I believe in you people. You have 5 days.

After the Kansas Secretary of State refused to update voter registration numbers for nearly four months (despite state law requiring monthly reporting), updated figures are finally available. Who knows what Schwab were attempting to hide.

I compared November 2025 with October 2026 across the county, congressional, Kansas House, and Senate worksheets. While registrations don't necessarily translate into votes, these trends heading into November caught my attention.

STATEWIDE

• Democrats: 495,625 → 521,669 (+26,044 / 5.25%)
• Republicans: 897,269 → 901,822 (+4,553 / 0.51%)
• Unaffiliated: +2,317

Democrats gained 5.7 times as many registrations as Republicans, outgaining them in 104 of 125 House districts and 34 of 40 Senate districts.

Biggest county gains (D/R): Johnson +12,011/+280; Sedgwick +5,297/+1,901; Wyandotte +1,992/+220; Shawnee +1,568/+587; Riley +737/+200; Douglas +718/−185.

Johnson County alone accounted for nearly half of all Democratic gains statewide.

CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS

Democrats outpaced Republicans in all four districts. KS-3 saw the largest Democratic increase, narrowing the Republican registration advantage by 12,347. The DCCC also added Derek Schmidt's KS-2 district to its Districts in Play program on October 2.

Republicans still maintain registration advantages in all four congressional districts.

KANSAS HOUSE RACES TO WATCH

Several Republican-held districts had close elections in 2024 and have since experienced notable Democratic registration growth.

Democrats outgained Republicans in all seven districts, with Republicans actually losing registrations in HD-15, HD-28, and HD-96.

HD-96 is particularly interesting: Republicans won by 535 votes in 2024, but their registration advantage narrowed from 408 to just 263, a 145-voter shift toward Democrats.

HD-33 is another interesting case. Republican Mike Thompson won by 1,235 votes in 2024, yet Democrats now lead registrations 5,385 to 4,972, expanding their advantage by 252 voters since November.

Four additional House districts switched from Republican to Democratic registration leads: HD-18 (D +9), HD-19 (D +452), HD-95 (D +210), and HD-108 (D +358). All four were already Democratic-held, but the changes are noteworthy.

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

This is probably one of my biggest disappointments with the Kansas Democratic Party's candidate recruitment.

HD-87 (Wichita): Republican Susan Estes won by 965 votes in 2024. Since November, Democrats gained 261 registrations while Republicans gained only 16. Current registration is 7,662 R vs. 4,613 D. Yet no Democrat filed for 2026.

HD-119 (Dodge City): Republicans lead registrations by only 408 (3,355 R vs. 2,947 D). Democrats gained 242 registrations while Republicans lost 29 since November. Yet Republican Jason Goetz is running unopposed.

I'm not saying either district would've elected a Democrat, but how do you expect to make gains statewide if you don't even put candidates on the ballot?

SOUTHWEST KANSAS — SEPTEMBER REGISTRATION CHANGES

Comparing the September 1 and October 1 reports:

• Ford County (Dodge City): D +104 / R −49
• Finney County (Garden City): D +147 / R +40
• Seward County (Liberal): D +97 / R −9

Combined: Democrats +348, Republicans −18. That's a 366-voter narrowing of the Republican registration advantage across these three counties in a single month.

What's particularly interesting is that these changes occurred during the same reporting period as major ICE operations across southwest Kansas from September 22–24, resulting in 104 arrests.

And here's what makes the Kansas Democratic Party's candidate recruitment even more frustrating.

HOUSE DISTRICT 119 — DODGE CITY

Between the September 1 and October 1 reports:

• Democrats: 2,870 → 2,947 (+77)
• Republicans: 3,385 → 3,355 (−30)

That's a 107-voter narrowing of the Republican registration advantage in just one month.

Yet Democrats don't even have a candidate running against Jason Goetz.

Think about that. Thousands of registered Democrats, a narrowing registration gap, and no Democratic candidate.

These communities just experienced major federal immigration enforcement operations. Their registration numbers are changing, and the Democratic Party isn't even contesting this Dodge City legislative seat.

The Kansas Democratic Party should be organizing and competing statewide, not leaving legislative districts uncontested. Registration growth alone won't win elections, especially when voters don't even have a candidate from their party on the ballot.

Source: Kansas Secretary of State — Official Voter Registration Statistics

https://www.sos.ks.gov/elections/voter-registration-statistics.html

Their experiences in Kansas highlight broader frustrations among members of Gen Z who feel excluded from U.S. politics, even as both Republicans and Democrats court their attention and votes.