What a weekend for Kansas Democrats!

The Kansas Democratic Party hit the road last weekend for our first-ever statewide bus tour, and what an incredible success it was!

From western Kansas to the eastern side of the state, Democrats showed up with energy, enthusiasm, and a shared determination to make their voices heard. At every stop, we saw firsthand what makes our party strong: dedicated local leaders, passionate volunteers, engaged voters, and communities ready to work together to move Kansas forward.

This tour was about more than bringing people together. It was about building momentum, strengthening connections across our state, and reminding Kansans that no county, no community, and no voter should be overlooked. The enthusiasm we witnessed throughout the tour is a powerful reminder of what we can accomplish when we organize, collaborate, and show up.

On Sunday an enthusiastic group of members of the Crawford County Democratic Party rolled out the welcome wagon at the Pritchett Pavilion as a statewide bus tour of Democratic candidates stopped in Pittsburg. Among candidates at the event were KC Ohaebosim, candidate for Kansas lieutenant governor; Juan Luengo for Kansas treasurer; Chris Mann for Kansas attorney general; Jennifer Day for Kansas secretary of state; and Avery Rowland for Kansas House District 2.

— Nik Cabrini, Sally Harryman and Shirley Beer

If you have not already done so, make sure to vote in the November 3 Midterm Election tomorrow in the Crawford County Clerk’s office in Girard from 8 a.m. to noon or on Tuesday, November 3, at your assigned polling location from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Then come out to our next regular Crawford County Democratic Party meeting on Sunday, November 15 at 1 pm at the Crawford County Democratic Headquarters.

It's an opportunity for us to come together, discuss our election results and plan for upcoming events. Your participation is important to our collective success.

Please let Sally know if you have any items you'd like to see added to the agenda at sally@crawfordcountyksdems.org .

We are hoping to see everyone there!

By Mike Sand

HQ has been put to great use this month! Aside from the usual open hours of 10-4 we’ve had canvass launches, meet & greets, coordinated campaigns and so many meetings.  Thank you to everyone who has donated their time and efforts toward keeping it an efficient hub of activity.  Expect shorter office hours over the next couple months, but we’re around!  Feel free to leave a message on the Ring doorbell camera or at 620-670-6867. 

The Democrats went west with the Pitt State Gorillas on October 17 by participating in the Homecoming Parade.  Although a Gorilla was the only rider on our Frevele-crafted covered wagon, there were plenty of Democrats walking that day including Don Coover, Dynah Sykes, Heather Guernsey and Isaiah Harris.

A large group gathered at the Pritchett Pavilion after the parade to speak with the candidates and enjoy some cowboy themed snacks, while Isaiah’s team tailgate partied at the PSU football game. Also on the 17th was the Girard Fall Festival where Avery Rowland and the Crawford County elected officials walked in the parade.

And to finish off the evening a fundraiser for Dynah Sykes was held at Congressional District Chair Walters’ home with special guest  Kansas Democratic Party Chair Jeanna Repass.

On October 21, the local teachers’ union in Pittsburg and the Aspiring Educators at Pittsburg State University hosted a community meet and greet at The Balkan in Block22. Approximately 65 community members attended, giving 12 candidates the opportunity to answer questions and hear directly from residents about the issues that matter most to southeast Kansas.

Thank you to everyone who attended, asked tough questions, brought a friend, or helped spread the word about the event. Your participation sends a powerful message: Southeast Kansas is engaged, informed, and ready to be heard! We are working to put our region on the map so legislators understand our priorities, concerns, and values—and recognize that we show up at the polls.

By building relationships with candidates and making our voices heard, we can help ensure that southeast Kansas is remembered when decisions are made about job development, grant opportunities, public education, infrastructure and the resources our communities need to thrive. Thank you for being part of this effort to make sure Southeast Kansas has a seat at the table!

Sincerely,
Lynette Wescott

Jean Hurlbert and Ruth Miller report on the LL outing to the Cindy Holscher-Ty Masterson event in Cherokee County

Jean: On October 21 a group of Liberal Ladies from Pittsburg went to Baxter Springs to listen to the governor candidates. I wore my Cindy Holscher shirt. Cindy was excellent.

During questioning afterwords, I told Masterson that I have had seizures and that medical cannabis would help me and other citizens like me. I asked for his thoughts on this since Cindy Holscher favors permitting it.

He replied, "I'm not going to ruin Kansas," and I said, "Then I am not voting for you." Masterson said he could tell that by my shirt.

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Ruth: The Baxter Springs Chamber of Commerce’s debate/meet and greet was successful with more than 60 people in attendance.

Cindy Holscher came prepared and did an excellent job of explaining her side of issues and pointing out

• that Masterson had $20 million to spend on nasty ads about her,  

• that after six years as leader of the Senate his party majority could not agree on a property tax bill, 

• that the Senate spent more time selecting a license plate than working on a property tax bill, education funding or farming,

• that an ad about her not supporting tax caps had left out a great amount of background,

• that she was not a radical

• that she will work to fully fund education and special education, eliminate vouchers, support legalization of marijuana and expand Medicaid 

• that she recommends a data centers moratorium until Kansas can develop procedures on how to work with them if we want to work with them

Ty Masterson didn’t seem as prepared. It was not what he said but what he didn’t say that stood out. He stated

• that he wanted to bring in an educational system like the one in Mississippi which went from the bottom to number nine. Sam Brownback and his party led the defunding of Kansas public education.  Before Sam Brownback Kansas was rated number four. 

• that he supports vouchers for private schools. He never said how these were to be funded.

• that gas prices were coming down -- like this was going to solve all our problems.

• and that he supports data centers.

But he had no idea or plan to protect Kansas citizens.  He just talked about the money they bring in. Which makes me believe he hasn’t studied the issues they have with other states 

Other items not mentioned due to time restrictions:

• the 4% salary raise for the House and Senate and 1% increase for everybody else.

• decreasing special education funding to 52 % while ignoring state law requiring the state to fund it at 92%

• the transgender driver license debacle

• ending the session early so lawmakers couldn’t vote in laws to help small and independent pharmacies.

• and the list goes on.

The winner of the debate: Cindy Holscher.

By Susy Hammons

Liberal Ladies met on 10/7, at noon, at Dem HQ.  Harriet gave us some info about Deep Canvassing, a way to talk to people we don't agree with politically.  She and Jim have been checking in with their neighbors in their precinct with some success.

Delma Smith read a Rant/Poem "What Happened to Our Manners?"  Her creative rhyming is very humorous and effectively tells political truths.  Delma encouraged us to send letters to the editor in these last few weeks before the election.

Laura Klusener showed us how she is correcting old VOTE NO signs by cutting off the old date.  She seals them with the exact blue duck tape. 

I showed the last design for signs to clip to the DEM HQ sidewalk tent sign that always goes in front of HQ.  Thanks to Kathy De Grave for typing out continuous corrections until we got it right.

Dionne took it from there and put a sprinkle of tiny red and blue stars as a final Wow factor.  Dionne is a total professional and the signs show her talent. The signs are on heavy board and can be used over and over.  They invite people to come in to register or to check their current registration.  I think 3 people came in while I was there.  Does anyone have other reports of people coming in?  Next election we'll be ready to go!

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Liberal Ladies met again on 10/21, at noon, at Dem HQ.  Half of our group went to Baxter Springs to watch the debate between Cindy Holscher  and Ty Masterson.  Whenever we have an outside event it's important to have a spokesperson within the group so everyone knows who to contact for details and for letting the newsletter have pictures and details.  It all worked out, but I was so worried that someone might get left behind.

We discussed the importance of voting YES on judges and NO on the confusing and harmful amendment.

Lillian's sister-in-law was a visitor.  She is very politically involved and has sent Lillian good info I have shared .  She is very involved with postcards as are we.  There is a possibility that she may move to Pittsburg sometime in the future!  I explained how we became an LLWL group and why we are now just LL.  Members told her about our projects and fundraisers.

Delma read her Rant/Poem: "The Donald."  It's always a good way to appreciate her talent and to break some of the tension of living in a trump world.

Sandy brought up fraud.com where we can report fraud.  Sandy has reported Trump.

Lillian explained about the Daughters of Liberty during the Revolutionary War.  There was a Black fraternity that came back on Campus and they approached Marcia about wanting to work with the "Ladies of Liberty."  They were wonderful and very helpful.  Those guys graduated, but there is a new group wanting to be involved.

Our next meeting will be November 4th, at noon, at Dem HQ.

Article submissions are needed from Crawford County Democrats and friends about issues and topics we should all be thinking about. Let us publish your thoughts in this Revue, for distribution to county Democrats and others across the state. Back issues of thr newsletter are also on the website at https://www.crawfordcountyksdems.org/newsletter.

Please email your thoughts or those of your caucuses and interest groups for publication in the county party’s newsletter to news@crawfordcountyksdems.org. Accompanying photographs or other ideas for illustrating your articles are also welcome. Feel free to ask questions by text or phone of newsletter crew Harriet at 620-704-8566 or Phil at 708-466-0659. Also please include your phone number with your message in case we have questions for you.

We look forward to hearing from you!