Kelly Atherton

[Lee Cross @Cross4JCCC]

Quote: she attacked the credibility & integrity of organized labor in a way…many other union members found deeply offensive. The insinuation of corruption was unfounded & harmful to organizing efforts of working Kansans. https://t.co/GTQOnDzLI9 https://t.co/daNKCXdk7S

[Scott Rothschild @srothschild1]

Kansas Senate president & GOP gubernatorial hopeful Ty Masterson lets the cat out of the bag -- the constitutional amendment to elect Kansas Supreme Court justices will lead to outlawing abortion and de-funding public schools. https://t.co/CvmtyRUaHB

[Kelly Atherton @athertok]

@noahforkansas Dude, you literally did take money from a PAC. $10 grand

[Jacob Rubashkin @JacobRubashkin]

New Kansas poll released by the Patrick Schmidt campaign finds a surprisingly close general election vs. GOP Sen. Roger Marshall.

Marshall 49
Schmidt 45

Trump fav/unfav 45/51
Marshall fav/unfav 35/42

500 LVs, 4/23-27, mixed mode

Schmidt is running in a crowded Dem primary

[Bill Kristol @BillKristol]

The wave reaches Kansas (Trump +16% in 2024).

New from GQR:

Trump is at 46% favorable-51% unfavorable. Incumbent GOP senator Roger Marshall also underwater, 35% fav-42% unfav.

Likely Dem nominee, young state rep and vet Patrick Schmidt, is within 4% of Marshall--45%-49%.

[Mike Young @micyoung75]

Chris Christie didn’t just drop a name—he cracked open the core rot.

On Maher’s show, he recounts Republicans in green rooms calling Trump “nuts,” “unstable,” and worse. But the second that red light blinks on, they morph into sycophants: “Greatest president since Lincoln.”

Maher asks who does it. Christie doesn’t blink: Lindsey Graham.

That name lands hard, not because it’s surprising—but because it confirms what we already suspect.

This isn’t harmless politics. It’s cowardice wrapped in loyalty cosplay. When senators whisper truth behind the curtain but sell lies for airtime, they’re not serving voters—they’re serving themselves.

And the cost? A country more divided, more cynical, locked in a personality cult that makes policy impossible.

We deserve better. We need leaders who sound the same when the mic’s off as when it’s live.

Integrity isn’t partisan. It’s just the price of admission for anyone who wants to hold power in a democracy.

Christie said the quiet part out loud. The rest of us should too.

[Laura Kelly @LauraKellyKS]

When I think about the type of leader Kansas will need to keep us on the path to prosperity - it's someone laser focused on the issues Kansans really care about. Someone who understands how to bring people together to get good things done for Kansas. That's exactly who Ethan Corson is.

[Kelly Atherton @athertok]

@Physixdude13 @RonFilipkowski VPs have zero power to enact anything. You can’t find any VP in history that had either a success or failure in enacting their policies. VPs don’t have any role or power in enacting policy other than to help promote the President’s agenda.

[Karly Kingsley @karlykingsley]

Hey. Hi. The tests that Trump sent to Putin weren’t just your basic swabs that you have in your home bathroom, they were molecular point-of-care test machines that hospitals desperately needed to rapidly detect infections in a critical time.

The response to the COVID-19 pandemic was hurt by long wait times for central lab PCR tests. In hospitals, these delays caused problems with patient care and led to the spread of infections among patients.

Trump put America last and Americans died.

https://t.co/dIfafrhJtB

[Headquarters @HQNewsNow]

Q: Governor DeSantis is ignoring your calls. How does that hurt the situation with Hurricane Milton?

Vice President Harris: Moments of crisis should really be the moment that anyone who calls themselves a leader says they're going to put politics aside and put the people first. People are in desperate need of support right now and playing political games at this moment is just utterly irresponsible and selfish

[Headquarters @HQNewsNow]

Pelley: Both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump agreed to be interviewed on 60 Minutes. Then, a week ago, Trump backed out. The Trump campaign offered shifting explanations. First, it complained that we would fact check the interview. We fact check every story. Later, Trump said he needed an apology for his interview in 2020. Trump had previously declined another debate with Harris

[Kelly Atherton @athertok]

Moderator’s response to JD Vance “you promised no fact checks!” should have been “We lied, just like you do.”

[Kelly Atherton @athertok]

@CollinRugg Poor work by campaign advance team. You don’t show up for a campaign event at a restaurant or any private business without scheduling it first and getting an okay from owner.

[Kelly Atherton @athertok]

@just_ant93 @USA_Polling @PuffyBeard Don’t count on it. I’m in KS where we turned back abortion restrictions overwhelmingly. 3 months later, we sent all the pro-life Rs back to the legislature.
R women will split their vote protecting abortion and put the pro-life R back in office. Go figure

[Jason Kander @JasonKander]

A quick personal story about our next POTUS:

I became friends with @KamalaHarris and @DouglasEmhoff in 2015 when she and I were both preparing to run for Senate. She won her race and I didn’t but we remained friends and I would visit her sometimes during trips to DC.

We were friends, but not super close, which is pretty common for friendships in politics.

In 2018, after I dropped out of the 2020 presidential mix and then out of public life for a while to go to the VA for PTSD therapy, she called and checked in on me regularly.

She would sometimes call just to catch up, or sometimes she had a big speech or meeting coming up with a veterans or national security group and I’d be a sounding board.

I don’t know how much she actually needed advice about that stuff when she asked for it, and I don’t know how much I helped, but her asking made me feel valuable at a time when I’d sort of given the world permission to forget about me, and I appreciated that gesture a lot.

I remember once in 2020 I was standing in Costco when she called. She had her veterans policy person on the line because she wanted to run some language by me. Once that was done, she thanked that person and then politely asked they go ahead and drop off the line so she could catch up with me.

She wanted an update on how I was doing and we talked for a couple minutes, then I told her I was thinking about doing some TV surrogate stuff for the campaign.

It was kind of a big deal decision for me at the time because I’d been out of the mix almost 2 years by then. She then spent a couple minutes describing in great detail how to set up my home office to make cable hits easy and comfortable.

I still use the ring light she suggested.

Anyway, my point in sharing this admittedly uneventful and humdrum anecdote is that I’m excited about her not just because she’s smart and capable and hard working and believes in the right things. I’m also excited because - in my experience - she’s a downright decent person who shows people respect and makes sure they feel seen.

And I’m not trying to do some humblebrag flex either because I’ll be the first to tell you we’re not close friends. We’re friendly acquaintances. But that’s my point.

She is the type of person who is thoughtful enough to treat a peer like a peer even when they’ve tapped out and are - professionally - no longer really a peer.

And that’s the kind of everyday decency I believe she’ll bring to the presidency.

[Kelly Atherton @athertok]

@KlasfeldReports Trump is free to respond…by testifying under oath.

[Headquarters @HQNewsNow]

Fox host: What's wrong with Congress? Why can't you secure the border?

GOP Rep. Self: The problem is the Republicans, not the Democrats. My Republican colleagues are unwilling to vote to secure the border

[Governor Laura Kelly @GovLauraKelly]

Last week, I signed a bill establishing the Kansas Campus Restoration Fund to secure annual funding for maintenance and capital improvement projects at our universities and colleges. Prioritizing the upkeep of our campuses helps Kansas students continue to learn and grow.

[Rep. Sharice Davids @RepDavids]

Every Kansan should be able to turn on their faucet and drink clean water.

To ensure that reality, @EPA just announced major new investments to replace lead pipes in #KS03.

This is thanks to the bipartisan infrastructure law, which continues to be a game-changer for Kansas!

[Sherman Smith @sherman_news]

From @TimVCarpenter story on #ksleg tax cuts:

Tyson, who apparently didn't realize her microphone was turned on, pivoted to Holland and observed for benefit of the only Democratic legislator on her side of the room: "You guys are so f***ed."

https://t.co/fMn23oFP4O