Dark money and nonprofits in Kansas politics (video)

Electoral playing field tilted and public views distorted by huge progressive spending in Kansas and other states

Apr 30, 2024

Video of talk given at the Wichita Pachyderm Club on Friday.

The research “receipts” documenting all statements made in the video are in the Watchdog Lab articles below, organized roughly in the same order as the video.

Outline

Brief History of Progressive Activism

Dark Money

Congresswoman Sharice Davids enjoys "dark money" support. "Protect Our Care" is the DC Sixteen Thirty Fund. July 14, 2022.

Protect Our Care "Dark Money" Spending Protected Sharice Davids in 2022 Primary. $368K spent on 560 TV ads in KC area shored up support for Davids before KS-03 general election. April 28, 2023.

Exploring "Dark Money" in FCC Public Inspection Files. How to find FCC records about "Protect Our Care" TV ads in 2022 related to the KS-03 congressional contest. April 28, 2023.

Rural Democracy Initiative spent $200,000 in Kansas in 2023 from "dark money" Arabella Advisors' funds. Loud Light and related groups received grant funding. April 3, 2024.

Rural Democracy Initiative, VotER, and Community Health Center take credit for defeat of Value Them Both in Crawford County in Aug. 2022. "Dark money" is behind Rural Democracy Initiative and VotER. Jan. 12, 2024.

Who funds Kansas Values Institute? Who is steering KVI’s political expenditures? Largest known KVI $ donors are teacher unions, abortion-related organizations, “dark money,” and the Democratic Governors Association. Aug. 29, 2022.

Kansas Values Institute uses hyperbole, false and misleading statements to smear Derek Schmidt. Show me the data!! Kansas Department of Education data show KVI lies about “devastating cuts to our schools.” Oct. 20, 2022.

Nonprofit Kansas Values Institute spent $23 million to help Gov. Laura Kelly and other candidates in 2022. KVI raised and spent more in 2022 than in the previous 11 years combined. March 13, 2024. [First of two 2024 articles.]

Over $6 Million in Arabella Advisors' "Dark Money" Sent to Kansas Nonprofits to Impact Elections from 2020-2022. About a dozen Kansas nonprofits receive funds. Jan. 22, 2024.

Soros gave his nonprofits worldwide over $6.1 billion from 2016 to 2022. 17,590 grants to 6039 recipients. Dec. 12, 2023.

Nonprofits

State Voices affiliated groups in Kansas logged 1.75 million voter contacts in 2022. Nearly 88% of voter contacts were by the Voter Participation Center. March 15, 2023.

How might 1.5 million "educational" mailings in Kansas have affected the Kelly-Schmidt gubernatorial contest? The Voter Participation Center and Center for Voter Information non-profits flooded some voters with "educational" mailings in 2022. Jan. 30, 2023.

Nonprofits start Campaign 2024 mailings to counties in Sharice Davids' congressional district. Mailings start today for almost 30,000 pieces to five counties in Kansas. March 21, 2024.

Blueprint Kansas Inc. doing business as KSVotes.org to register voters. There is a progressive “nonprofit in the middle” between a growing number of voters and election offices in Kansas. Aug. 23, 2023. [First of three-part series.]

Mainstream's The Voter Network wins JoCo's Primary Election Contests with its Voter-to-Voter Project. Progressives in Johnson County have a formidable voter turnout machine. Aug. 2, 2023.

Non-stop, well-funded, nonprofit progressive activism is the “new normal” in Kansas elections. The Voter Network, “peer pressure with a purpose,” has huge funding from non-profit health foundations. Sept. 18, 2023. [First of two-part series.]

Kansas Health Foundation spends big on "Integrated Voter Engagement" to change political landscape of Kansas. When did civic engagement become healthcare? April 18, 2024. [First of four-part series.]