Brownback Campaign Cleared in Loan Probe June 17, 2015

(AP) – Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s office says federal prosecutors have brought no charges after completing their investigation into loans that the state’s lieutenant governor made to the ticket’s re-election campaign.

In a statement released to The Associated Press, the office said the U.S. attorney’s office was bringing no charges after completing its investigation “regarding campaign finance matters.”

Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer did not respond to messages seeking comment. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office had no immediate comment.

The three loans totaling $1.5 million raised eyebrows not only because their size is unusual in Kansas politics but because the first two were repaid within days. Some Democrats speculated the loans were an attempt to bolster Brownback’s fundraising totals to make the campaign appear in better shape.

153,000 Kansas Have Voted in Advance October 31, 2014

(AP) – More registered Republicans have cast early votes in Kansas than voters affiliated with other parties in the state.

GOP officials are trumpeting the data as a signal that Gov. Sam Brownback and U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts will be re-elected Tuesday.

Democrats and independent Senate candidate Greg Orman’s campaign say many Republicans are breaking with the party’s top nominees.

Recent polling has suggested close races between Roberts’ and Orman, and between Brownback and Democratic challenger Paul Davis.

Nearly 153,000 people had voted as of Thursday.

Of those, 54.2 percent were registered Republicans, 30.6 percent were Democrats and 14.9 percent were unaffiliated. Among the state’s 1.74 million registered voters, 44.6 percent are Republicans, 24.5 percent are Democrats and 30.2 percent are unaffiliated. Libertarians comprise less than 1 percent of either group.

Brown back Not Wortied By Missed Budget Predictions October 23, 2014

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback says he is not worried that the state is not meeting some of his budget projections.
The state has missed two of three monthly predictions since the fiscal year 2015 started in July. The projections were also off during some of the months earlier in the calendar year.
The tax receipts for September were off by 1.6%.
‘That’s right in the ballpark,” said Governor Brownback during a campaign stop in Kansas City, Kansas Thursday.
An assessment from the state’s non-partisan legislative research department, however says the September numbers hold more impact than a conventional monthly report.
“The month’s receipts include the first estimated payment of individual income taxes for the fiscal year. As such, September receipt balances are more of an indicator on the state’s economic activity than
only one month’s receipts,” accordng to the report.
The point of concern for some experts seems to be that the state income tax collections were off by more than 9% from the estimate.
The Governor countered says that the corporate tax receipts and the payroll tax numbers were up.
The state’s economy and the Brownback tax cuts enacted in his first term are major issues in the re-election campaign.
The state could be almost 240 million dollars short of expected funds in the coming year.
Brownback’s opponent, democrat Paul Davis says the Governor’s economic plans are not working. Davis says, if elected, he would freeze the Brownback tax cuts at the current levels
Davis and other critics say the state’s budget troubles may get worse in a second Brownback administration leading to more state program cuts.
The Governor has said repeatedly he has handled larger budget problems that the current situation

New Brownback Spot Accuses Davis of Being Soft on Crime October 21, 2014

Brownback & Davis Debate Brings up Same Sex Marriage October 21, 2014

(AP) – Republican Gov. Sam Brownback vowed Monday to defend Kansas’ ban on same-sex marriage, while Democratic challenger Paul Davis said during a debate Monday that there’s nothing either of them can do at this point because the matter is in the hands of the courts.

The issue came up during a televised debate at KWCH studios in Wichita in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this month that cleared the way for gay marriages in several states. The American Civil Liberties Union is seeking a court order that would allow gay marriages in Kansas, and a federal judge has set a hearing for Friday.

Kansas has a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage in its constitution. Davis was a lawmaker when the Legislature debated it, and he said Monday that he did not support the constitutional amendment because he believed it would have an adverse effect on the welcoming image the state has had for decades. But he added that the people of Kansas decided by a significant majority to put the prohibition in the constitution, and he respects that decision.

“The fact of the matter is that at this particular time there is nothing I can do, there is nothing Gov. Brownback can do to impact this issue,” Davis said. “It is in the court system.”

Brownback noted that 70 percent of Kansans voted for the amendment.

“There is something that Rep. Davis and I can do on this and that is as governor defend our constitution, and he is not even saying whether he would defend our constitution where our people have voted on this issue,” Brownback said.

Their final debate is Tuesday before the Kansas Association of Broadcasters meeting. The back-to-back appearances come amid recent independent polling that shows the race has tightened as outside money from groups has flooded into the state.

Davis is wooing moderate Republicans and unaffiliated voters who are worried about tax cuts enacted at Brownback’s urging. The cuts dropped the state’s top personal income tax rate by 26 percent and exempted the owners of 191,000 businesses from income taxes altogether.

“The governor’s experiment is not working and it is not going to work,” Davis said.

But the governor promised to keep pushing what he calls “a growth agenda and not a tax agenda.”

Brownback contends the tax cuts are boosting the economy, but the Legislature’s nonpartisan research staff predicts a $260 million budget shortfall by July 2016.

Education cuts have been a focus throughout the campaign and remained so in the latest encounter.

The Kansas Supreme Court has found the state’s education spending unconstitutional and ordered the state to better fund its schools. Brownback has steadfastly claimed he has increased education spending, while Davis contends the incumbent is misleading voters by counting outside factors such as pensions in his numbers.

Davis said his first priority if elected governor is to restore education funding.