United Kansas
United Kansas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairperson | Jack Curtis |
| Founded | 2024 |
| Ideology | Fusion voting |
| Political position | Center |
| Colors | Orange |
| Slogan | One Vision, One Kansas |
| Website | |
| unitedkansas | |
United Kansas is a minor political party in the U.S. state of Kansas. United Kansas was founded in 2024 by Jack Curtis, who currently chairs the party.[1] Other party leadership includes Sally Cauble, a Republican who formerly served on the Kansas State Board of Education, and Aaron Estabrook, an independent who served on the Manhattan City Commission.[2] United Kansas advocates for fusion voting, nominating existing Republican or Democratic candidates.
History
[edit]On May 24, 2024, Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab declared that United Kansas had met the requirements to become officially recognized as a political party in Kansas.[3] They collected 35,152 signatures, greater than the requisite 2% of total votes in the previous gubernatorial election. United Kansas joined No Labels Kansas and the Libertarian Party as a minor political party in Kansas.[4]
In United Kansas's first year as an official party, they nominated three candidates for the Kansas House and Kansas Senate.[5] These included Lori Blake, a Democrat running for the 69th Kansas House district, J.C. Moore, a Republican running for the 26th Kansas Senate district, and Jason Probst, the incumbent representative for the 102nd Kansas House district.[6] Additionally, they nominated two candidates for the Leavenworth City Commission.[7]
Chairman Jack Curtis said that the party's organizers were interested in recreating fusion voting in Kansas, "an idea that would enable United Kansas to cross-nominate Republican or Democratic candidates".[8]
In April 2026, United Kansas merged with the Free State Party, an unofficial party pursuing ballot access.[9][10] The executive committee will have an equal number of members from the United Kansas and Free State parties.[10] Executive director Scott Morgan said the party will not require candidates to adhere to a strict platform but would expect candidates to share "broad principles," such as support for electoral reform (including ranked-choice voting), environmentalism, reasonable gun rights and regulations, and strong border immigration policies as well as a pathway to citizenship.[11] The party expressed intent to contest uncontested races in an effort to break the Republican supermajority in the 2026 midterm elections.[12][11]
The party nominated Scott Morgan, cofounder of the Free State Party, for the 2026 Kansas Secretary of State election.[13]
References
[edit]- ↑ "New Kansas political party promises new era of politics". KSN-TV. 2024-03-12. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ↑ Cassell, Victoria (2024-03-13). "New Kansas political party introduces fresh era of collaborative politics". Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ↑ "United Kansas officially recognized as political party in Kansas". KOAM News Now. 2024-05-24. Retrieved 2024-06-06.
- ↑ "'United Kansas' named state's 5th political party". KSNT 27 News. 2024-05-24. Retrieved 2024-06-06.
- ↑ "Kansas Secretary of State | Elections | Candidate Lists". sos.ks.gov. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
- ↑ Kansas, United. "United Kansas". United Kansas. Retrieved 2024-06-06.
- ↑ Shorman, Jonathan (June 7, 2024). "New Kansas political party wants to change how you vote. Can they get around the ban?". The Kansas City Star.
- ↑ Carpenter, Tim. "United Kansas officially earns spot on Kansas ballots as state's fifth political party • Kansas Reflector". Kansas Reflector. Retrieved 2024-06-06.
- ↑ "Free State Party - A New Moderate Political Party in Kansas | Join the Moderate Movement". Free State Party - A New Moderate Political Party in Kansas. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
- 1 2 "United Kansas Free State Merger". United Kansas The Free State Party. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
- 1 2 "Seeking to take on both Republicans and Democrats, pair of smaller Kansas political parties merge". LJWorld.com. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
- ↑ "Action Plan — United Kansas The Free State Party". United Kansas The Free State Party. Archived from the original on 2026-04-22. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
- ↑ Carpenter, Tim (20 May 2026). "United Kansas Party nominates Lawrence's Scott Morgan in secretary of state's race".
External links
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