Two challenger candidates for Kansas’ Big 1st congressional district, which includes Lawrence, made diverging cases for why they should be the choice for voters unhappy with the Republican incumbent.
Lauren Reinhold, a Lawrence attorney and Democratic candidate for the seat, and Steve Jacob, who is running as a Libertarian and is a retired City of Lawrence employee, outlined their policies and priorities during a forum at the Lawrence Public Library Saturday afternoon.
The candidates talked about federal spending, immigration enforcement and how they’d stand up to President Donald Trump.
They are both running to unseat incumbent Republican Rep. Tracey Mann, who was invited but did not attend the forum. His staff told event organizers he had another engagement scheduled.
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Kelly Wall, who leads the Douglas County chapter of Women for Kansas, the group that hosted the event, said she started contacting Mann’s campaign back in August.
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“I filled out the forms. I sent emails,” Wall said. “I finally got a hold of somebody at his D.C. office saying that he would not be able to make it. So there were valiant attempts, and we are going to go ahead.”
In lieu of his appearance, moderator Tai S. Edwards gave information about Mann’s previous public statements and actions on the forum’s topics.
Raising taxes or cutting spending?
Reinhold said she has heard different priorities from different people across Kansas’ sweeping 1st Congressional District.
Following gerrymandering in 2022, Kansas’ Big 1st district includes Lawrence along with much of the western two-thirds of the state.
“But we all have in common our affordability concern,” Reinhold said. “It’s so easy to just look at that as that one issue. Things are just too expensive. It’s not just that. This has been decades in the making as they have lowered taxes on the rich.”
She advocated for raising taxes on the wealthy and restoring government programs that help people make ends meet, such as SNAP and Medicaid.
Jacob said the reason for him running was the same as his previous campaigns, which included runs for Douglas County Commission.
“Government spending is destroying the city, country, state, the world right now,” he said.
He said a balanced budget would require cutting spending as well as raising taxes.
“They just want things to be more affordable,” Jacob said. “Her (Reinhold) and I have completely different ways on how to do that, but that’s why we’re here.”
Both candidates advocated for outlawing corporate PACs.
“We have to stop treating corporations like people and allowing them to give outrageous funds with no traceability,” Reinhold said.
Trump and Congress
Both Jacob and Reinhold agreed Congress needed to do more to push back on Trump.
Reinhold said the country needs a strengthened War Powers Act, which requires the president to seek congressional approval within 60 days of military action.
She said Congress needed to stand up for itself and push back on Trump’s tariffs.
“Reckless behavior from this particular president, on multiple fronts, is going to require us to tighten those things up and make clear what used to be clear,” she said.
Jacob said the president should be required to seek congressional approval before taking military action. He called the Libertarian party the anti-war party.
“Democrats are just anti-war when they’re not starting them,” Jacob said. “You need to stop all the war. We need to stop wars.”
He said the current make up of Congress in both major parties is content to not do anything in the face of growing presidential power.
Mann has posted on social media repeatedly defending Trump’s tariffs and military actions in Iran, Edwards said.
Immigration
Jacob called ICE a “terrorist organization that must be dismantled,” which was met with applause by the audience.
Reinhold, who used to practice immigration law, said what ICE is doing is not the answer to immigration issues.
She directed some of her comments toward a picture of Mann taped to an empty chair.
“This is a problem now, and you voted for this, and you allowed this,” she said.
Edwards referenced a January Kansas Reflector report in which three Kansas Congressional representatives, including two Republicans, expressed concern about the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens by federal immigration enforcement agents. U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann did not respond to a request for comment for that article.
Edwards asked both candidates, in light of Mann not appearing for the panel, how they would engage with people in their district.
Reinhold pledged to hold town halls if elected and said she was going on a listening tour during the campaign. She said Mann was hiding.
“It occurred to me the other day that I think over the last year, I have engaged more with Tracey Mann’s constituency than he has,” Reinhold said.
General election dates to know:
• Tuesday, Oct. 13 — The final day to register to vote or update your voter registration for the general election. Douglas County voters can register quickly and/or request a mail ballot online at KSVotes.org.
• Wednesday, Oct. 14 — In-person advance voting begins, and advance ballots are mailed.
• Tuesday, Oct. 27 — The final day to request a mail ballot.
• Monday, Nov. 2 — In-person advance voting ends at noon.
• Tuesday, Nov. 3 — Election Day! Polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Find your polling place at this link.
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Cuyler Dunn (he/him), staff reporter, has worked with The Lawrence Times since April 2022. He can be reached at [email protected].
Read his complete bio at this link. Read more of his work for the Times at this link.
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Cuyler Dunn/Lawrence TimesCongressional challengers offer vision on taxes, Trump at Lawrence forum without incumbent
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Cuyler Dunn/Lawrence TimesCongressional challengers offer vision on taxes, Trump at Lawrence forum without incumbent
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