{"id":1968,"date":"2026-06-20T07:36:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T07:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1968"},"modified":"2026-06-20T07:36:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T07:36:10","slug":"kansas-republicans-have-a-coordinated-plan-to-cancel-their-2026-us-senate-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1968","title":{"rendered":"Kansas Republicans have a ‘coordinated’ plan to cancel their 2026 US Senate election"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

This was the plan all along.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s my strong suspicion after reading about and reporting on , a Kansas law passed last year that appears to give Republican power brokers a get-out-of-jail free card in this year\u2019s U.S. Senate race.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s secret plans unmasked as he exposes his real agenda<\/a><\/p>\n

As reported Wednesday by Kansas Reflector, the law\u2019s text grants any Senate appointee a free two-year trial period before having to face voters. The bill\u2019s ostensible purpose was to prevent Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly from appointing a Democrat to replace Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, but the clause in question was added to the bill after its introduction.<\/p>\n

It reads: \u201cIf the vacancy occurs on or after May 1 in an even-numbered year, then such vacancy shall be filled by election at the election of representatives in congress held two years following the year in which such vacancy occurs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sounds bad, right? If Marshall were to leave for a Trump administration post \u2014 say secretary of Health and Human Services \u2014 does state law effectively cancel the fall U.S. Senate election? One assumes the Constitution would stand in the way. On the other hand, who among us trusts the ?<\/p>\n

Questions swirl in the murky waters of speculation, but one fact is clear as day.<\/p>\n

This bill was passed as intended by Kansas legislative leadership and Marshall\u2019s team.<\/p>\n

I was told that on Thursday by Democratic Rep. Kirk Haskins of Topeka, who served both on the House Elections Committee that considered the bill and its conference committee.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a coordinated effort not only amongst House and Senate leadership but it was driven from demands from the federal level and Roger Marshall\u2019s office specifically,\u201d Haskins said.<\/p>\n

Haskins pointed to the overall trend in the Kansas Statehouse over 2025 and 2026 to restrict and limit the voices of voters, rather than empower them. The goal, as I wrote in January, appears to be putting the state\u2019s thumb on the scale for Republicans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey again changed the rules to try to control who stays in power, and they took away the three-day grace period\u201d for mail-in ballots, Haskins said. \u201cThey wanted signatures on mail-in ballots. They try to redistrict. I mean, this whole thing is corrupt and coordinated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those are strong words from a normally mild-mannered legislator.<\/p>\n

But as we approach the primary and general elections, the winds of conspiracy have begun to blow again. President Donald Trump and GOP influencers have cast doubt on results in California. States Newsroom\u2019s Jonathan Shorman has documented the administration\u2019s determination to dominate state election offices on flimsy pretexts.<\/p>\n

Voters, be they Democrats or Republicans, deserve the opportunity to make their own choices. Sometimes they will vote for conservatives. Sometimes they will vote for liberals. Elected leaders should stay out of the way when setting the rules.<\/p>\n

Read more White House turns on \u2018moron\u2019 MAGA loyalist who crossed Trump<\/a><\/p>\n

Back to SB 105. There\u2019s no question, according to former U.S. Attorney for Kansas Barry Grissom, that the law as interpreted above would be unconstitutional.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsidering whether the Kansas Legislature can \u2018extend\u2019 Marshall\u2019s term by putting the seat in another \u2018Class\u2019 is not a close or debatable question,\u201d he told me. \u201cArticle I, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, fixes the class structure as a matter of constitutional text, and no state legislature has any delegated power \u2014 under the 17th Amendment or otherwise \u2014 to reassign a seat from one class to another.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued: \u201cUnder the Supremacy Clause, a state statute (or any application of one) that had the practical effect of moving Marshall\u2019s seat off its Class II cycle would be unconstitutional and without legal effect. SB 105 cannot do this; no Kansas Legislature could amend SB 105 to do this, and no other mechanism available to a state legislature could do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grissom noted the Legislature has \u201cbroad latitude\u201d when deciding how and when to fill vacancies, but only within the preexisting constitutional structure.<\/p>\n

Open and shut? Perhaps. But I\u2019m left with a gnawing fear about what coming months may bring.<\/p>\n

Marshall\u2019s office offered a conspicuous non-denial denial: \u201cSenator Marshall will be running for reelection,\u201d chief of staff Brent Robertson said.<\/p>\n

Fine. But things change. What if Robert F. Kennedy steps aside and Marshall takes his place in August or September? That Senate seat would need filling. Statehouse leaders should be expected to follow their own law, and they would undoubtedly pick close GOP allies to fill the role (they\u2019re required to present Kelly with three names).<\/p>\n

Once former Gov. Jeff Colyer or someone else takes the Senate seat, why wouldn\u2019t the same leaders who shepherded the bill through try handing him two years of on-the-job training? It would certainly take the sting out off leaving the governor\u2019s race!<\/p>\n

None of this makes Kansas better or safer or more economically vibrant. None of this gives Kansans more of a voice or a right to conduct their own affairs. We are left to contemplate a clique of officials betraying their own party and principles, all for the sake of a dubious leg up in November.<\/p>\n

Or as Haskins put it: \u201cNowhere did they actually promote the importance of individuals going out and practicing their right to vote. It was all restrict. It was all fear. That\u2019s it. It\u2019s like, how do we maintain our power?\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more The wrinkled emperor has no clothes \u2014 and even his own supporters are finally waking up<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This was the plan all along.That\u2019s my strong suspicion after reading about and reporting on Senate Bill 105, a Kansas law passed last year that appears to give Republican power brokers a get-out-of-jail free card in this year\u2019s U.S. Senate race.As reported Wednesday by Kansas Reflector, the law\u2019s te…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1967,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nKansas Republicans have a 'coordinated' plan to cancel their 2026 US Senate election - Next Address America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1968\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kansas Republicans have a 'coordinated' plan to cancel their 2026 US Senate election - 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