BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">JENNIFER SHUTT</a>

WASHINGTON — Voters are determining whether the next president enters office with a friendly Congress or a hostile one set on blocking their policies and nominees — and as the election roars into its last moments it’s still very unclear what the makeup of the House and Senate might be.

Most House races are not competitive. But House leaders are closely watching about two dozen toss-up contests to see whether Democrats or Republicans end up with the magic 218 lawmakers needed to control the speaker’s gavel, the agenda and the floor schedule.

The GOP’s razor-thin majority during the last two years created significant obstacles for leadership’s legislative goals and ended Kevin McCarthy’s speakership.

Neither political party is expected to gain a large House majority during the next Congress, set to begin in January. There’s even a possibility the majority party has less wiggle room than the 220-212 split that currently exists, along with three vacancies. Experts warn it may not be known on election night or for some time who’s won the House.

Senate leaders have been equally focused on hard-fought and close campaigns in Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Any one of them could deliver control of the upper chamber.

Republicans are favored to turn over the West Virginia seat occupied by Joe Manchin III, potentially pushing them past the 50-member benchmark if they hold onto seats occupied by incumbents Ted Cruz in Texas, Deb Fischer in Nebraska and Rick Scott in Florida.

If Democrats keep 50 seats, that would mean whichever party holds the vice presidency controls the Senate, making even just one pickup in either direction a priority for both political parties.

The outcome in both the House and Senate will have sweeping implications for the country’s future, including whether the GOP overhauls Obamacare, how lawmakers address core aspects of Republicans’ 2017 tax law set to expire in the coming months and whether the country defaults on its debts for the first time in history.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report with Amy Walter&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/ratings/senate-race-ratings" target="_blank">rates</a>&nbsp;four Senate races as toss-ups, meaning there’s a relatively even chance for Democrats or Republicans to win.

While the campaigns have shifted around a bit during the last few months, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are all considered neck and neck heading into Election Day.

Arizona and Nevada are categorized as leaning toward Democrats and Montana is expected to lean toward a Republican pickup, potentially giving the GOP its 51st seat and a narrow majority.

It’s also possible there could be upsets in Republican-held states traditionally considered safer, like Florida, Nebraska and Texas.That could alter the math for both Democrats and Republicans, depending on how things shake out after all the votes are counted, recounts finalized and lawsuits settled in the days and weeks following Nov. 5.

Jessica Taylor, editor for U.S. Senate and Governors at the Cook Political Report, said in a statement released Friday the “battle for the Senate fundamentally ends where the cycle began — with an overwhelmingly favorable map that very likely portends a GOP majority.”

Her projections show the GOP picking up two to five seats, giving the party a majority between 51 and 54 members.

A narrower majority, Taylor said, would allow “moderates like Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Maine Sen. Susan Collins to wield outsized influence in the next Congress.”

Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said during an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?539651-1/sen-gary-peters-discusses-senate-races" target="_blank">interview</a>&nbsp;with Washington Post Live in late October that he expects voters in Montana and Ohio will split their tickets.

He acknowledged getting voters to support Democratic Sens. Jon Tester in Montana and Sherrod Brown in Ohio, while also voting for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, will be much more challenging than in the past.

“Certainly, it’s not easy if there’s a lot of political gravity,” Peters said. “I’m not going to sugarcoat that in any way.”

But, he said, both Tester and Brown have been consistently polling within the margin of error against their GOP challengers.

“It’s about who’s going to get their voters out and do the kind of ground campaign necessary to win,” Peters said. “We’re doing that in Montana. We’re doing that in Ohio as well.”

The Senate is more important to the next president than the House, since the upper chamber is responsible for vetting and confirming the next commander-in-chief’s selections for their Cabinet as well as judicial nominees.

A GOP Senate would be a gift for Trump but likely tough for Vice President Kamala Harris.

The opposite could also be true — a Democratic majority in the Senate could put the brakes on many of Trump’s plans for a second term, while it would aid Harris in setting up her administration and potentially confirming a Supreme Court justice or two.

The Senate is the more bipartisan of the two chambers, thanks to the legislative filibuster — the rule requiring at least 60 senators agree to advance legislation toward final passage.

Without bipartisan support, bills and some nominees will be stuck in limbo, regardless of which party runs the Senate or controls the White House.

Philip Wallach, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank, said a Harris administration and a Republican Senate would need to work out an agreement quickly “or risk going into some kind of protracted standoff over executive branch nominations.”

Both Trump and President Joe Biden had the luxury of same-party Senate control during their full terms and former President Barack Obama had a Democratic Senate during his first six years in office. Harris possibly having to work with the opposing party to establish her Cabinet would be especially challenging, Wallach said in an interview.

“I would expect Republicans to try to come up with some pretty concrete asks as a conference: To say, ‘If we’re going to put any of your nominees up for a vote, here’s what we want in return, and here’s what kind of nominees we will accept.’ And, you know, I expect that would play out as a fairly heated public confrontation,” he said.

Trump and a Republican Senate would likely agree on some nominees and policy goals, though there would be significant differences over issues like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-vows-levy-horrible-tariffs-imports-rejecting-fears-inflation-spike" target="_blank">tariffs</a>.

“I think there are a lot of Republican senators who want to see some real limits to that, who still think of themselves as basically in favor of free trade and making sure that American businesses don’t find themselves on the wrong end of a trade war,” Wallach said. “Especially in the Senate, I just don’t think they’re that eager to just march to Trump’s tune.”

A Trump administration, he said, could also disagree with GOP lawmakers on the specific details of how to address tax policy.

“I think it’s a very live possibility that there could be a much more confrontational kind of dynamic this time around, in part, because Trump and some of the people right around him have this idea that playing nicely in 2017 was a big mistake,” Wallach said.

Control of the 435-member House is more uncertain than the Senate, with 22 races&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/ratings/house-race-ratings" target="_blank">rated as toss-ups</a>&nbsp;by the Cook Political Report.

Twelve of those are held by Republicans, while 10 are occupied by Democratic lawmakers. At the moment, 205 House seats are at least leaning toward a Democratic win, with 208 districts at least leaning toward Republicans.

The Cook Political Report’s final projections range from Republicans adding five seats to their majority to Democrats picking up 10 seats and taking over the majority again.

“The race for control of the U.S. House remains as close as it’s ever been,”

Erin Covey, editor for the House at CPR, said in a written statement.

“The battleground is confined to a few dozen seats, with neither party having a clear advantage in a majority of seats,” Covey added. “And with several competitive races in West Coast states that take longer to count their ballots, it’s highly possible we won’t know which party has control on election night.”

The House is essential to turning bills into law, though it doesn’t have any role in confirming presidential nominees. And unlike the Senate, there’s no legislative filibuster, which means the majority party can approve any bills it wants without buy-in from the minority party, as long as the leaders in the majority have the votes from their own members.

Republican control of at least one chamber of Congress and a Harris victory would force significant bipartisan compromise on must-pass legislation, like the dozen annual government funding bills and the defense policy bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act.

It could also lead to the types of bipartisan legislation that Biden made a hallmark of his term in office, including the bipartisan infrastructure law.

That type of divided government is unlikely to produce the sweeping changes to home ownership, prescription drug prices, price gouging and reproductive rights that Harris has highlighted throughout her campaign.

But it could lead Republicans and Democrats to resurrect&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/bipartisan-border-bill-loses-support-fails-procedural-vote-us-senate" target="_blank">the bipartisan immigration and border security bill</a>&nbsp;that Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford, Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy and Arizona independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema agreed to earlier this year.

Trump in the White House and Democrats holding onto at least one chamber in Congress could also force bipartisan compromise, though likely with a far different tone and approach than under a Harris-Republican Congress scenario.

Trump regaining the presidency along with GOP control of Congress would give the party at least two chances to use the complex budget reconciliation process to pass certain legislation.

The party would likely use one of those opportunities to address provisions in the 2017 Republican tax law that have expired or are about to.

The budget reconciliation process, which has considerable rules and restrictions, is how Republicans passed the tax bill during Trump’s first term in office.

It doesn’t require at least 60 senators to advance the bill. But it does include something known as a vote-a-rama, where the Senate holds dozens of votes on amendments to the bill. The process typically lasts throughout the night and gives the party not in power a chance to force their colleagues across the aisle to vote on tough issues.

Budget reconciliation is the process Republicans used to try to repeal and replace the 2010 health care law that’s often referred to as the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, during Trump’s first term in office.

Speaker Mike Jonson, R-La., said in late October on Fox Business that some of his<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/speaker-johnson-criticizes-obamacare-promises-massive-reform-trump-win-rcna177853" target="_blank">&nbsp;prior comments</a>&nbsp;about overhauling the ACA were taken out of context and that he wants to make changes to the program, but not entirely end it.

“I said the ACA, unfortunately, is deeply ingrained in our health care system now,” he said. “Do we need further improvements? Absolutely. We need to expand quality of care, access to care and obviously lower the cost of health care.”

Johnson said during the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRGW9IVOaP4" target="_blank">interview</a>&nbsp;that he was “convinced” Republicans would gain unified control of government following the election and that he had compiled a “two-hour slide show presentation” detailing what the GOP would do with that power.

“We will secure the border on day one with a President Trump executive order and then legislation to follow, and we will turn immediately to the economy,” Johnson said. “Energy policy will be the center of that as well.”

Deeply conservative House bills might not garner the support needed to overcome the Senate’s legislative filibuster.

Unified Republican control of Congress and the White House would challenge the GOP to address the nation’s debt limit mostly on its own during the first half of next year after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-senate-sends-biden-debt-limit-legislation-ahead-monday-default-deadline" target="_blank">the current law</a>&nbsp;expires.

A default on the nation’s debt is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-hit-debt-limit-much-sooner-expected-thrusting-congress-showdown" target="_blank">vastly different from a partial government shutdown</a>, which takes place when Congress doesn’t pass an appropriations package on time.

Failing to either raise or suspend the nation’s debt limit, before what’s known as extraordinary measures runs out, would likely cause a global financial crisis.

The GOP has been extremely vocal about cutting government spending, but that is separate from addressing the nation’s debt limit, which gives the Treasury Department the borrowing authority to ensure all of the country’s bills are paid in full and on time.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1720316487639.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">JENNIFER SHUTT</a>WASHINGTON — Voters are determining whether the next president enters office with a friendly Congress or a hostile one set on blocking their policies and nominees — and as the election roars into its last moments it’s still very unclear what the makeup of the House and Senate might be.Most House races are not competitive. But House leaders are closely watching about two dozen toss-up contests to see whether Democrats or Republicans end up with the magic 218 lawmakers needed to control the speaker’s gavel, the agenda and the floor schedule.The GOP’s razor-thin majority during the last two years created significant obstacles for leadership’s legislative goals and ended Kevin McCarthy’s speakership.Neither political party is expected to gain a large House majority during the next Congress, set to begin in January. There’s even a possibility the majority party has less wiggle room than the 220-212 split that currently exists, along with three vacancies. Experts warn it may not be known on election night or for some time who’s won the House.Senate leaders have been equally focused on hard-fought and close campaigns in Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Any one of them could deliver control of the upper chamber.Republicans are favored to turn over the West Virginia seat occupied by Joe Manchin III, potentially pushing them past the 50-member benchmark if they hold onto seats occupied by incumbents Ted Cruz in Texas, Deb Fischer in Nebraska and Rick Scott in Florida.If Democrats keep 50 seats, that would mean whichever party holds the vice presidency controls the Senate, making even just one pickup in either direction a priority for both political parties.The outcome in both the House and Senate will have sweeping implications for the country’s future, including whether the GOP overhauls Obamacare, how lawmakers address core aspects of Republicans’ 2017 tax law set to expire in the coming months and whether the country defaults on its debts for the first time in history.<h2>Four tense toss-ups in the Senate</h2>The nonpartisan Cook Political Report with Amy Walter&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/ratings/senate-race-ratings" target="_blank">rates</a>&nbsp;four Senate races as toss-ups, meaning there’s a relatively even chance for Democrats or Republicans to win.While the campaigns have shifted around a bit during the last few months, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are all considered neck and neck heading into Election Day.Arizona and Nevada are categorized as leaning toward Democrats and Montana is expected to lean toward a Republican pickup, potentially giving the GOP its 51st seat and a narrow majority.It’s also possible there could be upsets in Republican-held states traditionally considered safer, like Florida, Nebraska and Texas.That could alter the math for both Democrats and Republicans, depending on how things shake out after all the votes are counted, recounts finalized and lawsuits settled in the days and weeks following Nov. 5.Jessica Taylor, editor for U.S. Senate and Governors at the Cook Political Report, said in a statement released Friday the “battle for the Senate fundamentally ends where the cycle began — with an overwhelmingly favorable map that very likely portends a GOP majority.”Her projections show the GOP picking up two to five seats, giving the party a majority between 51 and 54 members.A narrower majority, Taylor said, would allow “moderates like Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Maine Sen. Susan Collins to wield outsized influence in the next Congress.”<h2>Will some voters split their tickets?</h2>Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said during an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?539651-1/sen-gary-peters-discusses-senate-races" target="_blank">interview</a>&nbsp;with Washington Post Live in late October that he expects voters in Montana and Ohio will split their tickets.He acknowledged getting voters to support Democratic Sens. Jon Tester in Montana and Sherrod Brown in Ohio, while also voting for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, will be much more challenging than in the past.“Certainly, it’s not easy if there’s a lot of political gravity,” Peters said. “I’m not going to sugarcoat that in any way.”But, he said, both Tester and Brown have been consistently polling within the margin of error against their GOP challengers.“It’s about who’s going to get their voters out and do the kind of ground campaign necessary to win,” Peters said. “We’re doing that in Montana. We’re doing that in Ohio as well.”The Senate is more important to the next president than the House, since the upper chamber is responsible for vetting and confirming the next commander-in-chief’s selections for their Cabinet as well as judicial nominees.A GOP Senate would be a gift for Trump but likely tough for Vice President Kamala Harris.The opposite could also be true — a Democratic majority in the Senate could put the brakes on many of Trump’s plans for a second term, while it would aid Harris in setting up her administration and potentially confirming a Supreme Court justice or two.The Senate is the more bipartisan of the two chambers, thanks to the legislative filibuster — the rule requiring at least 60 senators agree to advance legislation toward final passage.Without bipartisan support, bills and some nominees will be stuck in limbo, regardless of which party runs the Senate or controls the White House.<h2>Possible standoff</h2>Philip Wallach, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank, said a Harris administration and a Republican Senate would need to work out an agreement quickly “or risk going into some kind of protracted standoff over executive branch nominations.”Both Trump and President Joe Biden had the luxury of same-party Senate control during their full terms and former President Barack Obama had a Democratic Senate during his first six years in office. Harris possibly having to work with the opposing party to establish her Cabinet would be especially challenging, Wallach said in an interview.“I would expect Republicans to try to come up with some pretty concrete asks as a conference: To say, ‘If we’re going to put any of your nominees up for a vote, here’s what we want in return, and here’s what kind of nominees we will accept.’ And, you know, I expect that would play out as a fairly heated public confrontation,” he said.Trump and a Republican Senate would likely agree on some nominees and policy goals, though there would be significant differences over issues like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-vows-levy-horrible-tariffs-imports-rejecting-fears-inflation-spike" target="_blank">tariffs</a>.“I think there are a lot of Republican senators who want to see some real limits to that, who still think of themselves as basically in favor of free trade and making sure that American businesses don’t find themselves on the wrong end of a trade war,” Wallach said. “Especially in the Senate, I just don’t think they’re that eager to just march to Trump’s tune.”A Trump administration, he said, could also disagree with GOP lawmakers on the specific details of how to address tax policy.“I think it’s a very live possibility that there could be a much more confrontational kind of dynamic this time around, in part, because Trump and some of the people right around him have this idea that playing nicely in 2017 was a big mistake,” Wallach said.<h2>House ‘as close as it’s ever been’</h2>Control of the 435-member House is more uncertain than the Senate, with 22 races&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/ratings/house-race-ratings" target="_blank">rated as toss-ups</a>&nbsp;by the Cook Political Report.Twelve of those are held by Republicans, while 10 are occupied by Democratic lawmakers. At the moment, 205 House seats are at least leaning toward a Democratic win, with 208 districts at least leaning toward Republicans.The Cook Political Report’s final projections range from Republicans adding five seats to their majority to Democrats picking up 10 seats and taking over the majority again.“The race for control of the U.S. House remains as close as it’s ever been,”Erin Covey, editor for the House at CPR, said in a written statement.“The battleground is confined to a few dozen seats, with neither party having a clear advantage in a majority of seats,” Covey added. “And with several competitive races in West Coast states that take longer to count their ballots, it’s highly possible we won’t know which party has control on election night.”The House is essential to turning bills into law, though it doesn’t have any role in confirming presidential nominees. And unlike the Senate, there’s no legislative filibuster, which means the majority party can approve any bills it wants without buy-in from the minority party, as long as the leaders in the majority have the votes from their own members.Republican control of at least one chamber of Congress and a Harris victory would force significant bipartisan compromise on must-pass legislation, like the dozen annual government funding bills and the defense policy bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act.It could also lead to the types of bipartisan legislation that Biden made a hallmark of his term in office, including the bipartisan infrastructure law.That type of divided government is unlikely to produce the sweeping changes to home ownership, prescription drug prices, price gouging and reproductive rights that Harris has highlighted throughout her campaign.But it could lead Republicans and Democrats to resurrect&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/bipartisan-border-bill-loses-support-fails-procedural-vote-us-senate" target="_blank">the bipartisan immigration and border security bill</a>&nbsp;that Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford, Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy and Arizona independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema agreed to earlier this year.Trump in the White House and Democrats holding onto at least one chamber in Congress could also force bipartisan compromise, though likely with a far different tone and approach than under a Harris-Republican Congress scenario.<h2>GOP trifecta?</h2>Trump regaining the presidency along with GOP control of Congress would give the party at least two chances to use the complex budget reconciliation process to pass certain legislation.The party would likely use one of those opportunities to address provisions in the 2017 Republican tax law that have expired or are about to.The budget reconciliation process, which has considerable rules and restrictions, is how Republicans passed the tax bill during Trump’s first term in office.It doesn’t require at least 60 senators to advance the bill. But it does include something known as a vote-a-rama, where the Senate holds dozens of votes on amendments to the bill. The process typically lasts throughout the night and gives the party not in power a chance to force their colleagues across the aisle to vote on tough issues.Budget reconciliation is the process Republicans used to try to repeal and replace the 2010 health care law that’s often referred to as the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, during Trump’s first term in office.Speaker Mike Jonson, R-La., said in late October on Fox Business that some of his<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/speaker-johnson-criticizes-obamacare-promises-massive-reform-trump-win-rcna177853" target="_blank">&nbsp;prior comments</a>&nbsp;about overhauling the ACA were taken out of context and that he wants to make changes to the program, but not entirely end it.“I said the ACA, unfortunately, is deeply ingrained in our health care system now,” he said. “Do we need further improvements? Absolutely. We need to expand quality of care, access to care and obviously lower the cost of health care.”Johnson said during the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRGW9IVOaP4" target="_blank">interview</a>&nbsp;that he was “convinced” Republicans would gain unified control of government following the election and that he had compiled a “two-hour slide show presentation” detailing what the GOP would do with that power.“We will secure the border on day one with a President Trump executive order and then legislation to follow, and we will turn immediately to the economy,” Johnson said. “Energy policy will be the center of that as well.”Deeply conservative House bills might not garner the support needed to overcome the Senate’s legislative filibuster.Unified Republican control of Congress and the White House would challenge the GOP to address the nation’s debt limit mostly on its own during the first half of next year after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-senate-sends-biden-debt-limit-legislation-ahead-monday-default-deadline" target="_blank">the current law</a>&nbsp;expires.A default on the nation’s debt is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-hit-debt-limit-much-sooner-expected-thrusting-congress-showdown" target="_blank">vastly different from a partial government shutdown</a>, which takes place when Congress doesn’t pass an appropriations package on time.Failing to either raise or suspend the nation’s debt limit, before what’s known as extraordinary measures runs out, would likely cause a global financial crisis.The GOP has been extremely vocal about cutting government spending, but that is separate from addressing the nation’s debt limit, which gives the Treasury Department the borrowing authority to ensure all of the country’s bills are paid in full and on time.

Will control of Congress shift? The results hinge on a handful of states and races

DICKINSON COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a wanted Kansas felon on multiple allegations after a chase and arrest.

Just after 9:30p.m. Sunday, a sheriff's deputy observed a red Chevrolet pickup in the area of East 6th Street and Pine in Solomon, according to Dickinson County Undersheriff&nbsp;Jeff Vaughan.

The pickup was traveling without any lights and failed to stop at a stop sign. The Sheriff’s Deputy attempted to conduct a traffic stop with the vehicle. The driver accelerated and a vehicle pursuit was initiated. The vehicle eventually came to a stop in the area of Old Highway 40 and Deer Road in Dickinson County.

The driver of the vehicle was taken into custody without further incident and identified as Carlito Luis Morales, 34, of Salina. 

It was discovered that Morales had a warrant out of Saline County for his arrest. Morales was transported to the Dickinson County Detention Facility.

Just before 10:30;.m. a Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to a call for service regarding damage to property in the 200 Block of West 4th Street in Solomon. It was reported a vehicle earlier in the evening had driven through a yard of a residence, spinning its tires causing damage to the lawn. During the investigation, Morales was developed as the suspect in this case.

Morales is being held in the the Dickinson County Detention Facility for the warrant out of Saline County and requested charges of Fleeing or Attempting to Elude a Police Officer, mIgnition Interlock Device; Operate a vehicle without a required device, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Criminal Damage to Property

Morales has previous convictions for burglary, aggravated battery, criminal threat, battery and for drugs, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730742266349.png" alt="Morales has previous convictions for burglary, aggravated battery, criminal threat, battery and for drugs, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections -photo Dickinson County" />
 <figcaption>Morales has previous convictions for burglary, aggravated battery, criminal threat, battery and for drugs, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections -photo Dickinson County</figcaption>
 </figure>DICKINSON COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a wanted Kansas felon on multiple allegations after a chase and arrest.Just after 9:30p.m. Sunday, a sheriff's deputy observed a red Chevrolet pickup in the area of East 6th Street and Pine in Solomon, according to Dickinson County Undersheriff&nbsp;Jeff Vaughan.The pickup was traveling without any lights and failed to stop at a stop sign. The Sheriff’s Deputy attempted to conduct a traffic stop with the vehicle. The driver accelerated and a vehicle pursuit was initiated. The vehicle eventually came to a stop in the area of Old Highway 40 and Deer Road in Dickinson County.The driver of the vehicle was taken into custody without further incident and identified as Carlito Luis Morales, 34, of Salina. It was discovered that Morales had a warrant out of Saline County for his arrest. Morales was transported to the Dickinson County Detention Facility.Just before 10:30;.m. a Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to a call for service regarding damage to property in the 200 Block of West 4th Street in Solomon. It was reported a vehicle earlier in the evening had driven through a yard of a residence, spinning its tires causing damage to the lawn. During the investigation, Morales was developed as the suspect in this case.Morales is being held in the the Dickinson County Detention Facility for the warrant out of Saline County and requested charges of Fleeing or Attempting to Elude a Police Officer, mIgnition Interlock Device; Operate a vehicle without a required device, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Criminal Damage to PropertyMorales has previous convictions for burglary, aggravated battery, criminal threat, battery and for drugs, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections&nbsp;

Wanted Kansas felon jailed after police chase

JOHNSON COUNTY —Two people are dead and a suspect is in custody after a weekend standoff at a Kansas home.&nbsp;

Just before 8:30p.m. Friday, police responded on the report of an armed disturbance at a home in the 7900 block of Hallet in the city of Lenexa, according to a media release. As officers arrived, they heard multiple gunshots coming from the area of the residence.

Lenexa officers spoke on the phone with the individual suspected of firing shots and learned 53-year-old Todd M. Donovan was inside his residence on Hallet.

Donovan refused to comply with officer’s requests to come outside peacefully and the Lenexa Tactical Team and crisis negotiators responded on the barricade operation. Negotiators spoke with Donovan for nearly two hours before he discontinued dialogue.

Just before 2a.m. Saturday., members of the Lenexa Tactical Team entered the residence and took Donovan into custody. He was taken to an area hospital due to a possible overdose.

Officers located two individuals later identified as Donovan's wife 52-year-old Sheila Donovan and his son 22-year-old Tyler Donovan deceased inside the home. The preliminary investigation indicates that both were shot. As part of this investigation, it was also learned that a neighbor's dog was shot and killed around the same time that officers responded on the initial call.

&nbsp;The Johnson County District Attorney’s Office has charged Donovan with two counts of First-Degree Murder. The deceased victims are related to Donovan. He is scheduled to make a court appearance on Monday afternoon, according to online jail records.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730686002368.png" alt="Donovan photo Johnson County" />
 <figcaption>Donovan photo Johnson County</figcaption>
 </figure>JOHNSON COUNTY —Two people are dead and a suspect is in custody after a weekend standoff at a Kansas home.&nbsp;Just before 8:30p.m. Friday, police responded on the report of an armed disturbance at a home in the 7900 block of Hallet in the city of Lenexa, according to a media release. As officers arrived, they heard multiple gunshots coming from the area of the residence.Lenexa officers spoke on the phone with the individual suspected of firing shots and learned 53-year-old Todd M. Donovan was inside his residence on Hallet.Donovan refused to comply with officer’s requests to come outside peacefully and the Lenexa Tactical Team and crisis negotiators responded on the barricade operation. Negotiators spoke with Donovan for nearly two hours before he discontinued dialogue.Just before 2a.m. Saturday., members of the Lenexa Tactical Team entered the residence and took Donovan into custody. He was taken to an area hospital due to a possible overdose.Officers located two individuals later identified as Donovan's wife 52-year-old Sheila Donovan and his son 22-year-old Tyler Donovan deceased inside the home. The preliminary investigation indicates that both were shot. As part of this investigation, it was also learned that a neighbor's dog was shot and killed around the same time that officers responded on the initial call.&nbsp;The Johnson County District Attorney’s Office has charged Donovan with two counts of First-Degree Murder. The deceased victims are related to Donovan. He is scheduled to make a court appearance on Monday afternoon, according to online jail records.

Police: Kan. man killed wife, son and dog during standoff

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jason-hancock/">JASON HANCOCK</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/02/20/state-senator-throws-first-punches-of-2024-missouri-governors-campaign/">Missouri Independent</a>

Missouri Democrats have been slowly chipping away at the GOP legislative supermajority in recent years, culminating in 2022 when the party grew its caucus in the House to its highest total in a decade.&nbsp;

Heading into Tuesday’s election, Republicans hold a 111-52 advantage in the House and 24-10 majority in the Senate.&nbsp;

Whether or not Democrats can deny the GOP its veto-proof majority on Tuesday will come down to a handful of districts across the state.&nbsp;

Both Democrats and Republicans expect the 19th Missouri Senate District in Boone County to flip from Red to Blue this year. That puts the spotlight on three Senate districts — the 11th in Jackson County, the 15th in St. Louis County and the 17th in Clay County — that observers believe will be the most competitive on Tuesday.&nbsp;

Over in the House, Republicans are spending big to knock off incumbent Democrats who squeaked out wins in 2022. But the party is also defending myriad seats in suburban districts&nbsp; that have grown increasingly favorable to the Democrats and supported President Joe Biden four years ago.

With all that in mind, here are 10 legislative races expected to be among the most competitive on Election Day.

Senate District 11: Republican Joe Nicola vs. Democrat Robert Sauls

Senate District 11 in Jackson County includes eastern Kansas City and Independence. While held by a Democrat for the last few election cycles, former President Donald Trump carried the district in 2020 with 54% of the vote.&nbsp;

Sauls, an attorney and former prosecutor, has a big fundraising advantage in the race over Nicola, a pastor.&nbsp;

Between his campaign committee and a PAC supporting him, Sauls reported spending more than $500,000 in October, compared to only $66,000 for Nicola.&nbsp;

But both candidates are also getting help from outside groups.&nbsp;

The Missouri Senate Campaign Committee, which supports GOP candidates for Senate, has dumped $530,000 into the race to help Nicola. Meanwhile, Sauls has gotten $600,000 in spending help from two Democratic PACs — Majority Forward and the Missouri Voter Project.

Senate District 15: Republican David Gregory vs. Democrat Joe Pereles

The 15th District includes a large portion of suburban St. Louis County, including Chesterfield and Ballwin. It has historically been a Republican stronghold, but has slowly trended towards Democrats in recent years.&nbsp;

Gregory, an attorney and former state legislator, reported spending $180,000 in October between his campaign committee and an independent PAC. Over the same period, the Missouri Senate Campaign Committee spent nearly $1 million to help Gregory.&nbsp;

Pereles, a retired Drury Hotel executive, and the PAC supporting him reported spending more than $1 million in October. Majority Forward, a PAC that supports Democratic Senate candidates, reported spending around $240,000 in the race..&nbsp;

Senate District 17: Republican Jerry Nolte vs. Democrat Maggie Nurrenbern&nbsp;

The 17th District covers Clay County and was held by Republicans until 2018, when Democratic state Sen. Lauren Arthur captured the seat in a special election and cruised to an easy re-election in 2020.

Nolte, a former state lawmaker and Clay County presiding commissioner, reported spending roughly $200,000 in October between his candidate committee and an independent PAC. The Missouri Senate Campaign Committee has chipped in $240,000.

Nurrenbern, a state representative from Kansas City, spent more than $400,000 in October, with Majority Forward and the Missouri Voter Project spending a combined $600,000 in the race.&nbsp;

House District 17: Republican Bill Allen vs. Democrat Shirley Mata

In a Clay County district that had been held by a Democrat for years and voted for Biden by five percentage points in 2020, Allen squeaked out a win in 2022 by only 50 votes.&nbsp;

Allen, vice chancellor of the online University of Arkansas Grantham, reported spending $39,000 in October, with another $70,000 in spending by the House Republican Campaign Committee.&nbsp;

Mata, an autoworker and union leader, reported spending $80,000 in October. She also benefited from $12,000 in spending from Taxpayers Unlimited Inc.; $10,000 from the House Democratic Campaign Committee; and $10,000 from Missouri Women For Progress.

House District 34: Republican JC Crossley vs. Democrat Kemp Strickler

This race is a rematch from 2022, when Strickler beat Crossley by only 45 votes in a Jackson County district that voted for Biden in 2020.&nbsp;

Strickler, a retired Hallmark executive, reported spending $74,000 in October, compared to only $13,000 for Crossley, a retired business owner.&nbsp;

But Crossley has benefited from more than $150,000 in spending this month by the House Republican Campaign Committee. Meanwhile, a group called Missourians for a Fair Economy spent $7,000 in the race, and the House Democratic Campaign Committee spent $11,000.&nbsp;

House District 96: Republican Brad Christ vs. Democrat Leslie Derrington&nbsp;

Another rematch from 2022, when Christ bested Derrington by more than 500 votes in the St. Louis County district that voted for Biden four years ago.&nbsp;

Christ, a corporate risks and benefits consultant, reported spending $84,000 in October, with another $110,000 from the House Republican Campaign Committee.&nbsp;

Derrington, a stay-at-home mother, reported spending $30,000, with another $11,000 coming from the House Democratic Campaign Committee.

House District 100: Republican Philip Oehlerking vs. Democrat Colin Lovett

This is yet another 2022 rematch in a St. Louis County district carried by Biden four years ago.&nbsp;

Oehlerking, who worked previously at the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, defeated Lovett by only 200 votes in 2022. He reported spending only $8,000 in October. The House Republican Campaign Committee spent more than $80,000 this month on the race.&nbsp;

Lovett, a business owner, reported spending $81,000 in October, with another $7,000 from the House Democratic Campaign Committee.&nbsp;

House District 101: Republican Ben Keathley vs. Democrat Jacqueline Cotton

Keathley, an attorney, won this St. Louis County seat by more than 500 votes two years ago, despite it going for Biden in 2020.&nbsp;

He reported spending $33,000 in October, with the House Republican Campaign Committee chipping in more than $100,000.&nbsp;

Cotton, a small business owner, reported spending $10,000 in October, with $9,000 in support from the House Democratic Campaign Committee.

House District 105: Republican Colin Wellenkamp vs. Democrat Ron Odenthal&nbsp;

Republican state Rep. Adam Schwadron gave up this St. Charles County seat to run for secretary of state. He held the seat for Republicans in 2020 despite Biden carrying the district.&nbsp;

Wellenkamp, who serves as executive director of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative, reported spending $14,000 in October. He also got $120,000 in support from the House Republican Campaign Committee.&nbsp;

Odenthal, a retired KPMG senior network analyst, reported spending only $6,000. The House Democratic Campaign Committee has spent around $13,000 in the race.&nbsp;

House District 136 Republican Jim Robinette vs. Democrat Stephanie Hein

Hein, a professor emerita at Missouri State University, flipped this Springfield district for the Democrats in 2022 by just over 200 votes.

She reported spending $85,000 this month compared to $49,000 by Robinette, an Army veteran.

The House Republican Campaign Committee has spent more than $150,000 in the race to boost Robinette, while the House Democratic Campaign Committee has spent $8,000 and Missourians for a Fair Economy spent $13,000.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730720914097.png" alt=" The Missouri House chamber during the 2022 legislative session (Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications)." />
 <figcaption> The Missouri House chamber during the 2022 legislative session (Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications).</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jason-hancock/">JASON HANCOCK</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/02/20/state-senator-throws-first-punches-of-2024-missouri-governors-campaign/">Missouri Independent</a>Missouri Democrats have been slowly chipping away at the GOP legislative supermajority in recent years, culminating in 2022 when the party grew its caucus in the House to its highest total in a decade.&nbsp;Heading into Tuesday’s election, Republicans hold a 111-52 advantage in the House and 24-10 majority in the Senate.&nbsp;Whether or not Democrats can deny the GOP its veto-proof majority on Tuesday will come down to a handful of districts across the state.&nbsp;Both Democrats and Republicans expect the 19th Missouri Senate District in Boone County to flip from Red to Blue this year. That puts the spotlight on three Senate districts — the 11th in Jackson County, the 15th in St. Louis County and the 17th in Clay County — that observers believe will be the most competitive on Tuesday.&nbsp;Over in the House, Republicans are spending big to knock off incumbent Democrats who squeaked out wins in 2022. But the party is also defending myriad seats in suburban districts&nbsp; that have grown increasingly favorable to the Democrats and supported President Joe Biden four years ago.With all that in mind, here are 10 legislative races expected to be among the most competitive on Election Day.<h2>Senate District 11: Republican Joe Nicola vs. Democrat Robert Sauls</h2>Senate District 11 in Jackson County includes eastern Kansas City and Independence. While held by a Democrat for the last few election cycles, former President Donald Trump carried the district in 2020 with 54% of the vote.&nbsp;Sauls, an attorney and former prosecutor, has a big fundraising advantage in the race over Nicola, a pastor.&nbsp;Between his campaign committee and a PAC supporting him, Sauls reported spending more than $500,000 in October, compared to only $66,000 for Nicola.&nbsp;But both candidates are also getting help from outside groups.&nbsp;The Missouri Senate Campaign Committee, which supports GOP candidates for Senate, has dumped $530,000 into the race to help Nicola. Meanwhile, Sauls has gotten $600,000 in spending help from two Democratic PACs — Majority Forward and the Missouri Voter Project.<h2>Senate District 15: Republican David Gregory vs. Democrat Joe Pereles</h2>The 15th District includes a large portion of suburban St. Louis County, including Chesterfield and Ballwin. It has historically been a Republican stronghold, but has slowly trended towards Democrats in recent years.&nbsp;Gregory, an attorney and former state legislator, reported spending $180,000 in October between his campaign committee and an independent PAC. Over the same period, the Missouri Senate Campaign Committee spent nearly $1 million to help Gregory.&nbsp;Pereles, a retired Drury Hotel executive, and the PAC supporting him reported spending more than $1 million in October. Majority Forward, a PAC that supports Democratic Senate candidates, reported spending around $240,000 in the race..&nbsp;<h2>Senate District 17: Republican Jerry Nolte vs. Democrat Maggie Nurrenbern&nbsp;</h2>The 17th District covers Clay County and was held by Republicans until 2018, when Democratic state Sen. Lauren Arthur captured the seat in a special election and cruised to an easy re-election in 2020.Nolte, a former state lawmaker and Clay County presiding commissioner, reported spending roughly $200,000 in October between his candidate committee and an independent PAC. The Missouri Senate Campaign Committee has chipped in $240,000.Nurrenbern, a state representative from Kansas City, spent more than $400,000 in October, with Majority Forward and the Missouri Voter Project spending a combined $600,000 in the race.&nbsp;<h2>House District 17: Republican Bill Allen vs. Democrat Shirley Mata</h2>In a Clay County district that had been held by a Democrat for years and voted for Biden by five percentage points in 2020, Allen squeaked out a win in 2022 by only 50 votes.&nbsp;Allen, vice chancellor of the online University of Arkansas Grantham, reported spending $39,000 in October, with another $70,000 in spending by the House Republican Campaign Committee.&nbsp;Mata, an autoworker and union leader, reported spending $80,000 in October. She also benefited from $12,000 in spending from Taxpayers Unlimited Inc.; $10,000 from the House Democratic Campaign Committee; and $10,000 from Missouri Women For Progress.<h2>House District 34: Republican JC Crossley vs. Democrat Kemp Strickler</h2>This race is a rematch from 2022, when Strickler beat Crossley by only 45 votes in a Jackson County district that voted for Biden in 2020.&nbsp;Strickler, a retired Hallmark executive, reported spending $74,000 in October, compared to only $13,000 for Crossley, a retired business owner.&nbsp;But Crossley has benefited from more than $150,000 in spending this month by the House Republican Campaign Committee. Meanwhile, a group called Missourians for a Fair Economy spent $7,000 in the race, and the House Democratic Campaign Committee spent $11,000.&nbsp;<h2>House District 96: Republican Brad Christ vs. Democrat Leslie Derrington&nbsp;</h2>Another rematch from 2022, when Christ bested Derrington by more than 500 votes in the St. Louis County district that voted for Biden four years ago.&nbsp;Christ, a corporate risks and benefits consultant, reported spending $84,000 in October, with another $110,000 from the House Republican Campaign Committee.&nbsp;Derrington, a stay-at-home mother, reported spending $30,000, with another $11,000 coming from the House Democratic Campaign Committee.<h2>House District 100: Republican Philip Oehlerking vs. Democrat Colin Lovett</h2>This is yet another 2022 rematch in a St. Louis County district carried by Biden four years ago.&nbsp;Oehlerking, who worked previously at the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, defeated Lovett by only 200 votes in 2022. He reported spending only $8,000 in October. The House Republican Campaign Committee spent more than $80,000 this month on the race.&nbsp;Lovett, a business owner, reported spending $81,000 in October, with another $7,000 from the House Democratic Campaign Committee.&nbsp;<h2>House District 101: Republican Ben Keathley vs. Democrat Jacqueline Cotton</h2>Keathley, an attorney, won this St. Louis County seat by more than 500 votes two years ago, despite it going for Biden in 2020.&nbsp;He reported spending $33,000 in October, with the House Republican Campaign Committee chipping in more than $100,000.&nbsp;Cotton, a small business owner, reported spending $10,000 in October, with $9,000 in support from the House Democratic Campaign Committee.<h2>House District 105: Republican Colin Wellenkamp vs. Democrat Ron Odenthal&nbsp;</h2>Republican state Rep. Adam Schwadron gave up this St. Charles County seat to run for secretary of state. He held the seat for Republicans in 2020 despite Biden carrying the district.&nbsp;Wellenkamp, who serves as executive director of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative, reported spending $14,000 in October. He also got $120,000 in support from the House Republican Campaign Committee.&nbsp;Odenthal, a retired KPMG senior network analyst, reported spending only $6,000. The House Democratic Campaign Committee has spent around $13,000 in the race.&nbsp;<h2>House District 136 Republican Jim Robinette vs. Democrat Stephanie Hein</h2>Hein, a professor emerita at Missouri State University, flipped this Springfield district for the Democrats in 2022 by just over 200 votes.She reported spending $85,000 this month compared to $49,000 by Robinette, an Army veteran.The House Republican Campaign Committee has spent more than $150,000 in the race to boost Robinette, while the House Democratic Campaign Committee has spent $8,000 and Missourians for a Fair Economy spent $13,000.&nbsp;

Handful of Missouri legislative races will determine fate of GOP super majorities

KANSAS CITY– A Kansas City man was sentenced in federal court last week for his role in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, which resulted in the deaths of three persons, according to the United State's Attorney.

Luis Manuel Morales, 24, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 15 years in federal prison without parole.

On May 8, 2024, Morales pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Morales admitted that he was a source of supply of fentanyl pills for co-defendant Tiger Dean Draggoo, 24, of Kansas City. On occasion, Draggoo also served as a source of supply of fentanyl pills for Morales. Morales also introduced Draggoo to additional sources of fentanyl pills.

Morales sold at least 1,764 pills to Draggoo over 15 separate transactions from Jan. 17 to Oct. 29, 2022, for which he was paid $2,320 through Cash App and an additional amount in cash. Morales also purchased at least 100 fentanyl pills from Draggoo during this time period, for which he paid $750. In total, those 1,864 pills contained approximately 205 grams of fentanyl.

Morales and Draggoo conspired to conceal and disguise the nature of the transfer of funds through Cash App by referring to the payments as “rent,” “food clothes,” “clothes,” “food and beer,” “food,” “apt rent,” “reimbursement for mechanic,” and “reimbursement car payment.”

Morales was on probation at the time that he was supplying Dragoo with fentanyl pills, following his guilty plea in state court to attempted armed robbery after he and another person robbed a victim at gunpoint.

Morales is the first defendant in this case to be sentenced. On Oct. 16, 2024, Draggoo pleaded guilty to his role in the fentanyl conspiracy and to three counts of distributing fentanyl resulting in death. Five additional defendants have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1641841246356.png" alt="Photo U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration" />
 <figcaption>Photo U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY– A Kansas City man was sentenced in federal court last week for his role in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, which resulted in the deaths of three persons, according to the United State's Attorney.Luis Manuel Morales, 24, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 15 years in federal prison without parole.On May 8, 2024, Morales pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1696014760468.png" alt="Draggoo-photo Lee's Summit PD" />
 <figcaption>Draggoo-photo Lee's Summit PD</figcaption>
 </figure>Morales admitted that he was a source of supply of fentanyl pills for co-defendant Tiger Dean Draggoo, 24, of Kansas City. On occasion, Draggoo also served as a source of supply of fentanyl pills for Morales. Morales also introduced Draggoo to additional sources of fentanyl pills.Morales sold at least 1,764 pills to Draggoo over 15 separate transactions from Jan. 17 to Oct. 29, 2022, for which he was paid $2,320 through Cash App and an additional amount in cash. Morales also purchased at least 100 fentanyl pills from Draggoo during this time period, for which he paid $750. In total, those 1,864 pills contained approximately 205 grams of fentanyl.Morales and Draggoo conspired to conceal and disguise the nature of the transfer of funds through Cash App by referring to the payments as “rent,” “food clothes,” “clothes,” “food and beer,” “food,” “apt rent,” “reimbursement for mechanic,” and “reimbursement car payment.”Morales was on probation at the time that he was supplying Dragoo with fentanyl pills, following his guilty plea in state court to attempted armed robbery after he and another person robbed a victim at gunpoint.Morales is the first defendant in this case to be sentenced. On Oct. 16, 2024, Draggoo pleaded guilty to his role in the fentanyl conspiracy and to three counts of distributing fentanyl resulting in death. Five additional defendants have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.

Man admits selling fentanyl that killed three in Kansas City

Kansas’ Republican House and Senate committees and Gov. Laura Kelly’s PAC invested hundreds of thousands in competitive legislative races.

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/akaminski/">ANNA KAMINSKI</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s PAC and the Kansas Republican Senatorial Committee have poured around a half-million dollars each into competitive legislative races across Kansas, campaign finance reports released this week show. The Republican House Campaign Committee spent almost $1 million.

More than $470,000 from Kelly’s Middle of the Road PAC has been spent since the August primary on Democrats embroiled in battleground races, according to records published Monday through the Kansas Secretary of State’s campaign finance reporting system. The Republican Senatorial committee spent more than $498,000 during the same time period on the four races at risk of flipping to Democrats. The Republican House committee has spent its $978,000 since August on advertising-related costs for a dozen candidates and the state Republican party, finance records show.

Republicans have held a supermajority in the Kansas House since 2010, and Senate Republicans have held a supermajority since 1997. Democrats must flip two seats in the house and three in the senate while holding their existing cache in order to break the supermajorities.

The Senatorial committee’s treasurer, Michelle Schroeder, said the group’s spending was “focused solely on protecting and expanding our Republican supermajority.”

Kelly, a Democrat, launched the Middle of the Road PAC in&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/08/07/gov-laura-kelly-forms-pac-to-support-moderate-gop-democratic-legislative-candidates/">August 2023</a>&nbsp;to back moderate candidates, from either major party, and in an attempt to break the Republican legislative supermajority. Recipients of the nearly $500,000 were 12 Democrats. Those expenditures are just a fraction of the nearly $1.5 million the PAC has spent since late July.

Senate District 5 incumbent Sen. Jeff Pittman, a Leavenworth-area Democrat, received the highest cumulative dollar amount from the Middle of the Road PAC. Election forecasts favor a Pittman win over his opponent, Republican Jeff Klemp, of Lansing, by a thin margin. The senatorial committee spent almost twice as much on Klemp as Middle of the Road spent on Pittman.

Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State during the Trump Administration and former Kansas GOP congressman, endorsed Klemp on Oct. 30.

Both the Middle of the Road PAC and the Senatorial committee spent on the other three toss-up Senate races in Johnson County. Middle of the Road PAC also spent on another Johnson County-area district, Senate District 35, with an open seat that’s been held by the same Republican for the past decade.

Middle of the Road PAC spent the least on Rep. Jason Probst, a Hutchinson Democrat running for reelection. His Republican opponent, Kyler Sweely, was recently the subject of a Wichita police investigation and online backlash after a video circulated in which he appears to jump on and hold a pillow over the head of a motionless woman on a bed. The Republican House committee spent just under $9,000 on Sweely while Middle of the Road spent more than $13,000 on Probst, according to campaign finance records.

Will Lawrence, senior advisor for the Middle of the Road PAC, said in a statement that the PAC “invested in hard-working candidates” and those “who aligned with Governor Kelly’s values.”

“The PAC deployed a strategic program that included mail, digital ads, and support for GOTV (get out the vote) efforts,” Lawrence said. “Supporters of our PAC can rest assured their investments were well spent.”

Representatives for the Republican House committee did not respond to Kansas Reflector’s requests for comment Friday.

The final day for voting in legislative races as well as for U.S. president is Tuesday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730582245512.png" alt=" Gov. Laura Kelly tours the Axe Shedd during an April 25, 2024, visit to Emporia. Her Middle of the Road PAC since August has spent $470,000 on a dozen Democrats seeking legislative seats. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Gov. Laura Kelly tours the Axe Shedd during an April 25, 2024, visit to Emporia. Her Middle of the Road PAC since August has spent $470,000 on a dozen Democrats seeking legislative seats. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Kansas’ Republican House and Senate committees and Gov. Laura Kelly’s PAC invested hundreds of thousands in competitive legislative races.</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/akaminski/">ANNA KAMINSKI</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s PAC and the Kansas Republican Senatorial Committee have poured around a half-million dollars each into competitive legislative races across Kansas, campaign finance reports released this week show. The Republican House Campaign Committee spent almost $1 million.More than $470,000 from Kelly’s Middle of the Road PAC has been spent since the August primary on Democrats embroiled in battleground races, according to records published Monday through the Kansas Secretary of State’s campaign finance reporting system. The Republican Senatorial committee spent more than $498,000 during the same time period on the four races at risk of flipping to Democrats. The Republican House committee has spent its $978,000 since August on advertising-related costs for a dozen candidates and the state Republican party, finance records show.Republicans have held a supermajority in the Kansas House since 2010, and Senate Republicans have held a supermajority since 1997. Democrats must flip two seats in the house and three in the senate while holding their existing cache in order to break the supermajorities.The Senatorial committee’s treasurer, Michelle Schroeder, said the group’s spending was “focused solely on protecting and expanding our Republican supermajority.”Kelly, a Democrat, launched the Middle of the Road PAC in&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/08/07/gov-laura-kelly-forms-pac-to-support-moderate-gop-democratic-legislative-candidates/">August 2023</a>&nbsp;to back moderate candidates, from either major party, and in an attempt to break the Republican legislative supermajority. Recipients of the nearly $500,000 were 12 Democrats. Those expenditures are just a fraction of the nearly $1.5 million the PAC has spent since late July.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730582200042.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Senate District 5 incumbent Sen. Jeff Pittman, a Leavenworth-area Democrat, received the highest cumulative dollar amount from the Middle of the Road PAC. Election forecasts favor a Pittman win over his opponent, Republican Jeff Klemp, of Lansing, by a thin margin. The senatorial committee spent almost twice as much on Klemp as Middle of the Road spent on Pittman.Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State during the Trump Administration and former Kansas GOP congressman, endorsed Klemp on Oct. 30.Both the Middle of the Road PAC and the Senatorial committee spent on the other three toss-up Senate races in Johnson County. Middle of the Road PAC also spent on another Johnson County-area district, Senate District 35, with an open seat that’s been held by the same Republican for the past decade.Middle of the Road PAC spent the least on Rep. Jason Probst, a Hutchinson Democrat running for reelection. His Republican opponent, Kyler Sweely, was recently the subject of a Wichita police investigation and online backlash after a video circulated in which he appears to jump on and hold a pillow over the head of a motionless woman on a bed. The Republican House committee spent just under $9,000 on Sweely while Middle of the Road spent more than $13,000 on Probst, according to campaign finance records.Will Lawrence, senior advisor for the Middle of the Road PAC, said in a statement that the PAC “invested in hard-working candidates” and those “who aligned with Governor Kelly’s values.”“The PAC deployed a strategic program that included mail, digital ads, and support for GOTV (get out the vote) efforts,” Lawrence said. “Supporters of our PAC can rest assured their investments were well spent.”Representatives for the Republican House committee did not respond to Kansas Reflector’s requests for comment Friday.The final day for voting in legislative races as well as for U.S. president is Tuesday.

Kansas Republican committees, Democratic governor’s PAC spend big on battleground races

Tenants in two Kansas City-area buildings launched a rent strike on Oct. 1 in protest of poor maintenance and rising rents.&nbsp;They plan to add more tenants to their strike

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/milimansaray/">MILI MANSARAY</a>

Buckets of brown sink water, overflowing roach traps and photographs of clogged bathtubs lined the entrance to the leasing office at Quality Hill Towers. At their most recent rally, tenants brought their frustrations straight to management’s door.

George Pacheco carried two-gallon jugs of murky water from his apartment.

“I gave my daughter a glass of water out of my sink and it was so dirty that she refuses to even come and stay in the apartment,” he said.

On Oct. 1, tenants at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.qualityhilltowers.com/" target="_blank">Quality Hill Towers</a>&nbsp;and Independence Towers launched a rent strike, demanding maintenance repairs, collectively bargained leases and a national 3% rent cap on all buildings that receive federal financing.

At their Oct. 18 rally, tenants said they plan to recruit more tenants to join the rent strike if the director of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fhfa.gov/" target="_blank">Federal Housing Finance Agency</a>&nbsp;does not engage with them and meet their demands. Although Missouri offers no legal protections for striking tenants and they face risks of eviction or lawsuits, leaders with&nbsp;<a href="https://kctenants.org/home" target="_blank">KC Tenants</a>&nbsp;say the unions are preparing to rally more renters to join their movement.

The tenants “don’t believe that they’re going to necessarily win this in the courts,” said Jaden Powell, a tenant attorney giving KC Tenants legal advice. “The courts are not set up to make these kinds of wide-scale changes. The power is in organizing and public pressure, and that’s where they think they’re going to win.”

Meanwhile, housing finance experts say that a rent strike only hurts landlords, not the FHFA, and they find it unlikely that the Federal National Mortgage Association, known as Fannie Mae, would risk its investment based on actions at two local apartment buildings.

They also say that a national rent cap would make it harder for landlords to keep up with maintenance and mortgage costs and would perhaps shrink the amount of rental housing on the market.

An annual 3% rental cap “would just kill the rental market,” said Ted Tozer, a fellow at the left-leaning Urban Institute’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.urban.org/policy-centers/housing-finance-policy-center" target="_blank">Housing Finance Policy Center</a>. “Lenders would be going bankrupt.”

At the Oct. 18 rally, tenant union members said they met with FHFA director Sandra Thompson in May to discuss their living conditions. The agency says Thompson is unavailable to travel to Kansas City. Negotiations are ongoing about a meeting with KC Tenants and other FHFA officials.

The union is putting pressure on the agency because it is the regulator of Fannie Mae, the company that backs the loans in federally financed buildings.

Tenants are organizing a strike drive set for Nov. 1 to recruit more participants.

Later in October, KC Tenants and&nbsp;<a href="https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-cleaver-announces-1350000-independence-towers-address-desperately" target="_blank">U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s office</a>&nbsp;announced that Fannie Mae&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article294555904.html" target="_blank">gave Trigild Inc. $1.35 million</a>&nbsp;for repairs at Independence Towers.

“While we celebrate this step, we remain committed to our rent strike,” the Independence Towers tenant union said in a statement. “This is a one-off bailout for the parties that have neglected their tenants.”

As of Oct. 29, nearly 24% of the 234 occupied units at Quality Hill Towers are on strike, KC Tenants said, while 57% of the 63 occupied units at Independence Towers are on strike.

Tenants said their apartment buildings&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2024/10/08/kansas-city-tenant-union-rent-strike-against-federally-backed-landlords/" target="_blank">need dramatic repairs</a>&nbsp;and better maintenance. Management has said work is underway to fix those problems.

Neither&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sentinelcorp.com/" target="_blank">Sentinel Real Estate Corp</a>., which owns Quality Hill Towers, nor&nbsp;<a href="https://www.trigild.com/" target="_blank">Trigild Inc</a>., which manages Independence Towers, responded to The Beacon’s requests for comment.

The tenant strike aims to pressure the FHFA to meet renters’ demands at all federally backed-properties.

“If the federal government is going to be involved with private businesses and financing their profits, we expect the government to exercise every available avenue to protect tenants’ rights,” said Tara Raghuveer, the director of KC Tenants.

But because the funds don’t come from public tax dollars, the FHFA and Fannie Mae don’t have control over their properties in the same way that, for example, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has control of the government-funded buildings it manages.

Mark Willis, the senior policy fellow at the&nbsp;<a href="https://furmancenter.org/" target="_blank">New York University Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy</a>, said that Fannie Mae typically has the right under the mortgage to pursue legal action when landlords let properties fall into disrepair. Fannie Mae buys and sells mortgages with the expectation that the property will be properly maintained. And when owners neglect repairs, they’re breaking their mortgage terms.

That gives Fannie Mae the option to declare a default or foreclosure on the property, Willis said. As an alternative to taking ownership of poorly maintained buildings, Fannie Mae can give money to a receiver to step in for the landlord and handle repairs.

In February, Fannie Mae<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article292599874.html" target="_blank">&nbsp;filed a lawsuit</a>&nbsp;against 728 N Jennings Rd Partners LLC, the owner of Independence Towers, for not properly paying back loans for building repairs and failing to maintain living conditions according to the standard outlined in its loan agreement. A Jackson County judge appointed Trigild Inc. as the receiver in charge of managing repairs of the property in May.

Fannie Mae cannot directly instruct the receiver, but it can provide funding and offer guidance.

But Raghuveer argues that the federal backing gives landlords better terms than they’d get in the private market. Since the landlords benefit from public support, she said federal properties should offer more protections for tenants.

“If the government is going to be involved in backing a loan,” she said, “that should come with strings attached.”

In 2023, loans to landlords from Fannie Mae and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., known as Freddie Mac, were capped at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fhfa.gov/news/news-release/fhfa-announces-2023-multifamily-loan-purchase-caps-for-fannie-mae-and-freddie-mac" target="_blank">$150 billion</a>. Raghuveer said that those contracts offer landlords lower interest rates and other perks but offer very few safeguards for tenants. That, she said, can attract slumlords.

So tenants want Fannie Mae to impose the cap on new contracts and apply it to existing contracts when landlords refinance their mortgages.

Raghuveer said the initial financial burden of the strike will fall on landlords, with Sentinel losing at least $3,000 monthly at Quality Hill. And while Sentinel is a large corporation with a broad portfolio, she said nearly a fourth of the occupied units are participating and they will try to recruit more people on Nov. 1.

“It’s not a financial hit that (Sentinel) can sustain long-term,” she said.

While the prospect of altering a national market by pressuring Sentinel appears remote, Raghuveer said that KC Tenants is trying to get tenant unions across federally backed properties in Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Montana, Illinois and Kentucky to launch their own strikes.

What’s at stake for KC tenants who strike?&nbsp;

In Missouri, striking tenants risk eviction. They could be sued for unpaid rent, but Powell said that tenants can argue that their rent isn’t owed because the landlord has failed to maintain habitable living conditions, which is part of the lease agreement. That defense doesn’t fully protect them.

Tenants can also be sued if they remain in the home after their lease ends. Missouri law does not protect tenants from landlords evicting them with or without cause at the end of a lease.

“If a tenant isn’t on a lease or is on a month-to-month lease, they really run the risk of their landlord retaliating against them,” Powell said.

Kansas City ordinance also prohibits retaliatory evictions for any reason, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcmo.gov/home/showdocument?id=5360" target="_blank">joining a tenants’ union</a>. But Powell said that law has not been widely enforced in court cases because there are really no defenses in unlawful detainer cases beyond whether the landlord followed proper protocol in ending the tenancy.

She said that tenants have limited legal defenses when withholding their rent, aside from using uninhabitable conditions as a defense in rent possession cases.

Missouri law also&nbsp;<a href="https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/attachments/landlord-tenantlaw.pdf?sfvrsn=4" target="_blank">allows tenants to make repairs themselves</a>&nbsp;if landlords don’t respond within 14 days of a complaint. They can deduct up to $300 or half a month’s rent, whichever is higher, from their payment. However, Powell said that this approach is insufficient for larger issues.

“When we’re thinking about places like Quality Hill, a lot of the issues are building-wide,” she said, “like plumbing issues, folks without hot water, folks with bathrooms and tubs that won’t drain. And that’s not something that you could fix for $300.”

Because the law doesn’t provide striking tenants with many protections, Powell said the campaign is relying on public support to put pressure on the landlords and the FHFA.

In an Oct. 3&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DAreZ83pR3a/?img_index=1" target="_blank">solidarity letter,</a>&nbsp;Kansas City Council member&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcmo.gov/city-hall/city-officials/city-council-members/councilman-johnathan-duncan-6th-district" target="_blank">Johnathan Duncan</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;and seven other City Council members called on the FHFA to negotiate with the tenant union and refrain from any “retaliatory actions against the tenants.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730601147932.png" alt=" At their Oct. 18 rally, Quality Hill tenant union members demanded to meet with Federal Housing Finance Authority director Sandra Thompson, depicted in the poster on the right (Mili Mansaray/The Beacon)." />
 <figcaption> At their Oct. 18 rally, Quality Hill tenant union members demanded to meet with Federal Housing Finance Authority director Sandra Thompson, depicted in the poster on the right (Mili Mansaray/The Beacon).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Tenants in two Kansas City-area buildings launched a rent strike on Oct. 1 in protest of poor maintenance and rising rents.&nbsp;They plan to add more tenants to their strike</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/milimansaray/">MILI MANSARAY</a>Buckets of brown sink water, overflowing roach traps and photographs of clogged bathtubs lined the entrance to the leasing office at Quality Hill Towers. At their most recent rally, tenants brought their frustrations straight to management’s door.George Pacheco carried two-gallon jugs of murky water from his apartment.“I gave my daughter a glass of water out of my sink and it was so dirty that she refuses to even come and stay in the apartment,” he said.On Oct. 1, tenants at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.qualityhilltowers.com/" target="_blank">Quality Hill Towers</a>&nbsp;and Independence Towers launched a rent strike, demanding maintenance repairs, collectively bargained leases and a national 3% rent cap on all buildings that receive federal financing.At their Oct. 18 rally, tenants said they plan to recruit more tenants to join the rent strike if the director of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fhfa.gov/" target="_blank">Federal Housing Finance Agency</a>&nbsp;does not engage with them and meet their demands. Although Missouri offers no legal protections for striking tenants and they face risks of eviction or lawsuits, leaders with&nbsp;<a href="https://kctenants.org/home" target="_blank">KC Tenants</a>&nbsp;say the unions are preparing to rally more renters to join their movement.The tenants “don’t believe that they’re going to necessarily win this in the courts,” said Jaden Powell, a tenant attorney giving KC Tenants legal advice. “The courts are not set up to make these kinds of wide-scale changes. The power is in organizing and public pressure, and that’s where they think they’re going to win.”Meanwhile, housing finance experts say that a rent strike only hurts landlords, not the FHFA, and they find it unlikely that the Federal National Mortgage Association, known as Fannie Mae, would risk its investment based on actions at two local apartment buildings.They also say that a national rent cap would make it harder for landlords to keep up with maintenance and mortgage costs and would perhaps shrink the amount of rental housing on the market.An annual 3% rental cap “would just kill the rental market,” said Ted Tozer, a fellow at the left-leaning Urban Institute’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.urban.org/policy-centers/housing-finance-policy-center" target="_blank">Housing Finance Policy Center</a>. “Lenders would be going bankrupt.”<h2>What’s going on with the rent strike?</h2>At the Oct. 18 rally, tenant union members said they met with FHFA director Sandra Thompson in May to discuss their living conditions. The agency says Thompson is unavailable to travel to Kansas City. Negotiations are ongoing about a meeting with KC Tenants and other FHFA officials.The union is putting pressure on the agency because it is the regulator of Fannie Mae, the company that backs the loans in federally financed buildings.Tenants are organizing a strike drive set for Nov. 1 to recruit more participants.Later in October, KC Tenants and&nbsp;<a href="https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-cleaver-announces-1350000-independence-towers-address-desperately" target="_blank">U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s office</a>&nbsp;announced that Fannie Mae&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article294555904.html" target="_blank">gave Trigild Inc. $1.35 million</a>&nbsp;for repairs at Independence Towers.But they say that money is not enough.“While we celebrate this step, we remain committed to our rent strike,” the Independence Towers tenant union said in a statement. “This is a one-off bailout for the parties that have neglected their tenants.”As of Oct. 29, nearly 24% of the 234 occupied units at Quality Hill Towers are on strike, KC Tenants said, while 57% of the 63 occupied units at Independence Towers are on strike.Tenants said their apartment buildings&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2024/10/08/kansas-city-tenant-union-rent-strike-against-federally-backed-landlords/" target="_blank">need dramatic repairs</a>&nbsp;and better maintenance. Management has said work is underway to fix those problems.Neither&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sentinelcorp.com/" target="_blank">Sentinel Real Estate Corp</a>., which owns Quality Hill Towers, nor&nbsp;<a href="https://www.trigild.com/" target="_blank">Trigild Inc</a>., which manages Independence Towers, responded to The Beacon’s requests for comment.<h2>What is KC Tenants’ strategy?</h2>The tenant strike aims to pressure the FHFA to meet renters’ demands at all federally backed-properties.“If the federal government is going to be involved with private businesses and financing their profits, we expect the government to exercise every available avenue to protect tenants’ rights,” said Tara Raghuveer, the director of KC Tenants.But because the funds don’t come from public tax dollars, the FHFA and Fannie Mae don’t have control over their properties in the same way that, for example, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has control of the government-funded buildings it manages.Mark Willis, the senior policy fellow at the&nbsp;<a href="https://furmancenter.org/" target="_blank">New York University Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy</a>, said that Fannie Mae typically has the right under the mortgage to pursue legal action when landlords let properties fall into disrepair. Fannie Mae buys and sells mortgages with the expectation that the property will be properly maintained. And when owners neglect repairs, they’re breaking their mortgage terms.That gives Fannie Mae the option to declare a default or foreclosure on the property, Willis said. As an alternative to taking ownership of poorly maintained buildings, Fannie Mae can give money to a receiver to step in for the landlord and handle repairs.In February, Fannie Mae<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article292599874.html" target="_blank">&nbsp;filed a lawsuit</a>&nbsp;against 728 N Jennings Rd Partners LLC, the owner of Independence Towers, for not properly paying back loans for building repairs and failing to maintain living conditions according to the standard outlined in its loan agreement. A Jackson County judge appointed Trigild Inc. as the receiver in charge of managing repairs of the property in May.Fannie Mae cannot directly instruct the receiver, but it can provide funding and offer guidance.But Raghuveer argues that the federal backing gives landlords better terms than they’d get in the private market. Since the landlords benefit from public support, she said federal properties should offer more protections for tenants.“If the government is going to be involved in backing a loan,” she said, “that should come with strings attached.”In 2023, loans to landlords from Fannie Mae and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., known as Freddie Mac, were capped at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fhfa.gov/news/news-release/fhfa-announces-2023-multifamily-loan-purchase-caps-for-fannie-mae-and-freddie-mac" target="_blank">$150 billion</a>. Raghuveer said that those contracts offer landlords lower interest rates and other perks but offer very few safeguards for tenants. That, she said, can attract slumlords.So tenants want Fannie Mae to impose the cap on new contracts and apply it to existing contracts when landlords refinance their mortgages.Raghuveer said the initial financial burden of the strike will fall on landlords, with Sentinel losing at least $3,000 monthly at Quality Hill. And while Sentinel is a large corporation with a broad portfolio, she said nearly a fourth of the occupied units are participating and they will try to recruit more people on Nov. 1.“It’s not a financial hit that (Sentinel) can sustain long-term,” she said.While the prospect of altering a national market by pressuring Sentinel appears remote, Raghuveer said that KC Tenants is trying to get tenant unions across federally backed properties in Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Montana, Illinois and Kentucky to launch their own strikes.<h2>What’s at stake for KC tenants who strike?&nbsp;</h2>In Missouri, striking tenants risk eviction. They could be sued for unpaid rent, but Powell said that tenants can argue that their rent isn’t owed because the landlord has failed to maintain habitable living conditions, which is part of the lease agreement. That defense doesn’t fully protect them.Tenants can also be sued if they remain in the home after their lease ends. Missouri law does not protect tenants from landlords evicting them with or without cause at the end of a lease.“If a tenant isn’t on a lease or is on a month-to-month lease, they really run the risk of their landlord retaliating against them,” Powell said.Kansas City ordinance also prohibits retaliatory evictions for any reason, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcmo.gov/home/showdocument?id=5360" target="_blank">joining a tenants’ union</a>. But Powell said that law has not been widely enforced in court cases because there are really no defenses in unlawful detainer cases beyond whether the landlord followed proper protocol in ending the tenancy.She said that tenants have limited legal defenses when withholding their rent, aside from using uninhabitable conditions as a defense in rent possession cases.Missouri law also&nbsp;<a href="https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/attachments/landlord-tenantlaw.pdf?sfvrsn=4" target="_blank">allows tenants to make repairs themselves</a>&nbsp;if landlords don’t respond within 14 days of a complaint. They can deduct up to $300 or half a month’s rent, whichever is higher, from their payment. However, Powell said that this approach is insufficient for larger issues.“When we’re thinking about places like Quality Hill, a lot of the issues are building-wide,” she said, “like plumbing issues, folks without hot water, folks with bathrooms and tubs that won’t drain. And that’s not something that you could fix for $300.”Because the law doesn’t provide striking tenants with many protections, Powell said the campaign is relying on public support to put pressure on the landlords and the FHFA.In an Oct. 3&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DAreZ83pR3a/?img_index=1" target="_blank">solidarity letter,</a>&nbsp;Kansas City Council member&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcmo.gov/city-hall/city-officials/city-council-members/councilman-johnathan-duncan-6th-district" target="_blank">Johnathan Duncan</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;and seven other City Council members called on the FHFA to negotiate with the tenant union and refrain from any “retaliatory actions against the tenants.”“The lease is a legal agreement that is supposed to work both ways,” he said. “There are always accountability measures for tenants. There are very few accountability measures for landlords and these federal regulators.”<h2>What’s at stake for landlords?</h2>Tozer said a national 3% rent cap on all federally financed buildings isn’t feasible. Instead, it would place a financial strain on landlords that would hurt the market.“You’d have no more apartments being built,” he said. “And you’d have landlords not renting to people anymore.”He pointed out that landlords face rising operational costs — including property taxes, insurance and maintenance — which typically go up more than 3% annually.A rent increase cap would leave property owners unable to cover these rising costs. That could produce even more maintenance issues for tenants.“If they’re not going to pass that on to tenants,” he said, “then that means that they’re going to&nbsp; have to start cutting other places.”Tozer said a rent cap would come with immediate pushback from property owners.“I would sue over that,” he said. “You would have to get congressional action to put on a rent cap.”Housing finance experts say that measures like a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fhfa.gov/blog/insights/new-multifamily-tenant-protections" target="_blank">grace period for late fees or rent increase notices</a>&nbsp;don’t impact mortgage payments, but rent caps are a different matter.And hurting landlords’ ability to pay their mortgages would put Fannie’s and Freddie’s investments at risk, which Tozer said the FHFA would want to avoid.Financial analysts say that a rent cap might also push landlords to seek loans from other sources.“Whether it’s good policy or not, it probably would mean that no one would borrow from Fannie and Freddie,” said Willis.He said that Fannie can pursue legal avenues against owners who don’t maintain property standards. But a rent cap could create challenges for all owners.“The one thing you want to do is make sure landlords who want to maintain their buildings well are able to do it,” he said. “You don’t want to set up a system where they can’t even afford to do the right thing.”<h2>Who’s responsible for these living conditions?</h2>Tozer said that the FHFA is several steps removed from tenants and landlords in these situations. Fannie Mae invests in mortgages and shares the risk with a local lender if the landlord defaults. Local lenders handle payments, foreclosures and other mortgage processing on behalf of Fannie.But federal law prohibits Fannie Mae from direct contact with landlords. Instead, Tozer said, the lender is supposed to play an active role in inspecting the building to make sure the landlord is meeting property standards as required by their loan agreement and complying with local housing codes.And while these properties receive federal support, Tozer argued that the responsibility for enforcing maintenance standards largely rests with local government agencies.“General protections should come from the local, county or city code enforcement regarding violations,” he said. “Where are the building code officials in your community? Why are they letting people live this way? They’re the first line of defense.”<a href="https://www.kcmo.gov/city-hall/departments/health/healthy-homes-rental-inspection-program" target="_blank">The Healthy Homes Rental Inspection program</a>, run by the Kansas City Health Department, inspected Quality Hill&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/healthy-homes-finds-violations-at-quality-hill-towers-amid-rent-strike" target="_blank">after the rent strike began</a>. The program identified several violations, though none was severe enough to require tenant relocation.Independence Towers has been inspected by Independence’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.independencemo.gov/government/city-departments/community-development/business-license-liquor-license-and-employee-permitting/rental-ready-program" target="_blank">Rental Ready program</a>. But despite various complaints, the building&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article291221045.html" target="_blank">passed its most recent inspection</a>&nbsp;in December.Brent Schondelmeyer, a former Kansas City Star reporter, told the Independence City Council he’d&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article291221045.html" target="_blank">found that 99%</a>&nbsp;of inspections from May 2022 to May 2023 received a perfect score. Critics argue that the inspection process, which relies on third-party inspectors<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article291221045.html" target="_blank">&nbsp;hired by landlords</a>, may fall short in addressing safety issues.Raghuveer said that the FHFA has the power to improve conditions for tenants in federally backed buildings. She said that the issues in these properties are too widespread for local efforts alone to provide adequate protection.“This problem is not going to be solved work order by work order,” she said. “It’s not going to be solved building by building.”This&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2024/10/31/kc-tenants-rent-strike-plans-to-add-more-people/" target="_blank">article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/" target="_blank">Beacon: Kansas City</a>&nbsp;and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<figure>
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