<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1596136248216.png" alt="State Sen. John Skubal, seen here on the Kansas Senate floor on the final night of the 2020 session, is one of several moderate Republicans facing primary challenges from more conservative Republicans. Jim McLean / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>State Sen. John Skubal, seen here on the Kansas Senate floor on the final night of the 2020 session, is one of several moderate Republicans facing primary challenges from more conservative Republicans. Jim McLean / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By JIM MCLEAN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2020-07-30/the-kansas-primary-election-could-say-a-lot-about-whether-the-state-expands-medicaid">Kansas News Service</a>TOPEKA, Kansas — Control of the Kansas Legislature could turn 
on dozens of down-ballot races in the Aug. 4 primary election, in which 
many of the contests, particularly for the Kansas Senate, pit 
conservative Republicans against moderate incumbents.In 
Republican Senate primaries, moderates facing their first re-election 
test since 2016 can no longer use former Gov. Sam Brownback as a foil. 
And while taxes remain an issue, two perhaps counterintuitive issues are
 at the core of this year’s legislative contests: Medicaid expansion and
 abortion.“Medicaid expansion definitely hinges on this election 
and there’s no doubt that women’s reproductive rights also hinge on this
 election,” said Michael Poppa, executive director of the Mainstream 
Coaltion, a Johnson County group formed in the 1990s to counter 
“extremism” in politicsDemocratic Gov. Laura Kelly and a majority
 of lawmakers support expanding Medicaid health care coverage to 
hundreds of thousands of low-income Kansans. But conservative 
Republicans refused to bring the issue to a vote in the 2020 legislative
 session because lawmakers didn’t agree to put a proposed constitutional
 amendment on abortion before Kansas voters.The amendment was a 
priority for anti-abortion groups seeking to counter a 2019 Kansas 
Supreme Court ruling that said abortion is a protected right under the 
Kansas Constitution.And the proposed amendment’s defeat is at the heart of Republican primary battles across the state.The Senate and the chamberThe race between Sen. John Skubal and conservative challenger <a href="https://kelliewarrenforsenate.com/" target="_blank">Rep. Kellie Warren</a> is among the most closely watched in the primary.Skubal,
 a moderate from Overland Park, defeated conservative Jeff Melcher in 
2016 by calling for the repeal of tax cuts that triggered a budget 
crisis under Brownback.The <a href="https://www.mainstreamcoalition.org/" target="_blank">Mainstream Coalition</a>, the <a href="http://underthedomeks.org/knea-kpac-2020-primary-recommended-candidates/" target="_blank">Kansas National Education Association </a>and <a href="https://www.standupbluevalley.org/" target="_blank">Stand Up Blue Valley</a> are backing Skubal’s bid for re-election.Warren, in addition to the anti-abortion group <a href="https://kflpac.org/kfl-pac-endorses-in-state-legislative-races/" target="_blank">Kansans for Life,</a> has the support of the <a href="https://www.kansaschamber.org/chamber-pac/" target="_blank">Kansas Chamber of Commerce,</a> a powerful group that includes Koch Industries among its most influential members.For the chamber, though, taxes and regulations, not abortion, are most important. President Alan Cobb <a href="https://www.cjonline.com/opinion/20200711/alan-cobb-endorsed-candidates-committed-to-robust-kansas-economy" target="_blank">said in a recent column published in the Topeka Capital-Journal</a>
 that the organization is backing conservative challengers because 
current members of the legislature have not reduced taxes on some 
companies doing business in Kansas.“We need legislative champions
 who understand the fundamental role that business plays in the economic
 health of Kansas,” Cobb wrote.Recent changes in federal tax 
laws, Cobb said, raised state taxes for some individuals and companies 
by a combined total of more than $1 billion. Kelly vetoed attempts to 
roll back some of those increases, and Republican leaders could not 
muster the votes to override her.“These actions are not reflective of what most Kansans want from their state elected leaders,” Cobb wrote.The
 chamber and other conservative groups are most active in state senate 
races because it is their first opportunity to retake seats lost to 
moderates in the “anti-Brownback election” of 2016, University of Kansas
 political scientist Patrick Miller said.“Conservatives are very 
much on the offensive,” Miller said, adding that it’s an open question 
whether moderates can withstand the challenge “without the boogeyman of 
Sam Brownback to run against.”The chamber is backing challenges to incumbents in seven GOP Senate primaries. In addition to the Skubal/Warren race, those are:<ul>
 <li>Michael Fagg vs. Sen. Bruce Givens<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/m/pdf/district_maps/district_map_s_014.pdf" target="_blank"> in a district</a> that includes portions of seven counties in southeast Kansas.</li><li>Virgil Peck, a former member of the Kansas House, vs. Sen. Dan Goddard<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/m/pdf/district_maps/district_map_s_015.pdf" target="_blank"> in a district</a>
 that covers the three southeast Kansas counties of Labette, Montgomery 
and Neosho. Goddard defeated Peck by fewer than 200 votes in the 2016 
primary.</li><li>Rep. J.R. Claeys vs. Sen. Randall Hardy<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/m/pdf/district_maps/district_map_s_024.pdf" target="_blank"> in a district</a>
 dominated by the city of Salina. Claeys, a four-term member of the 
Kansas House, managed Republican Kris Kobach’s 2018 gubernatorial 
campaign.</li><li>Rep. Alicia Straub vs. Sen. Mary Jo Taylor<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/m/pdf/district_maps/district_map_s_033.pdf" target="_blank"> in a district</a> that covers all or some of 11 southwest Kansas counties.</li><li>Mark Steffen vs. Sen. Ed Berger, the former president of Hutchinson Community College,<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/m/pdf/district_maps/district_map_s_034.pdf" target="_blank"> in a district</a> that covers all of Reno County and part of Kingman County.</li><li>Lon
 Pishny vs. Sen. John Doll in a district that includes Garden City and 
covers all or part of 11 counties in southwest Kansas. Doll briefly left
 the Republican Party in 2018 to run for lieutenant governor alongside 
independent gubernatorial candidate Greg Orman.</li>
 </ul>Double trouble for moderates?The moderate/conservative dynamic is in play<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/m/pdf/district_maps/district_map_s_010.pdf" target="_blank"> in a Johnson County district</a>
 that covers parts of Overland Park, Merriam and Shawnee. Conservative 
Republican Mike Thompson is trying to hold off a challenge from moderate
 two-term Rep. Tom Cox.Thompson, a former TV weatherman,<a href="https://shawneemissionpost.com/2019/12/30/former-meteorologist-mike-thompson-to-run-for-pilcher-cooks-seat-in-kansas-senate-85471/" target="_blank"> was selected to replace former Sen. Mary Pilcher Cook</a> when she resigned in January with a year left in her third term.Another
 member of the Kobach circle faces a challenger in the Topeka-heavy 20th
 District. Conservative Sen. Eric Rucker was a former top aide to the 
ex-secretary of state and was selected to fill the remainder of former 
Sen. Vicki Schmidt’s term when she was elected insurance commissioner in
 2018. Rucker is being challenged by moderate Rep. Brenda Dietrich, the 
former superintendent of the Auburn-Washburn School District.Dietrich,
 like many other moderate Republicans, is getting support from American 
Energy Action, a political action committee formed just this month by 
companies that operate wind farms in Kansas.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1596136514537.png" alt="A mailer from the Dietrich-Rucker race." />
 <figcaption>A mailer from the Dietrich-Rucker race.</figcaption>
 </figure>Conservatives are also running to unseat moderate incumbents in a handful of Kansas House races, including a <a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/m/pdf/district_maps/district_map_h_020.pdf" target="_blank">Johnson County district </a>that includes parts of Leawood and Overland Park.Rep. Jan Kessinger was<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article240091638.html" target="_blank"> one of four Republicans</a>
 whose vote against the proposed constitutional amendment on abortion 
kept it from passing. And while he has the support of the KNEA, Stand Up
 Blue Valley and the Mainstream Coalition, challenger Jane Dirks has the
 backing of the state chamber and Kansans for Life.The <a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/m/pdf/district_maps/district_map_h_008.pdf" target="_blank">8th House District </a>is
 another pivotal race in Overland Park and Olathe. Republican Rep. Chris
 Croft was elected in 2018 and has endorsements from the chamber and 
Kansans for Life. His opponent, Clay Norkey, is backed by the same 
organizations supporting other moderates.Moderate Republicans are
 facing a dual threat, said Miller, the KU political scientist. They are
 vulnerable to conservatives in the primary, especially in rural 
districts, and to suburban Democrats in the November general election.Depending on how things play out, Miller said, the legislature could end up “more Democratic, but also more conservative.”Jim
 McLean is the senior correspondent for the Kansas News Service is a 
collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public 
Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their 
connection to public policy. You can reach him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/jmcleanks" target="_blank">@jmcleanks</a> or email jim@kcur.org.

Kan. primary could say a lot about Medicaid expansion plans