TOPEKA — Matt Kleinmann remembers looking at his phone one day in July 2017 and watching former Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain vote to preserve the Affordable Care Act with his iconic thumbs-down gesture.

Kleinmann, a community developer in Wyandotte County who at the time was working on a park renovation project in Kansas City, Kansas, realized in that moment that it wasn’t enough to build parks, grocery stores and affordable housing if half of his community lost health insurance. He needed to take a more holistic approach.

“That was sort of a an epiphany for me that I needed to be more engaged politically,” Kleinmann said. “And as I started following a little closer and learning a little more, I started realizing that part of the role of Congress is to bring resources back to the community.”

On Monday, Kleinmann filed as a Democrat in the 2nd District race for the U.S. House.

He was born and raised in Overland Park and appeared in 70 games as a member of the University of Kansas basketball team from 2004-2009, a span that included a national championship. He studied architecture and worked at a firm in Kansas City before pivoting to the nonprofit sector.

Most recently, he was the director of community development for Vibrant Health, a nonprofit working to provide access to high-quality health care for those in Wyandotte County. He is taking a leave of absence to run for Congress.

So far, he is the only Democrat to file or announce a campaign for the 2nd District seat ahead of the June 3 deadline. Former Attorney General Derek Schmidt and former congressional staffer Jeff Kahrs are seeking the GOP nomination.

Kleinmann, who said he grew up a Republican but is now “a little terrified of a vision of America that wants to take the rights away from people,” identified a number of ways he believes he is different from his GOP rivals.

“I don’t believe the 2020 election was stolen,” Kleinmann said. “I believe climate change is real. I believe working families deserve a raise. I believe we need to take care of our children with better child care options, and I believe we need to take care of our seniors so that they can age in place with dignity.

“I believe that local issues we can find common ground on. I know the immigration system is broken, but I don’t believe Kansas is a border state. I believe we have things in our own backyard that we need to fix. And I think that working on what unites us is better than trying to divide us.”

He acknowledged that he faces long odds in a district that appears to be reliably Republican and supportive of former president Donald Trump — especially after the Legislature gerrymandered districts in 2022 in a failed effort to drive Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids out of office.

The new map split the northern half of Kansas City out of Davids’ 3rd District and placed it into the 2nd District, which now snakes from the Nebraska border in the northeast corner of the state to Marion in east-central Kansas and back down to the Oklahoma border in the southeast corner. Legislators preserved the Republican advantage by relocating Lawrence, where Kleinmann played basketball, into the 1st District, which covers the western third of the state and north-central Kansas.

But “there are basketball fans outside of Lawrence,” Kleinmann joked, and the odds are not insurmountable.

The seat is being vacated by incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, who won reelection in 2022 with 57.6% of the vote.

Kleinmann hopes that his message appeals to rural voters as well as those in Kansas City.

“I think there are pockets of folks who just want to see normalcy,” Kleinmann said. “They want to see community building. They just want to have a sense of stability so they can go on about their lives. And I think that is true in Wyandotte, and it’s true in southeast Kansas, and it’s true in the Flint Hills, and it’s true in Atchison. You know, it’s not radical to say we can work together and build up our community. I think that is actually what every person should be saying.”

Kleinmann also pointed out the district’s voters rejected a constitutional amendment in August 2022 that would have taken away the right to terminate a pregnancy.

“I firmly believe in a woman’s right to choose,” he said. “I believe that health care is a human right. And like most Republicans, I believe in small government. I just believe that government should not be in the doctor’s room making decisions about a woman’s body. I’m also very concerned with the push among Republicans for a national abortion ban.”

“I believe that abortion access is critical because it is health care,” he added. “There are people who need abortions to survive. And I don’t believe as a Christian that we should allow people to die because they cannot have access to health care.”

Kleinmann said he has serious concerns about what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, attacked police officers and disrupted the counting of electoral votes.

He said “an extremist wing” of the Republican Party is trying to undermine democracy.

“The moment somebody loses an election and decides the right thing to do is to attack a police officer in the Capitol building, we’ve crossed a line,” Kleinmann said.

I’d like to introduce you all to a most remarkable creature: the mossy leaf-tailed gecko.

This little lizard proves the infinite adaptability of nature, the ability of any species given enough time and incentive to wholly ensconce itself within its surroundings.

If you browse online photos of the gecko (also known by the scientific name uroplatus sikorae), you’ll be hard-pressed to find it. That’s because the lizard blends in so perfectly with surrounding vegetation. Not only can its bark-like skin change color, but that skin hangs off its body in tiny flaps, perfectly matching tree branches.

The mossy leaf-tailed gecko lives only in Madagascar and has seen its numbers decrease. It reminds me of another threatened species: the Kansas moderate Republican.

Like the mossy leaf-tailed gecko, moderate Republicans have become adapt at all but vanishing from public view. Surrounded by other Republicans — you can think of them as the trees of the tropical rainforest in this analogy — the moderate Republican changes color, deploys its dermal flaps and blends right in. This might mean voting with leadership on bills particularly important to them. This might mean keeping a low profile when problematic legislation hits the floor.

Reptile expert Dave Bagshaw‘s words apply as easily to these good-hearted GOP members as they do to high-maintenance lizards: “They are very cryptic species that you would quite easily walk past in the in the forest.”

This arrangement serves conservative Republicans perfectly well. After all, if they can’t see or hear moderates, why should they be concerned? For them, life in the forest continues on its merry way.

It works out less well for the modern Republicans. Sure, camouflaging themselves to blend in with their surroundings ensures their survival. In politics, sometimes that’s enough. But when it actually comes down to passing legislative priorities and doing the best possible for constituents, these lawmakers may find themselves staring into the mirror late at night wondering about what life choices brought them to Topeka.

No one should deceive themselves about the difficulty.

“There’s always pressure, especially on contentious issues and close votes, and leadership has many ways to make their priorities clear,” said Mary Jo Taylor, a former Republican state senator who served from 2017 to 2021. She now works with the Kansans First group, which works to support moderate voices. “So do the lobbyists and partisan political activists, and there’s a cost to not being seen as a ‘team player’ by folks in Topeka.”

Moderates serving in today’s polarized climate have to decide whether to pay that cost.

If you view changes to the Republican Party over the past eight years as an aberration, perhaps you think this is just a phase. In that case, one might be tempted to indulge a few wacky notions until the fever breaks. You don’t find the cost too expensive. Perhaps you believe the existence of thoughtful voices will encourage other civic-minded individuals to run for and win office. This is likewise an appealing idea, and one that makes the cost seem affordable.

But perhaps neither of these perspectives pan out. Perhaps the party continues to degrade as louder and cruder voices gain ever-greater sway. What then?

Here’s my take: Mossy leaf-tailed geckos fill an ecological niche. In times of conservative supermajorities in the Kansas House and Senate, hidden moderate Republican lawmakers similarly need to make their presence imperceptible. Now and then, they can dart out to do a bit of good.

But to truly change Kansas for the better, moderates must stand out from the background and be willing to disarm and shock potential opponents with their brilliant plumage. That requires greater numbers.

“All you have to do is look at the difference between what is being pushed now and what we passed during my first two years in the senate,” Taylor said, taking us back to a time when the Legislature actually passed Medicaid expansion but faced a veto from then-Gov. Sam Brownback.

“Back then, when we had a near-even split between moderates and conservatives in the Republican caucus, we passed Medicaid expansion,” she said. “Republican lawmakers spoke in favor of it. Then when we couldn’t get the votes to override the veto, we tried a new compromise. Now they have a ‘hearing’ and call it a session while thousands of Kansans go without health insurance. I think that speaks for itself.”

With sufficient support, moderates can change the political calculation in Topeka. They can flex their muscles. They can make their presence and priorities known.

In the meantime, keep a close eye on those tree branches in the forest of Kansas politics.

Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.

MANHATTAN — An extra-inning loss to Brigham Young on Saturday didn’t affect Kansas State baseball’s position in the Big 12 standings, but it certainly put a damper on what had shaped up as a pleasant finish to the regular season.

The Wildcats were one strike away from a three-game sweep and a full head of steam heading into this week’s Big 12 Championship when the wheels came off in spectacular fashion. Instead of celebrating on senior night, they saw BYU score seven runs in the ninth and 10th innings for a 12-8 victory at Tointon Family Stadium.

“It’s a frustrating loss,” K-State coach Pete Hughes said. “You have a chance to sweep someone and you’re one strike away and you’re up two runs, it’s about as heartbreaking as you can have.

“My mind is really stuck on that, to be honest with you. I didn’t look at any positives we had during the game, and we did a lot of really good things, but when you’re that close to winning with a two-run lead at home and then a couple of crazy plays.”

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With the loss, the Wildcats finished the regular season at 31-22 overall and 15-15 in the Big 12, while BYU improved to 21-31 and 7-23 while ending a 13-game conference losing streak. As the No. 6 seed, K-State will face No. 7 Kansas at 9 a.m. Tuesday to open the Big 12 Tournament in Arlington, Texas.

K-State took a 7-5 advantage to the ninth inning, only to surrender the lead on a bases-loaded error and a wild pitch. Then, after Brady Day tied it with a towering leadoff homer in the bottom of inning, BYU effectively ended it on Parker Goff’s grand slam to left.

The ending overshadowed a gritty comeback performance by K-State, which took its first lead on Kaelen Culpepper’s two-run, opposite-field home run to right, then made it 7-5 when Kyan Lodice followed with a solo shot to right. Culpepper also had a two-run triple in the third.

“I’m proud of our guys for battling back and tying it in the bottom of the ninth off a closer who had been dominating this year. It kind of sets up for a great comeback and it just didn’t happen.

“I feel bad for our seniors, but a really frustrating loss because it was so close, but that’s the life of major college athletics right there.”

The Wildcats, who wrapped up the regular season at 31-22 overall, 15-15 in the Big 12, had 11 hits in the game, including three home runs. But BYU (21-31, 7-23), which ended a 13-game conference losing streak, answered with 14 hits and drew eight walks.

Still, K-State did take two games to win the series, picking up a pair of one-run victories on Thursday and Friday. They took the opener, 7-6, on Lodice’s walk-off single in the 12th inning, while Jackson Wentworth and Tyson Neighbors combined on a five-hitter in a 2-1 Friday win.

Wentworth’s performance was especially critical after K-State used four pitchers in the series opener, as he responded with career highs of eight innings and 11 strikeouts. With the Wildcats clinging to a one-run lead, he gave up a leadoff triple in the sixth inning, then struck out the next three batters, and with runners at second and third he got another strikeout to end the threat.

“I just tried pushing through to get the team a win,” Wentworth said of whiffing BYU’s Easton Jones to end the eighth. “All I could do to just get that last out for Tyson to come in and close it.”

Neighbors also came up big, getting the Cougars in order with two strikeouts for his eighth save just a day after throwing 50 pitches over eight innings in the opener.

“I thought we played good this weekend,” Hughes said in recapping the series. “We won a series. “It’s all about winning series. We’ll feel terrible about this one for a while, but it’s a 24-hour rule. We’ve got to get back at it and get hot in the Big 12 Tournament and try to win the tournament.”

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.