Talk:2020 United States Senate election in Kansas

Declared Democratic candidates

 * Nancy Boyda received dual degrees in chemistry and education, graduating with honors in 1978 from William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. She is a former one-term U.S. representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district from Topeka. On her second try, she defeated conservative five-term incumbent Republican Jim Ryun in 2006, by 51%-47%. but lost two years later to moderate Kansas State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins, 51-46%. She announced her candidacy to seek her third Democratic congressional nomination on July 1, 2019. https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article232140317.html During campaign stops she said finance practices and gerrymandering are big reasons why politicians don't "work across the aisle," and she said her whole campaign is dedicated to breaking gridlock. https://www.kvoe.com/news/item/44114-boyda-outlines-goals-at-emporia-stop-as-her-us-senate-campaign-takes-off
 * Barry Grissom, former United States Attorney for the District of Kansas also declared his candidacy on the same day as Boyda. http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article232075257.html He is a graduate of Johnson County Community College and the University of Kansas where he earned a BS degree in Science in 1977. He studied law at Oklahoma City University, earning a JD in 1981. He began a private practice in 1983, focused on representing victims of negligence, civil rights and labor issues, including Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA) cases. He was a member of the board of governors for the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association from 1986 to 2010. Appointed the U.S. Attorney for Kansas by President Barack Obama in 2010, he served until April 2016, then joined the national Polsinelli law firm. He was a member of Eric Holder's Attorney General’s Advisory Committee, https://www.justice.gov/usao-ks/pr/us-attorney-barry-grissom-joins-committee-advising-us-attorney-general, as well as sitting on the Brennan Center for Justice's Blue Ribbon Panel on the redefinition of federal prosecution priorities. https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/publications/Federal_Prosecution_For_21st_Century.pdf The panel's report emphasized both targeting violent offenders but also addressing issues of over-incarceration. He founded the Grissom Law Group which additionally focused on public policy advocacy in 2018. As the U.S. Attorney for Kansas, Grissom focused on civil rights enforcement and community outreach. https://www.linkedin.com/in/barry-r-grissom-a6653282 During his tenure, Grissom founded the Kansas Civil Rights Symposium (which promoted efforts to improve community relations with law enforcement), the District's first Human Trafficking Working Group (which coordinated the work of NGO's with law enforcement to curb human trafficking), directed the District's Project Safe Neighborhood program targeting felons who illegally possessed firearms, and oversaw the District's Project Safe Childhood program that targeted child sex offenders.
 * Robert Tillman was a graduate of Wichita State University (WSU) in 1978, receiving a B.A. with triple majors in psychology, sociology and minority studies. In 1981 he received a Master's of Arts Degree in sociology. Tillman was a 2012 Democratic candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 4th Congressional District of Kansas. He won the Democratic primary nomination on August 7, 2012 with 70.8% over Esau A. Freeman with 29.1 %, losing to Mike Pompeo on November 6, 2012, 68%-23%. http://www.kssos.org/elections/12elec/2012%20Primary%20Election%20Results.pdf http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/files/elections/2012/by_state/KS_US_House_0807.html A "perennial candidate," he was a 2016 Democratic candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 4th Congressional District of Kansas. He was defeated by Daniel Giroux in the Democratic primary. After Pompeo was made the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, Tillman was a 2017 Democratic special election candidate seeking election to the 4th Congressional District of Kansas. Attorney and U.S. Army veteran James Thompson got the Democratic Party's nomination over [[Dennis McKinney in a caucus vote, 21-18. Tillman and two other candidates had been eliminated in the first round of the caucus vote. https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article132183819.html

Pompeo has ruled out a Senate run as of 31 March 2019
As I stated on this user talk page conversation, Pompeo explicitly announced on 17 March 2019 that he hasn't ruled anything out yet. I did a very specific google search here, showing news from between 9 March and 30 March which displays no articles with a definite decision yet. See this article and also this. They are far more recent than this CNN article, which is from 21 February and often mistaken to be Pompeo's final decision when, in fact, it isn't. ––Redditaddict69 (talk) (contribs)  09:35, 31 March 2019 (UTC) Both of your more recent articles reference the fact that he is, specifically, ruling out running in 2020. The decision they reference, a "month prior," is all they are running on. I think you are quite wrong and confused about this yourself. Those articles deal with future ambitions. Not sure how to proceed, as I hate inaccurate information being on this page, but am not interested in a tit-for-tat reversion battle either. User:1Matt20 User talk:1Matt20
 * Yes, both articles say he ruled it out last month, however Pompeo also said on the 17th that "“I try to just avoid ruling things out when there’s others who are in control... The Lord will get me to the right place.″" This still leaves at least some speculation open that he will run. Nobody can say with absolute confidence that he isn't going to run. Though my next point here is solely an opinion, still, his political ambitions have also changed rapidly numerous times in the last 5 years. He's mulled a Senate run, accepted a position as Director of the CIA without any prior speculation, and went from Congressman to Secretary of State in just over a year. He said explicitly that he's ruled nothing out yet; that counts for something, especially given that it is the most recent thing he's said on the topic. ––Redditaddict69 (talk) (contribs)  16:08, 31 March 2019 (UTC)

All I'm hearing is your own personal speculation being filtered through a contextualization of his words and career that runs completely counter to all available info from the man himself. Completely inappropriate. Wait until further dispelling of his last decision to make such a leap. He said he isn't running in 2020. Believe him until he clearly dispels it. User:1Matt20 User talk:1Matt20
 * What I was trying to say is that there is uncertainty. He said he isn't ruling out anything at the moment. But, you may be right here. ––Redditaddict69 (talk) (contribs)  16:13, 31 March 2019 (UTC)
 * Pompeo has ruled it out.Pompeo was speculated to be a candidate to represent his home state of Kansas in the United States Senate in 2020.https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/434445-pompeo-open-to-future-senate-run-the-lord-will-get-me-to-the-right-place Although Pompeo ultimately declined to run in 2020, he implied an openness to seeking statewide office in the future.https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/21/politics/pompeo-2020-senate-bid/index.html

Republican Declared Candidates

 * Bryan Pruitt, returned from the District of Columbia, to set up campaign headquarters in Manhattan, Kansas. A former RedState conference coordinator and blogger, he expressed many typical Republican views during an August 5, 2019 interview saying he intends to support President Donald Trump's re-election, though he also said the party needs to change how it addresses abortion issues and add diversity to win millenial voters. "I really believe deeply that the Republican Party is at a juncture and is really going to have an exciting time (picking) a candidate who’s different, who’s diverse, he said. Men "should not be lecturing women about their bodies." Republicans need to tell women that "...that they are in control." Pruitt has faced past criticism from other LGBTQ advocates, who said he made transphobic comments in a 2016 RedState blogpost. He had written that there is "...not an epidemic of trans people being denied access to public facilities." He stated that he is a defender of religious liberty and that businesses should not be forced by government to provide a particular service, with the exception of government services and public accommodations. "Sometimes the gay left, they were not gracious in victory, so there’s a lot of cultural changes where we need to have soft elbows with."(sic) https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article233553727.html
 * Kris Kobach drew attention due to his involvement with the 501(c)4, "We Build the Wall" (WBtW). It has given cause for concern, as the fundraising and campaign mailing lists it is accumulating are prohibited from coordinating with his Senate campaign, but the ability and appetite for effective oversight within the Trump administration are anticipated to likely be inadequate. https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article232855972.html On August 1, 2019, he circulated a campaign fundraiser using both the corporate name and email list of WBtW donors. Common Cause Vice President for policy and litigation Paul S. Ryan said, "At a minimum, this Kobach for Senate fundraising solicitation email appears to violate the 'paid for by' disclaimer requirement" for official campaign communications. Ryan specified the requirement that mandates disclosure of the financial sponsors who originate official political communications. Kobach's email might be legal if his campaign paid fair market value for use of WBtW's list. If that were the case, a "paid for by" disclaimer would be required but was not present in the solicitation. Ryan said, "If the Kobach committee did not pay fair market value for the cost of disseminating this email, then the Kobach committee has arguably committed the more serious campaign finance law violation of receiving a corporate contribution in the form of a coordinated expenditure." We Build The Wall is legally prohibited from financing federal political campaigns, in any fashion. Besides the concerns raised about Kolfage himself, a week prior to the mailer, right-wing anti-immigrant, WBtW board member and former congressman Tom Tancredo sat on the stage alongside Kobach, and endorsed him in a New Mexico rally promoting the Wall.https://www.thedailybeast.com/kris-kobach-uses-border-wall-group-to-fund-senate-bid-likely-illegally https://www-1.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article233296552.html After Common Cause filed a formal complaint and request for an investigation into the apparent violations, The Kobach campaign said that it is a "radical leftist organization," that the complaint was without substance and, "This attack by Common Cause also includes a frivolous letter to the Department of Justice, asking the Department of Justice to launch a pointless investigation. This is also typical of Common Cause tactics and it is intended to cause distraction wherever conservative Republicans are leading in important political campaigns." https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article233442267.html
 * Susan Wagle is the president of the Kansas Senate https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article233019627.html Senate seat. Wagle had said he was the "strongest candidate." In 2018 Wagle said, "I ask my fellow Republicans to stand with the candidate who best reflects Kansas values." https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article219043505.html