Democrat hopes to unseat Kansas House speaker with focus on reproductive rights, Medicaid expansion

WICHITA — Mike McCorkle relies heavily on three key issues in his run to knock House Speaker Daniel Hawkins out of office: protecting women’s reproductive rights, expanding Medicaid and — especially — how McCorkle thinks Hawkins has failed to listen to his constituents.

McCorkle, a Democrat running for a seat in the Kansas House’s 100th District, is focusing his campaign on grassroots tactics. Since his initial run against Hawkins in 2022, he’s garnered support from local politicians, members of Women for Kansas and John Carlin, Kansas’ 40th governor from 1979-1987 and archivist of the United States from 1995-2005.

McCorkle said it’s “hard to believe” Hawkins has been reelected five times since he first won the 100th District seat in 2012.

“Winning House 100 means removing your current speaker, which would be good for most Kansans since he supports extreme minority agendas,” McCorkle said during a meet and greet campaign event Saturday in Wichita. “He’s out of touch with House 100 and a majority of Kansas in general.”

McCorkle referenced Hawkins’ unwillingness to hold a hearing on Medicaid expansion for years and said that, when Hawkins did, it was a “joke.”

“He’s a friendly guy on a personal level, but he’s just some kind of bipolar person who can be friendly person (to) person but yet still say it’s OK that 150,000 people don’t have adequate health care, which is wrong,” McCorkle said.

Vowing to protect women’s reproductive freedom, McCorkle criticized Hawkins’ pro-life stance.

“I expect House 100 voters to confirm their disappointment with his actions against women … by voting for change,” he said.

McCorkle also pointed to Hawkins’ “99% corporate” donor list.

During the 2022 cycle, Hawkins received thousands of dollars in support from various companies and entities, notably Koch Industries, the NRA and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors of Kansas.

“Which begs the question: Who does he really represent?” McCorkle said.

Hawkins’ spokeswoman did not respond to email and phone requests seeking comment for this story.

Raising campaign awareness

In McCorkle’s first run for the 100th District in 2022, he received 3,808 — or 40% of — votes, while Hawkins secured 5,641 votes.

McCorkle also ran for Kansas’ 27th District in the Kansas State Senate in 2020. Republican opponent Gene Suellentrop beat McCorkle with double the votes — 26,296 to McCorkle’s 13,143.

Despite the losses, McCorkle said these past races elevate his 2024 attempt at unseating Hawkins. He cited his increased name recognition, experience and amount of volunteers.

More than 60 supporters congregated Saturday in downtown Wichita at the fundraiser for McCorkle — including Carlin.

Now retired and in his mid-80s, Carlin resides in northern Kansas, but he said he drove to Wichita to support McCorkle.

“The fact that I’m coming ought to say something in itself … because I don’t travel very much,” Carlin said.

Carlin, who served as House speaker from 1977 to 1979, said he knows “exactly” what power the speaker has.

“Mike is not running against somebody that voted wrong: (Hawkins) engineered all this crap,” Carlin said. “Seriously, the speaker of the House makes all the appointments, the committees, the chairs, controls the agenda. Nothing comes up on the floor unless the speaker (allows it).”

Carlin said the turnout for the constitutional amendment on abortion in August 2022 could work in favor of McCorkle’s campaign.

“(The issue of abortion) motivates a lot of people. I mean, you look at campaigns across the country right now, not just in Kansas, that issue motivates and wins a lot of elections,” Carlin said.

McCorkle and other supporters said they think the energy of this election cycle is different.

“It’s a much broader support and much, much better-coordinated community,” McCorkle said. “And so we just have a really good synergy.”

Jonathan Jones, deputy executive director of the Kansas Democratic Party, said electing moderate candidates like McCorkle is one step to breaking up Kansas’ Republican supermajority, which produces legislation that Gov. Laura Kelly vetoes.

“I feel lucky at the end of the veto session that we succeeded in sustaining those deals,” Jones said. “I’m tired of feeling lucky. I want to do everything we can to make sure we know what’s going to happen, that we can give the governor as much power as we possibly can for her last two years in the cycle.”

Why McCorkle is running

Born and raised in Wichita, McCorkle said he enjoyed a “safe secure childhood” near Seneca and Harry. He attended public schools throughout his youth and, in his senior year of high school, enlisted in the Army in 1976.

During his 13 years of service, he worked on 14 photo and intelligence analyst assignments, including volunteering for Desert Storm.

Following his military service, McCorkle lived and worked abroad. The candidate has done various work from being a manager to a machinist. In 2019, he returned to his home city to take care of his parents.

“I’d been watching these elections from abroad for years, and I kept thinking, ‘Man, we just got a … crisis of citizenship,” McCorkle said. “And so, I resolved that when I came back … I would just get involved.”

McCorkle said he initially wanted to “help a candidate,” not “be a candidate.”

“And, of course, no one would run, and so I ended up being the name on the ballot against Suellentrop, which was a steep learning curve,” McCorkle said. “Nonetheless, (I) made some allies, and this third time, we got a good group of strong allies, people that want to work together, and I believe we’re gonna get it right.”

Correction: Mike McCorkle served in the military for 13 years. An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated his years of military service.