Two Attorneys from Lawrence are running in the Democratic Primary in the Kansas First Congressional District, and neither of them have the slightest chance of winning in the general election.
Both Colin McRoberts and Lauren Reinhold are great candidates, with strong platforms, who have introduced themselves to my Indivisible chapter in Manhattan, Kansas.
The table below lists the Democrats and Republicans running in each of the four Kansas Congressional Districts.
The Kansas First Congressional District is easily the least competitive congressional district in the state.
In each of the 11 most recent elections in the Kansas First, the Republican candidate has won by more than 35%.
The Kansas First Congressional District, also known as the Big First, is gigantic.
It stretches from the Kansas-Colorado border to Lawrence, in Eastern Kansas.
The Big First is shown in green on the map below.
Attribution:
By Nebraskan fellow - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=121276590
It’s impossible for a Democrat to win the Deep Red Big First.
Democrats have run compelling, capable, and hard-working candidates in the Big First in previous elections, and each of them have been crushed in the general election.
Choosing which Democrat to run in the Big First is truly the equivalent of arranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
There are competitive congressional races elsewhere, and if you want Democrats to win control of the US House, your efforts should be focused there.
Nevertheless, I live in the Big First, and the Democrats who are running in the district are interesting candidates.
Just don’t get your hopes up.
And if you’re going to volunteer or donate to Kansas Democrats, focus your attention on races they could actually win.
Both McRoberts and Reinhold oppose cuts to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a federal program that provided foreign aid to countries in need.
John Oliver discussed Trump's cuts to USAID on his program LastWeekTonight.
Colin McRoberts
Colin McRoberts has worked as a lawyer, and a negotiator.
"I worked on some of the most difficult and complex deals, helping Fortune 500 companies, unions, diplomatic teams, and government bodies make better deals under the toughest conditions – exactly what Congress and Kansas need now,” McRoberts wrote on his campaign website.
McRoberts teaches negotiation and business law at the University of Kansas (KU).
In March 2025, McRoberts attended a town hall in Oakley, Kansas, where US Senator Roger Marshall left early after receiving critical comments and tough questions from Kansans.
Oakley is located in Northwest Kansas.
WIBW also covered Marshall’s early departure from the town hall.
Colin McRoberts is a talented public speaker.
This can be seen in the passionate and energetic speech he delivered on March 28 at the No Kings 3 rally, in Manhattan, Kansas, which was hosted by my Indivisible chapter.
McRoberts supports restoring funding for USAID, and restoring scientific funding for the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation.
He supports reversing cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.
McRoberts supports amending federal law to automatically cancel presidential tariffs, after one year, unless Congress votes to extend them.
He supports holding the federal government accountable for “incompetence, indecency, and illegality.”
McRoberts supports amending federal law to allow victims sue federal officials who violate their rights.
“We’ve seen what happens when we trust the executive branch to police itself,” he wrote on his campaign website. “When an ICE agent killed Renee Good in Minneapolis, the government immediately declared there would not even be an investigation.”
“An amended Section 1983 would let victims (or their surviving families) sue in civil court, so the government would not be able to shut down investigations and obstruct justice,” he added.
McRoberts discussed his candidacy with the Kansas Reflector.
Lauren Reinhold
As a lawyer, Lauren Reinhold represented low-income Kansans fighting for their housing, consumer, and family rights, according to her campaign website.
Reinhold also advised families, employers, and immigrants on immigration law.
Reinhold worked for the federal government.
She served in the Social Security Administration, where she focused on workforce modernization and employee support.
She also served as an investigator for the National Labor Relations Board.
Lauren Reinhold witnessed firsthand the chaos Trump unleashed at the Social Security Administration (SSA), including through funding cuts initiated by DOGE, an initiative led by Elon Musk.
“Committed to ensuring government functions well, Lauren planned to continue a long career in federal government administration,” she wrote on her campaign website.“Unfortunately, her plans changed when DOGE cut SSA programs, slashed people-centered initiatives across the government, and eliminated thousands of jobs within her agency."
In response, Reinhold resigned from the Social Security Administration, and chose to run for Congress.
“I’m fighting for Kansas, not for big corporations or special interests,” Reinhold wrote on her campaign website. “If anyone in Washington wants to push policies that hurt our farmers, our hospitals, our workers, or our towns, they’ll have to go through me first.”
Reinhold opposes cuts to SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, and USAID.
She said cuts to these programs have hurt farmers and families alike.
Reinhold supports rebuilding rural healthcare.
She believes over-payed CEOs, and their corporations, should pay higher taxes.
Reinhold supports immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship for immigrants living in the US, according to her campaign website.
“Drawing on her experience as an immigration attorney, Lauren will advocate for long-overdue common-sense immigration reform that addresses our need for a stable agricultural workforce and family unity while securing the border and making sure our deportation policies are fair and humane,” Reinhold wrote.
“In Congress, Lauren will work for legislation that provides a fair path to citizenship for people who have been contributing to our society and our communities. She will bring to the table her government and legal background to demand a fair and efficient immigration court process staffed by qualified judges, focusing on policies that treat immigrant families and communities with dignity and respect.”
Lauren Reinhold introduced herself to Indivisible Manhattan on April 25, during the Little Apple Pride Celebration, where we hosted a booth for our organization.
You can learn more about Lauren Reinhold and Colin McRoberts from the Kansas Reflector.
My Endorsement
Democrats have no chance of winning the Kansas First Congressional District.
Democrats would have their best performance in the Big First in more than 20 years, if they managed to narrow the Republican margin of victory to under 35%.
Both Colin McRoberts and Lauren Reinhold are quality candidates with strong platforms.
Both candidates have introduced themselves to my Indivisible chapter in Manhattan, Kansas.
McRoberts uses slightly sharper rhetoric to criticize the Trump administration.
McRoberts is also an amazing orator who delivers great speeches.
I plan to vote for Colin McRoberts, and I encourage others to do so as well.
It would be entertaining to watch McRoberts campaign in the general election, even though he has no chance to actually win.
My endorsements are preliminary, and subject to change, based on subsequent developments.
But I don’t believe my endorsement in this race will likely change.
I'm glad that both McRoberts and Reinhold are running for Congress.
Democrats should try to run candidates in every race, even in races they don’t have a chance to win.
I would love to have either McRoberts or Reinhold represent me in Congress, rather than Tracey Mann (R), but if history is any guide, that’s definitely not going to happen.
If you appreciate my coverage of the 2026 Kansas elections, you can support my work on Patreon.
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