The views and opinions expressed in this editorial article are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Post or Eagle Media. The editorial is intended to stimulate critical thinking and debate on issues of public interest and should be read with an open mind. Readers are encouraged to consider multiple sources of information and to form their own informed opinions.
By: CINDY HOLSCHER
If you've been paying attention to this governor's race, you may have seen some political insiders say I’m running too much against the establishment. They mean it as an attack, but let’s talk about what I actually believe.
I believe a retired teacher shouldn't pay crushing property taxes on the home she’s lived in for thirty years, while large corporations negotiate tax breaks behind closed doors.
I believe a farm family shouldn’t have to go without doctors and rural hospitals shouldn't have to fight to keep their doors open, while politicians refuse to expand Medicaid.
I believe parents worried about paying the bills shouldn't have to watch lobbyists walk out of the State Capitol with another handout for their corporate clients.
Because the job of a public servant is to look out for working people. But for too long, our state’s working parents, family farmers, teachers, nurses, and small business owners have been overpowered by corporate giants, well-connected special interests, and the out-of-touch politicians they’re all bankrolling.
The establishment wants you to believe that’s just the way things are. But it shouldn’t be. And it doesn’t have to be.
Now, we all love the Chiefs. But did the billionaire team owners, who live in Texas, really need taxpayer help to build their stadium? I say no. Missouri’s elected officials said no, too, and now they’re laughing at our leaders for caving to a bad deal that gives away too much and won’t benefit ordinary Kansans.
Similarly, should we give Big Tech companies permission to decimate our farmlands and water supplies with their AI data centers, without any guardrails to protect our communities? Policies like those don’t help working people. Yet my two Democratic opponents — and practically every Republican running — are behind them all the way.
Every single public official in Kansas should be with me on this, because the reason we got elected in the first place was to make life better for Kansas families — to cut the cost of living, improve our schools, expand healthcare, help small businesses grow — not to let out-of-state billionaires and special interests decide how Kansas runs.
Some people say it’s politically risky to go up against the people with the money and the power and the high-placed political friends. But what’s actually risky is making it impossible for working people to get by, forcing parents to choose between groceries and doctors’ visits, selling off our farmland to out-of-state corporations.
If we let things go along like that much longer, our state will be in real trouble. And if we want our kids to be able to build careers here and start families and put down roots, if our grandkids are going to have a future in the towns where they grew up, we need to put their interests first. That means affordable housing. It means good jobs. It means accessible healthcare in every corner of the state.
It means a Kansas where you don’t have to leave to make a living.
We can’t do that by writing another blank check to a billionaire. We need to build an economy where working people can actually get ahead. So before we spend a single taxpayer dollar, let’s ask a simple question: does this help Kansas families, or does it pad the pockets of people who already have more than enough?
You can call that anti-establishment if you like. I call it pro-Kansas. I’m on the side of the working families who make Kansas run, who raise their kids here, who teach them the Midwestern values I learned as a child. Because Kansans deserve more than empty promises and political theater. They deserve leaders who are willing to roll up their sleeves and follow through — no matter whose feathers they ruffle in the process.