Republicans have held Kansas' 2nd District for nearly 30 years. Can Democrats win it back?

The last time Boyda won the seat, she was similarly unconventional. She eschewed traditional television advertising – featuring low budget clips of man on the street interviews and text heavy inserts in newspapers explaining her policy positions.

It worked. The ads, which often featured people on the street either praising Boyda or criticizing Ryun, helped raise her name recognition – particularly after she had been on the ballot the year before.

But Boyda may not have the name recognition that she once did. Some of the newest voters in the race would have been two years old the last time her name appeared on the ballot.

That could serve as an opening for Kleinmann. A former walk-on to the University of Kansas men’s basketball team that won the National Championship in 2008, Kleinmann is a political newcomer.

He said the Kansas Democratic Party approached him about running in the 2nd district and he jumped into the race because he feels like the district lacks federal resources.

“It’s getting us back to where Congress actually works for us, and it’s not just something to yell about on local radio or national media,” Kleinmann said. “And for me, I think a political party that has gone so far to the right that they’re willing to storm the U.S. Capitol building to get their way, I think is bad for democracy. It’s bad for Kansas.”

Kleinmann said while he thinks the race will be difficult, it’s not completely out of reach. He pointed out that Schmidt lost the 2nd District in his 2022 campaign against Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. And they note that the district supported preserving abortion rights in vote on the Value Them Both amendment that year.

But the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee – the chief arm of the Democratic Party in Congressional races – hasn’t targeted the 2nd Congressional District. That means the Democratic candidates there won’t get the same type of financial and campaign support that Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat from Overland Park, will get in her reelection bid.

David Kensinger, a former aide to Brownback who is volunteering for Kahrs’ campaign, said while the Republican candidates will take a general election seriously, it would be difficult for any Democrat to win the seat.

“Given these two you’ve got Kleinman, who’s new to public office, and you’ve got Boyda, who has a one term track record where she voted with Democratic leadership,” Kensinger said. “So I don’t see that either of these people have either the resources or the background they would need to pull that off.”