United Kansas: new political party in Kansas to support "fusion voting"

Was this new party created from Kansas grassroots or from a push by national nonprofits? Or both?

May 30, 2024

On Friday Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab announced United Kansas met the requirements to be officially recognized as new political party in Kansas.

Schwabb’s statement says United Kansas “cannot participate in the August primary election and instead must nominate candidates for the November general election via convention or caucus by noon on June 3.” So will Unite Kansas have a convention or caucus by Monday to nominate its “fusion” candidates from those who have already filed?

What individuals or groups might be behind the United Kansas effort and its push for “fusion voting” in Kansas?

History provides several clues.

The names Wint Winter, Greg Orman, Dan Watkins, Steve Morris, Sheryl Spalding, and Aaron Estabrook appear over and over again in the “grassroots” groups below. All of these names appeared together on the board of Save Kansas Coalition in 2016.

Now these same names are part of groups active in the 2024 election: Center for Ballot Freedom, United Kansas, Kansas Values Institute, Kansans First, Middle of the Road PAC.

Orman is now on the advisory board of a national group pushing for “fusion voting.” How likely is it that Orman is the force behind the United Kansas’ push for fusion voting in Kansas?

Kansas grassroots or progressive shenanigans?

“Moderate” Republicans, progressives and Democrats have attempted to confuse Kansas voters with organizations with misleading names for more than two decades.

United Kansas appears to be the next chapter in this obfuscation.

Republicans for [Democrat] Dennis Moore for Congress in KS-03 [1998-2008]. 1998-2006. 2000 | 2002 | 2004 | 2006 | 2008.
Republicans for [Democrat] Kathleen Sebelius [2002-2006]. GOP group supports Democrat in race for Kansas governor, Kansas City Star, Aug. 31, 2002: “A list of steering committee members was released and includes former state Sen. Wint Winter of Lawrence …”
Responsible Republicans of Kansas [2002-2006] closed their PAC and sent remaining funds to the Kansas Traditional Republican Majority (see below).
Kansas Traditional Republican Majority PAC [2005-2012]. KTRM shared many major donors with the Kansas Democratic Party. Charlotte Esau explained in Wikipedia article: "based on what I've seen so far, this is not a Republican group. It's a liberal front group for Democrats who want to pretend they are Republicans so they can hoodwink the voters into electing candidates who will talk Republican before the election and vote Democrat once in office."
Johnson County Republicans for Education [2006], which was run by “moderate” Steve Cloud, used money from Missouri to seal control of the Johnson County Republican Party in 2002 and 2004. See Missouri Money Flowing into Kansas Elections (2002). Sent assets to KTRM when terminated.
Republicans for (Democrat) Tom Holland for Kansas Governor [2010].
Kansas Values Institute [2011-present]. Largest known KVI donors are teacher unions, abortion-related organizations, “dark money,” and the Democratic Governors Association. Dan Watkins is KVI president.

Nonprofit Kansas Values Institute spent $23 million to help Gov. Laura Kelly and other candidates in 2022

Earl F Glynn

March 13, 2024

Read full story

Traditional Republicans for Common Sense [2012] formed by “moderate” State Senator Wint Winter to oppose state legislators “sympathetic to [Gov.] Brownback’s policies.” State Senator Steve Morris and State Rep Sheryl Spalding were part of this group.
Moderate Party of Kansas [2012-2014]. Chair Aaron Estabrook. Only contributors were Greg Orman and Aaron Estabrook.

Jan. 2014 Ethics Commission filing. Greg Orman and Aaron Estabrook were the only two named contributors to the Moderate Party of Kansas.

Republicans for Kansas Values [2014] were “moderate” Republicans supporting Democrat Paul Davis for Governor over incumbent Republican Sam Brownback. Started by “moderate” State Senate President Dick Bond and Wint Winter.
Save Kansas Coalition [2016-2020].
- Greg Orman was president and chairman of the board.
- Wint Winter was a board member and active in several “Republican for Democrats” groups.
- Board member Sheryl Spalding is now chairman and treasurer of the Middle of the Road PAC (see below).
- Board member Steve Morris is now the board chair of Kansans First. Winter and Morris were the the incorporators for Save Kansas.
- Aaron Estabrook was Executive Director of Save Kansas Coalition and now is the Treasurer of United Kansas Party.

The Save Kansas Coalition had three organizations (the boxes) promoting “moderate” or Republican membership. Other groups were left-leaning progressives. Aaron Estabrook was Executive Director of Save Kansas Coalition. Greg Orman was the president/chair of Save Kansas Coalition and one of two contributors to Moderate Party of Kansas.

View this posting on X. Info from 2016 IRS 990 filing. Note Dan Watkins is President of Kansas Values Institute. Vice Chair Wint Winter appeared in KVI ads in 2018. Aaron Estabrook is the Treasurer of United Kansas Party now. Greg Orman now is on the board of Center for Ballot Freedom (see below). The sources of over $500K in donations in 2016 and over $300K in 2018 have never been discovered.

Republicans for [Democrat] Paul Davis for Congress in KS-02 [2018].
Republicans for [Democrat] Dr. Barbara Bollier for US Senate [2020]. Former Kansas Senate President Stephen Morris was one of the “Republicans” supporting Bollier.
Republicans for [Democrat] Laura Kelly for Kansas Governor [2022]. Kansans First (see below) organizer Stephen Morris is on this list.
Kansans First [2023-present] founded by former Kansas Senate President Stephen Morris, a “moderate” Republican supporting Democrat Barbara Bollier for US Senate in 2020 (above). Kansans First claims to seek “to be the hub for moderates and those who believe in bi-partisanship, and organize around ideas and principles rather than political personalities.” Morris helped found the Kansas Values Institute and the Save Kansas Coalition.
Kansas Coalition for Common Sense [2023-present] is a “nonpartisan communication hub and advocacy organization,” but with a huge progressive bias.
- President Ashley All was communications director for Kansans for Constitutional Freedom that defeated the Value Them Both constitutional amendment in 2022. She served as press officer for former Democratic Kansas Attorneys General Paul Morrison and Steve Six.
- Research Advisor Mike Gaughan was the executive director of the Kansas Democratic Party in 2008 and now is a principal at GPS Impact: “We’ve helped Democrats, progressive organizations and initiatives, and elected officials win in red states, including Kansas, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Louisiana and Ohio.”
Gov.Laura Kelly’s Middle of the Road PAC [2023-present]. Chair and treasurer is Sheryl Spalding. Spalding was on the board of Save Kansas Coalition.

Pushed by national nonprofits?

Since 2019, Lever for Change, an affiliate of the MacArthur Foundation, “launched large-scale, open-call, and transparent competitions” to grant “Stronger Democracy Awards.”

In July 2022 a “Stronger Democracy Award” of $10 million was given to the Center for Ballot Freedom, which appears now to be a fiscally sponsored project of the progressive Tides Foundation.

In 2023 the “Tides Foundation/Center for Ballot Freedom” gave somewhere from $250K to $1 million to the left-of-center think tank, New America, which has received other funding from many far-left organizations.

Other progressive donors to New America include $4.5 million form George Soros’ nonprofits, and $2.6 million from the Democracy Fund. Many associated with New America are former members of the Obama administration.

A senior fellow at New America, Lee Drutman, is the co-founder of the Center for Ballot Freedom. In Sept. 2022 Drutman published, The Case for Fusion Voting and Multiparty Democracy in America: How to Start Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop.

Sponsors of April 2023 Stanford University conference “focusing on the revival and re-legalization of fusion voting.”

An invitation-only conference was held at Stanford University on April 13-14, 2023, “More Parties, Better Parties: Building a Stronger Democracy in America.” A partial list of attendees is shown online. Conference “memos” are online but require permission to access. So much for transparency!

The conference will bring together a select group of academics and practitioners to explore the value of political parties in democracy, the challenges associated with governing in a two-party system, and possible strategies for reform, focusing on the revival and re-legalization of fusion voting.

The agenda shows several presentations about “fusion voting” with one “Fusion Spotlight” panel discussion.

After the conference Lee Drutman updated his online paper, “More Parties, Better Parties,” on July 3, 2023. Audiobook.

Former Kansas gubernatorial and US Senate “independent” candidate Greg Orman is an advisor board member of the Center for Ballot Freedom.

Given the direction of the Center for Ballot Freedom and Orman’s past leadership in the Moderate Party of Kansas and the Save Kansas Coalition, how likely is it he the main force bringing fusion voting to Kansas through Kansas United?

Greg Orman is on the advisory board of Center for Ballot Freedom that is promoting fusion voting across the county. Is Orman behind United Kansas and fusion voting in Kansas?

Internet echo chamber

@FusionVoting, @UnitedKansas, @ModerateKS, @EstabrookAaron, @protctdemocracy, often echo each other’s X posts with hashtags #FusionVoting, #CountryOverParty, #Democracy, #YouthVote, #ElectionReform, #Elections2024.