“Sharice Davids is a strong voice for working families and is ready to bring that fight to Congress,” said DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján. “As the daughter of a single mother and Army veteran, Sharice is running to expand opportunities for all Kansans, which falls in sharp contrast with her opponent who has consistently voted to make it harder for Kansans to get ahead. After this hard-fought primary win, Sharice emerges even stronger in her historic bid to flip this competitive seat.”
To: Interested Parties
From: Rachel Irwin, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: August 8, 2018
RE: The Case Against Kevin Yoder
The primary results in Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District set up a highly competitive race between a very vulnerable Rep. Kevin Yoder and first-time candidate Sharice Davids as Cook Political Report shifts this race to toss-up.
Given Yoder’s track record of putting special interests and wealthy corporations ahead of his constituents, it’s no wonder enthusiasm and energy is on the side of Davids, who emerges from a competitive primary in an even stronger position to take on the Washington establishment.
Washington has clearly changed Yoder for the worse. He’s sold out his constituents in favor of the special interests, Wall Street banks, and payday lenders who are footing the bill for his re-election campaign. Yoder’s voting record paints a clear picture of whose side he’s on: he’s voted to give tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy and corporations, raise healthcare premiums and out-of-pocket costs and put Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block, all while doing nothing on gun violence prevention.
And while Yoder does cartwheels trying to distance himself from his Party, he votes with President Trump 92 percent of the time in Washington. And he’s forever tied to Governor Sam Brownback, one of the most toxic politicians in Kansas history. Yoder’s support for the failed Brownback tax experiment that gutted public schools is a huge liability, especially among Kansas voters who lived through the disaster firsthand.
While Yoder’s being propped up by special interests that want to send him back to Washington in order to pass their harsh agenda, Davids is running to be a voice for hardworking Kansans in Congress.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Kansas City Star Headline: “Kevin Yoder’s campaign is being fueled by PAC money” [Kansas City Star, 2/7/18]
Kansas City Star Headline: “The most vulnerable congressman in Missouri or Kansas? Take a bow, Kevin Yoder” [Kansas City Star (Opinion Column), 3/29/18]
KCUR Headline: “Democrats Targeting Yoder In Bid To Gain U.S. House Majority” [KCUR, 8/7/17]
KMUW Headline: “Trends Indicate Yoder Could Be Vulnerable In KS 3rd District Race” [KMUW, 11/15/17]
Kansas City Star Headline: “Why Rep. Kevin Yoder could lose his re-election bid in 2018” [Kansas City Star (Opinion Column), 11/10/17]
McClatchy Headline: “In middle America, Republican [Kevin Yoder] in swing district feels impact of his health care vote” [McClatchy, 5/4/17]
YODER SAID HE’D CHANGE WASHINGTON, BUT WASHINGTON CHANGED HIM
Yoder’s Campaign Fueled by Special Interests & Payday Lenders
Kevin Yoder has clearly learned how to play the game in Washington. His campaign records show that he’s propped up by special interests and payday lenders. Less than one percent of Yoder’s fundraising comes from small dollar donations of $200 or less, and more than 56 percent is from special interests and corporate PACs.
Yoder received more campaign contributions from payday lenders than any other member of the House and votes their way in D.C. He voted to gut safeguards to protect consumers from payday lenders that charge up to 400 percent interest, and was even accused of being involved in a pay-to-play scheme with the payday loan industry.
Yoder’s lack of grassroots support in Kansas is troubling and a clear sign that Kansans are outright rejecting his record of voting for harmful policies that leave them behind.
Yoder’s GOP Tax Scam Puts Donors Ahead of Hardworking Kansans
Given Yoder’s reliance on special interests fueling his campaign, it’s no wonder he voted for the GOP Tax Scam that benefits his wealthy donors and corporate special interests. While receiving more than one million dollars in campaign contributions from Wall Street and the financial sector, Yoder voted for the GOP Tax Scam that gives 83% of its benefits to the wealthiest 1% of Americans and a huge handout to large corporations. The bill even incentivizes corporations to ship jobs overseas, all while making millions of middle class families pay more over time. And because of how the tax scam blew up the deficit, it has given Republicans an opening to revisit their favorite topic: cutting Social Security and Medicare.
This won’t bode well with Kansans who are still traumatized by Brownback’s disastrous tax experiment, which Yoder fully-embraced, despite its sucker punch to Kansas public schools and the local economy.
Kansans Hold Yoder Accountable on Healthcare, Gun Safety
Kansans frustrated with Yoder’s out-of-touch record in Congress have made his votes to raise healthcare costs a key focus of 2018. Yoder voted for the AHCA, which would raise healthcare costs, in addition to slapping an age tax on older Americans, gutting pre-existing condition protections and jeopardizing health insurance for 53,300 in his district. Healthcare premiums are now expected to rise by double digits, and the responsibility falls squarely on Yoder’s shoulders. He’s also failed to stand up to the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle protections for those with pre-existing conditions, like asthma, cancer and diabetes, in federal court.
Like so many other suburban districts across the country, gun safety has been top of mind for voters. And while Kansas students and teachers have called on Yoder to take action on gun violence prevention measures, he continues to take money from the gun lobby. In a year when gun safety is a top issue for voters, Yoder’s taking a risky gamble in putting the gun lobby ahead of Kansas students and parents calling for action.
THE PATH TO VICTORY
Given the grassroots momentum on the ground, the shifting dynamics of this district, and Yoder’s record of putting donors ahead of his constituents, Democrats have an opening to unseat one of the most vulnerable incumbents in the country.
Kansas’s 3rd Congressional District represents one of the 25 suburban districts that voted for Clinton in 2016 and is shifting toward Democrats. This district voted for McCain and Romney, before shifting to Clinton. Yoder’s district has been a top DCCC target since 2017, with strategic investments on the ground and in paid media to educate voters who are frustrated with Yoder’s record in Washington.
New polling released shows Kevin Yoder is in trouble given his abysmal job performance. This district has changed rapidly under Yoder’s feet, and swung strongly towards Democrats since his election in 2010. The reasons why are clear: the direction of Kansas and the country under leaders like Sam Brownback and Republicans in control of Washington have alienated independents and even moderate Republicans in this well-educated, affluent district, and Kansans are looking for a change.
Davids emerged from a 6-way primary ready to take on Yoder and his special interest friends, and has a compelling personal story to tell. Davids is the daughter of a single mother and Army Veteran who could be the first indigenous woman elected to Congress. She’s a fighter in every sense of the word. She’s competed in mixed martial arts tournaments, worked as a lawyer and championed economic development issues for Native American Tribes. With her victory tonight, Davids is one step closer to breaking new ground in her bid to strengthen the middle class and lower healthcare costs for working families.
As the Kansas City Star said in their endorsement of Davids: “Some have suggested she’s too liberal for the job and too liberal for the Kansas 3rd District. Our visit with her suggests the opposite — Davids is focused, informed, confident and more centrist than the campaign narrative suggests.”
Between Yoder’s ties to special interests, payday lenders and the gun lobby, Yoder will have a tough time proving he’s an independent voice getting anything done in Washington. And Brownback’s damage to the Republican brand will tarnish Yoder, whose warm embrace of the harmful Brownback agenda will continue to haunt him in 2018.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer heading into November: Davids has proven she will be a voice for the people of Kansas, focused on lowering the cost of healthcare and increasing wages and opportunity, while Yoder has