Recently Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab announced United Kansas met the requirements to be officially recognized as a new political party in Kansas. But the new party’s connection to liberal influences formerly pressuring the Kansas Republican Party – and the fact that no one but out-of-state individuals appear to have carried petitions to sanctify it in Kansas – are brewing questions about United Kansas’ real mission.

What individuals or groups might be behind the United Kansas effort and its push for “fusion voting” in Kansas? A review of Kansas’ political history provide several clues, primarly the name Greg Orman, a former Republican and Democrat who ran as an Independent for U.S. Senate in 2014 and for Kansas Governor in 2018. Orman sits on the advisory board of the Center For Ballot Freedom, which advocates fusion voting as a means to overhaul the U.S. system of elections

So-called “moderate” Republican names from yesteryear: 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 with Orman on the board of the left-leaning Save Kansas Coalition in 2016. Now these same names are part of groups seeking influence in the 2024 election: Center for Ballot Freedom, United Kansas, Kansas Values Institute, Kansans First, Middle of the Road PAC.

How likely is it that Orman is the force behind the United Kansas’ push for fusion voting in Kansas?

Kansas grassroots or progressive shenanigans? 

Orman and a host of “moderate” Republicans, progressives and Democrats have attempted to dilute and dissolve conservative influence in Kansas for more than two decades, conjuring up organizations with misleading names and camouflaged objectives in order to garner support from confused voters . “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 2022EARL F GLYNN·MAR 13Read 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. 

• 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.
  • West 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.

• 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.

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 brining fusion voting to Kansas through Kansas United?

Internet echo chamber

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

Unanswered questions

These individuals and groups have not responded to requests for clarification and additional information for this article:

• Greg Orman, Center for Ballot Freedom
• Aaron Estabrook, United Kansas Party
• Dave Palmer, Center for Ballot Freedom
• Tides Foundation