Hitting the Road Running!

Returning from my 10-day pilgrimage in Portugal and Spain, refreshed and ready to go,

I hit the campaign trail early Saturday, 10 hours after arriving at KCI late Friday evening.

I spoke at two events Saturday: the first in Hutchinson at the Reno County Republican Picnic and then in Pittsburg at the Crawford County Republican Picnic.  It was an honor to address each group outlining why I am running for Governor of Kansas. I want to note that I could not have accomplished this without the help of two of my granddaughters: Avery Howell, who drove me (a little rest was required during the 500-mile campaign day trip) and Mariah Rutler, who took care of my two dogs, Bear and Harvey. I truly appreciate their help.

At each campaign stop, the topic of the out-of-control increase in property taxes was high on the list of concerns. And I continue to hammer on the issue of corporate welfare. I am pleased the people of Kansas are understanding that Kansas government handouts, at both the local and state level, are making Swiss cheese out of our tax base. With every incentive given, the burden of taxes, especially property taxes, is shifted to the rest of US!!!

Speaking of corporate welfare, the Chiefs and Royals have requested the State of Kansas extend the June 30, 2025 deadline on the sweetheart Star Bond deal passed in 2024. In my opinion, the Chiefs and Royals are using Kansas to squeeze more money out of our Missouri neighbors. My stance is, no handouts to billionaires. The economic impact of both the Chiefs and the Royals is already baked into our local economy.

Also, the cartoon from last week’s column depicted that in February, 2024 Secretary of State, Scott Schwab, ordered the destruction of the 2020 ballots in Johnson County. His order was given to the Johnson County election commissioner despite the fact that then sheriff, Calvin Hayden, had an ongoing investigation regarding that election. In addition, our AG, Kris Kobach, sent a letter asking that the ballots not be destroyed. Despite these facts, the ballots were destroyed.

Now on to two additional issues concerning our Kansas voter registration rolls.  Again, this information is from Earl Glynn’s Watchdog lab https://watchdoglab.substack.com

One of the most troubling facts that Earl uncovered is that as of November 2024, Johnson County’s voter registration was 102% of possible eligible voters!!!  How can that happen, 102% of eligible voters registered??  This is extremely troubling as it has been my experience knocking on doors, that there are numerous people who are not registered and who do not want to be registered. The main reason I’ve heard that people are not registered is a belief that the jury duty pool is drawn from registered voters. That is not the case, but the myth continues to dissuade some from registering.

The other reason individuals are not registering to vote is that they have given up on the system. After years of voting for Republicans who now have a super majority, nothing ever changes. This is why I am running for governor, to lead Republicans to be real Republicans.

In addition is the issue of our bloated statewide voter registration rolls. 320,000 inactive voters are eligible and should be removed from the voter rolls. It appears that cleaning up our voter rolls is not a priority for our current Secretary of State. But he does have a priority, destroying ballots which are under investigation.

102% of eligible voters registered in Johnson County and the fact that 15% of our registered voters statewide are inactive and should be removed from the voter rolls is certainly troubling for all of us. When Governor of Kansas, I will publicly press and demand that the newly elected Secretary of State immediately and effectively correct these issues.

I need your help!  If you can, please consider contributing to our campaign. Thank you and I will continue the FIGHT!!

Charlotte O’Hara
Republican for Kansas Governor, 2026