Democrat Paul Davis initiates campaign for Rep. Lynn Jenkins’ 2nd District congressional seat
Tim Carpenter, The Topeka Capital-Journal
Former Kansas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Paul Davis confirmed Thursday formation of an exploratory committee ahead of a campaign for the 2nd District congressional seat to be vacated by Repub…
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Topeka Capital-Journal
Former Kansas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Paul Davis confirmed Thursday formation of an exploratory committee ahead of a campaign for the 2nd District congressional seat to be vacated by Republican U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins.

Davis said in an interview with The Topeka Capital-Journal that Kansans deserved representation from elected officials with the skills and inclination to work across partisan divides to improve federal policy on taxes, health care and other complex issues.

“Now, more than ever, we need good people who are going to go to Washington, D.C., and really represent the interests of the people that live in their district,” Davis said. “Too many elected officials – on both sides of the aisle – have forgotten how to work together to move our country forward.”

In 2014, Davis was defeated by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback in the campaign for governor. The 2nd District in eastern Kansas is not overwhelmingly Republican, but Davis carried the congressional district by 6 points in the race against Brownback.

Davis served six terms in the Kansas House and is employed in the private sector as an attorney in Lawrence. Over the course of his career, Davis said he’d become familiar with the district’s prominent agriculture, higher education and military interests.

He said the federal government’s necessary realignment of health care policy under Medicaid and overhaul the national tax code shouldn’t forsake middle- and low-income Kansans.

“It is heart wrenching to watch families worry about their economic stability,” Davis said. “It’s upsetting to stand by as special interests corrupt our system of government. It is discouraging to hear students worry about their futures. And it is infuriating to watch our elected officials bicker, divide and betray their constituents.”

Davis said President Donald Trump’s apparent preference on tax reform would target benefits to people at the top of the income scale in a manner reflecting supply-side economic strategies deployed in Kansas by the Brownback administration. That approach will exacerbate loopholes available to the wealthy, fall short of rosy economic forecasts and shift the tax burden to lower income people, he said.

Davis said partisan debate in Congress about future of the Affordable Care Act should acknowledge what worked and didn’t work about the law signed by Democratic President Barack Obama. Kansans want the ACA improved, Davis said, not repealed.

“Right now, you have the Democrats saying the Affordable Care Act is great and we just need to leave it in place and everything will be fine. You have the Republicans saying we have to get rid of it,” Davis said. “There is a complete disconnect in Washington, D.C., right now.”

The 2nd District contains Topeka and covers the eastern portion of the state outside a metropolitan region anchored by Johnson and Wyandotte counties. The district holds Shawnee, Douglas and about two-dozen other counties stretching to the Nebraska and Oklahoma borders.

Clay Barker, executive director of the Kansas Republican Party, said he expected several experienced GOP politicans to enter the race to hold onto the 2nd District seat. He also made reference to a phrase — “liberal Lawrence lawyer” — used often by Brownback’s 2014 gubernatorial campaign staff to describe Davis.

“Liberal Lawrence ideas didn’t get Paul Davis to Topeka and they won’t get him to Washington, D.C., either,” Barker said.

No Democrat has won a congressional seat in Kansas since U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore, a Johnson County resident, declined to seek re-election in 2010. The decision by Jenkins to walk away from Congress after expiration of her current term created potential for competitive primary and general elections at a time when Kansas Democrats believe their prospects to be on the upswing.

On Tuesday, Democrat James Thompson came within 7 points of Republican state treasurer Ron Estes in the special election to replace Mike Pompeo, who resigned from the U.S. House to be CIA director. It’s an interesting result in the supposedly safe-GOP 4th District five months after President Donald Trump prevailed there by 27 points and Pompeo won re-election by 31 points.

“There is a great amount of frustration among people right now — maybe more so that I’ve seen in my lifetime,” Davis said. “Results of the 4th congressional district race showed that people are looking for candidates who are willing to go to Washington, D.C., and really change the status quo.”

On the Republican side of the ledger in the 2nd District, state Sen. Steve Fitzgerald of Leavenworth said two weeks ago he would run for Jenkins’ seat and anticipated a “lively primary.” Democrat Britani Potter ran unsuccessfully in 2016 against Jenkins, and has indicated interest in again seeking the nomination.

Bob Beatty, a professor of political science at Washburn University in Topeka, said Davis possessed the strongest name recognition of any Democrat still active in Kansas politics. The 2014 campaign for governor made either the U.S. House or another governor campaign reasonable options, Beatty said.

“He had his pick of offices, because he’s got that head start,” Beatty said. He’s got to align himself with the mood of the people. There’s some room for simple populism in Kansas politics.”