The election last night didn’t exactly go as planned. Extremist conservatives dealt some pretty deep blows in key Kansas races (recap below). And the outcomes seem to signal another four years of an ultra-conservative stronghold in the Kansas Legislature – not to mention another term of inept “leadership” in the White House. With a slurry of Koch-backed candidates and dark money pouring into the 2020 Kansas elections, it may seem like an uphill battle for November.

We woke up this morning to the President of the United States declaring in a tweet that the 2020 General Election should be delayed. We can all agree that the 2016 election has had ground-shaking consequences. But every election does, even the smallest municipal post can have far-reaching effects on the members of that community.

This is the Candidate Survey for the 2020 Primary Election in Kansas, which takes place on August 4th, 2020.

Today, the Kansas State Board of Education (SBOE) voted 5-5 to block Gov. Laura Kelly’s Executive Order delaying the start of public school three weeks, to just after the Labor Day weekend. The breakdown of the vote is below.

The Mainstream Coalition stands in opposition to this decision.

The Kansas State Board of Education (SBOE) will be meeting this week (as early as tomorrow, Wednesday morning) to discuss the question of whether public schools should be delayed to open after Labor Day, as proposed by Governor Laura Kelly.

This is the voting scorecard of the 2020 Kansas Legislative Session, for all 165 members of the Kansas Legislature.

Governor Laura Kelly announced yesterday that she will publish an Executive Order next Monday delaying the start of public K-12 schools in Kansas until after Labor Day. You can watch her announcement here (it starts at 7 mins and 30 seconds), or read the press release here.

The Mainstream Coalition is excited and proud to launch the The Voter Network, a nonpartisan nonprofit with a focus on voter engagement for Kansas that will drive changes in representation and politics for decades to come.

This shouldn't be that difficult. We're in the middle of a global pandemic. The number of people infected, and the number of dead, are sobering. Our own country is among the worst hit in the world, and our number of infections is spiking in the last week or two. 50,000 Americans were infected just yesterday.

In our continuing work to listen to and lift up black voices, the Mainstream Coalition is working to host and support conversations around racial justice. If we have learned one thing during this time, it is that we have so much to learn from black partners and community leaders, neighbors and friends. Let's keep it going.