Democrats try to expand Senate battlefield into red Kansas

Democrats have decided Kansas is a battleground, which tells you less about Kansas and more about the bind they’re in. This is a state that hasn’t voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1964. It has a Republican supermajority in the legislature. And President Trump carried it by more than 14 points just four years ago. If this is where they think they can win, they are officially out of options.

The theory, we suppose, is that voters here are tired of Republican infighting or might fall for a moderate pitch. But Kansans have heard that story before. Democratic national policy is not a secret. They see the border, the inflation, the gender ideology in schools. A state that keeps electing conservatives isn’t confused about what it wants. No amount of well-funded TV ads is going to convince a Kansas farmer that his grocery bill is the GOP’s fault.

You could call it a clever expansion of the map. It’s not. It’s a burn pile of donor money disguised as strategy. The only thing Democrats are expanding is their list of disappointments. Meanwhile, Republicans should take the threat seriously for exactly one reason: overconfidence. Run a real campaign, show up, and this is a seat that should stay safely red. Kansans aren’t looking for a new friend. They already know who they trust.