you recall, the Kansas Legislature put the city of Lawrence in the 1st Congressional District, while putting all other areas of Douglas County in the 2nd Congressional District. That was a strategy to blunt the impact of Lawrence’s large number of Democrats.

So, Tracey Mann is Lawrence’s congressman. This is also who Mann is: A Republican who represents a district that has approximately 252,000 Republicans, 98,000 Democrats and 134,000 independents and others not affiliated with either major political party. (Those numbers are based on county-by-county numbers from the Kansas Secretary of State’s office that I added together.)

In other words, a very safe Republican district that doesn’t need many votes at all from the Democratic stronghold of Lawrence.

At this point, it is worth stating that Kansas, let alone the world, does not revolve around Lawrence. It is a fact for all of us to remember. I can think of acceptable reasons why Mann couldn’t make it to the Lawrence candidate forum. That’s why the Journal-World asked him why he wasn’t able to attend the forum. (He had confirmed ahead of time that he wouldn’t be at the event.) All we got out of a spokesman is that he had “other meetings scheduled” that day. Like where? With whom? Our reporter wasn’t successful in getting any of those details. Nor did he have any luck in getting a comment on whether Mann would commit to attending any candidate forum in Lawrence before the upcoming election.

Come on, Mann.

The lack of details and commitment made me really mad. Not only are they valid questions, they are important ones. I’m a bit different than some voters in that stances on individual issues rank lower on my list of priorities than issues of character. Figuring out the top issue of a campaign is a guessing game. Nobody asked George W. Bush during his campaigns how he would deal with 9/11 or a financial meltdown. Nobody asked Donald Trump how he would deal with a pandemic. I don’t know what issues truly will matter, but I know character always does.

A question about where you are going to be on a Saturday instead of being at a candidate forum in the largest city in your district is a great question to learn about your priorities. Anytime I can learn about your priorities, I can learn something about your character.

Tracey Mann said we don’t need to learn anything about him. He doesn’t need us. Galling, for sure. Here’s another thing, though: There are a whole lot of his constituents west of here who think Lawrence is the looniest place in Kansas. They aren’t likely to hold much against Mann for not wanting to come to Lawrence.

In one regard, perhaps Lawrence is reaping what it sows. However, that Wheat Country lesson goes both ways. Mann should remember it the next time he does come to Lawrence. I’m more mild-mannered and less partisan than many people in Lawrence, and I’m mad about Mann stiffing Lawrence. Imagine what the partisans are going to do when he does eventually have to sit before them.

That’s what really bothers me about this. At some point, we all have to do some work to try to come together more. Tracey Mann has a position of leadership. He could have taken a step toward Lawrence. It wouldn’t have even required political courage. It is highly unlikely anything that he would have done at the Lawrence forum would have changed his very strong odds of winning this election.

In fairness, maybe Mann also believes that we have to come together. I don’t know him. He may be a fine individual. I also don’t know his legislative record in depth. He may be a solid representative for his constituents. I do know he has been a legislative champion of more independence for Lawrence’s Haskell Indian Nations University, which would do much for the community.

But on Saturday, I believe Tracey Mann was very knowable in one way: He decided not to do the hard thing.

Congress has taught him well.