KANSAS

THE PRAIRIE DOESN’T BELONG TO THE POLITICAL MACHINE.

MUGWUMPS · ATLAS · 2028 U.S. SENATE · FOUR-DOSSIER CONVERGENCE

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2026 · 8:22 PM ET · LANGHORNE P. BREEDLOVE

CONVERGENCE VERDICT

Four independently authored source registers list 49, 68, 41 and 53 entries, respectively. Their counts are not a count of unique people across sources. This synthesis narrows the field to 25 documented public-role subjects worthy of further research, with a geographic balance and explicit uncertainty. It is not a shortlist of declared or consenting candidates, endorsements or party-affiliation predictions.

The most distinctive source-backed biographies involve farm supply chains, water and medical access, local food distribution, agricultural entrepreneurship, tribal self-government, and direct small-city administration. A high editorial position means a profile merits deeper verification, not that the person is qualified, willing, electorally viable or aligned with Mugwumps.

KANSAS AT A GLANCE · 2028 RACE

Class III U.S. Senate election: November 7, 2028. Republican incumbent Jerry Moran (Senate service since 2011, earlier House tenure) and Democrat Michael Soetaert appear in the consulted 2028 candidate register; certification, filing and nomination status require later official checks. Kansas’s November 2026 Class II election is separate, and the dossiers report Adam Hamilton defeating Roger Marshall. Avoid treating either race as a forecast for 2028.

FIVE PUBLIC PROBLEMS THAT THE SOURCES REPEATEDLY IDENTIFY

01 · Ogallala aquifer decline, drought, irrigation and the cost of water for farms and towns.

02 · Farm-market concentration, local processing, land succession and small-business finance.

03 · Rural hospitals, physician access, ambulance distances and healthcare affordability.

04 · Agricultural, manufacturing and service-sector employment; wages, housing and childcare.

05 · Local government capacity, sovereign tribal institutions, education and accountable public service.

TOP 25 · EDITORIAL RESEARCH DIRECTORY

01 · Rosanna Bauman  |  Southeast · Garnett / Anderson County

02 · Donna Pearson McClish  |  South-central · Wichita

03 · Jason Schmidt  |  South-central · Whitewater / Harvey County

04 · Jack Geiger  |  Northeast · Robinson / Brown County

05 · Dakota Welch  |  Southeast · Fort Scott / Bourbon County

06 · Alissa Kirchhoff  |  Northwest · Phillips County / Prairie View

07 · Michael Machen  |  Northwest · Quinter / Gove County

08 · Amber Williams  |  Southwest · Liberal / Seward County

09 · Amanda Lindahl  |  North-central · Dickinson County / Enterprise

10 · Ryan Goertzen-Regier  |  South-central · North Newton / Harvey County

11 · Jill Elmers  |  Northeast · Lawrence / Douglas County

12 · Matt Ubel  |  Northeast · Wheaton / Pottawatomie County

13 · Marieta Hauser  |  Southwest · Grant County

14 · Gail DuPuis-Cheatham  |  Northeast · Horton / Brown County

15 · Joseph 'Zeke' Rupnick  |  Northeast · Mayetta / Jackson County

16 · Tiauna Carnes  |  Northeast · Reserve / Brown County

17 · Brian Walker  |  South-central · Wichita

18 · Alicia Gian-Maciulis  |  Southwest · Garden City / Finney County

19 · Glenn Brunkow  |  Northeast · Pottawatomie County

20 · Debra Bolton  |  Northeast-central · Manhattan / Riley County

21 · Denny Ashcraft  |  Northeast · Mayetta / Jackson County

22 · Christy Gibson  |  Southwest · Greensburg / Kiowa County

23 · Noel Lucero  |  South-central · Wichita / Sedgwick County

24 · Lisa Knoll  |  Southwest · Garden City / Finney County

25 · Kate Giessel  |  Northeast · Kansas City region

PUBLIC-RECORD PROFILES · IN RESEARCH ORDER

01 · ROSANNA BAUMAN

STATE CONNECTION · Southeast · Garnett / Anderson County

DOCUMENTED PUBLIC ROLE · Farm entrepreneur; poultry, livestock processing and feed businesses

REASON FOR FOLLOW-UP · Distinctive record in rural business development and local agricultural supply chains

DOSSIER CROSS-REFERENCE · FANCY · REMY · ERIKA

SOURCE · Public organizational record

OPEN VERIFICATION · Current role and biography; actual home county; earlier political activity; publicly expressed views; any genuine 2028 interest or consent. None presumed.

02 · DONNA PEARSON MCCLISH

STATE CONNECTION · South-central · Wichita

DOCUMENTED PUBLIC ROLE · Founder, Common Ground Producers and Growers; mobile food hub

REASON FOR FOLLOW-UP · Urban–rural food distribution and entrepreneurial service record

DOSSIER CROSS-REFERENCE · FANCY · REMY · ERIKA · LANGHORNE

SOURCE · Public organizational record

OPEN VERIFICATION · Current role and biography; actual home county; earlier political activity; publicly expressed views; any genuine 2028 interest or consent. None presumed.

03 · JASON SCHMIDT

STATE CONNECTION · South-central · Whitewater / Harvey County

DOCUMENTED PUBLIC ROLE · Fifth-generation dairy farmer; water stewardship involvement

REASON FOR FOLLOW-UP · Grounded connection between agriculture, rural economies and environmental management

DOSSIER CROSS-REFERENCE · FANCY · REMY · ERIKA · LANGHORNE

SOURCE · Public organizational record

OPEN VERIFICATION · Current role and biography; actual home county; earlier political activity; publicly expressed views; any genuine 2028 interest or consent. None presumed.

04 · JACK GEIGER

STATE CONNECTION · Northeast · Robinson / Brown County

DOCUMENTED PUBLIC ROLE · Organic grain and livestock farmer; direct-market producer

REASON FOR FOLLOW-UP · Family-farm economics and market alternatives; low conventional electoral visibility

DOSSIER CROSS-REFERENCE · FANCY · REMY · ERIKA · LANGHORNE

SOURCE · Public organizational record

OPEN VERIFICATION · Current role and biography; actual home county; earlier political activity; publicly expressed views; any genuine 2028 interest or consent. None presumed.

05 · DAKOTA WELCH

STATE CONNECTION · Southeast · Fort Scott / Bourbon County

DOCUMENTED PUBLIC ROLE · Farmer and Kansas Rural Center board vice president

REASON FOR FOLLOW-UP · A geographically underrepresented southeast Kansas civic leader

DOSSIER CROSS-REFERENCE · FANCY · REMY · LANGHORNE

SOURCE · Public organizational record

OPEN VERIFICATION · Current role and biography; actual home county; earlier political activity; publicly expressed views; any genuine 2028 interest or consent. None presumed.

06 · ALISSA KIRCHHOFF

STATE CONNECTION · Northwest · Phillips County / Prairie View

DOCUMENTED PUBLIC ROLE · Veterinarian and dryland farmer; Young Farmers and Ranchers representative

REASON FOR FOLLOW-UP · Rare combination of agricultural operations, animal health and High Plains concerns

DOSSIER CROSS-REFERENCE · LANGHORNE

SOURCE · Public organizational record

OPEN VERIFICATION · Current role and biography; actual home county; earlier political activity; publicly expressed views; any genuine 2028 interest or consent. None presumed.

07 · MICHAEL MACHEN

STATE CONNECTION · Northwest · Quinter / Gove County

DOCUMENTED PUBLIC ROLE · Family physician and rural healthcare leader

REASON FOR FOLLOW-UP · Direct professional experience with western Kansas healthcare access

DOSSIER CROSS-REFERENCE · FANCY

SOURCE · Public organizational record

OPEN VERIFICATION · Current role and biography; actual home county; earlier political activity; publicly expressed views; any genuine 2028 interest or consent. None presumed.

08 · AMBER WILLIAMS

STATE CONNECTION · Southwest · Liberal / Seward County

DOCUMENTED PUBLIC ROLE · Southwest Medical Center chief executive

REASON FOR FOLLOW-UP · Healthcare administration at the western/southwestern edge of the state

DOSSIER CROSS-REFERENCE · FANCY

SOURCE · Public organizational record

OPEN VERIFICATION · Current role and biography; actual home county; earlier political activity; publicly expressed views; any genuine 2028 interest or consent. None presumed.

09 · AMANDA LINDAHL

STATE CONNECTION · North-central · Dickinson County / Enterprise

DOCUMENTED PUBLIC ROLE · Fifth-generation farm steward; local food and school-garden organizing

REASON FOR FOLLOW-UP · Combines farm succession with community education and food-service experience

DOSSIER CROSS-REFERENCE · FANCY · REMY · ERIKA

SOURCE · Public organizational record

OPEN VERIFICATION · Current role and biography; actual home county; earlier political activity; publicly expressed views; any genuine 2028 interest or consent. None presumed.

10 · RYAN GOERTZEN-REGIER

STATE CONNECTION · South-central · North Newton / Harvey County

DOCUMENTED PUBLIC ROLE · Family farming, beekeeping and local food-and-farm council work

REASON FOR FOLLOW-UP · Small-business and neighborhood-scale agricultural systems

DOSSIER CROSS-REFERENCE · FANCY · REMY · ERIKA · LANGHORNE

SOURCE · Public organizational record

OPEN VERIFICATION · Current role and biography; actual home county; earlier political activity; publicly expressed views; any genuine 2028 interest or consent. None presumed.

11 · JILL ELMERS

STATE CONNECTION · Northeast · Lawrence / Douglas County

DOCUMENTED PUBLIC ROLE · Organic vegetable grower; CSA and food-hub background

REASON FOR FOLLOW-UP · Producer perspective with practical food enterprise experience

DOSSIER CROSS-REFERENCE · FANCY · REMY · ERIKA

SOURCE · Public organizational record

OPEN VERIFICATION · Current role and biography; actual home county; earlier political activity; publicly expressed views; any genuine 2028 interest or consent. None presumed.

12 · MATT UBEL

STATE CONNECTION · Northeast · Wheaton / Pottawatomie County

DOCUMENTED PUBLIC ROLE · Farmer and custom agricultural services owner; Kansas Farmers Union vice president

REASON FOR FOLLOW-UP · Grounded farm-sector business background, though organization leadership is established

DOSSIER CROSS-REFERENCE · FANCY · REMY · ERIKA · LANGHORNE

SOURCE · Public organizational record

OPEN VERIFICATION · Current role and biography; actual home county; earlier political activity; publicly expressed views; any genuine 2028 interest or consent. None presumed.

13 · MARIETA HAUSER

STATE CONNECTION · Southwest · Grant County

DOCUMENTED PUBLIC ROLE · Wheat and milo farmer; Kansas Farm Bureau district director

REASON FOR FOLLOW-UP · Western agricultural and drought-region experience outside metropolitan politics

DOSSIER CROSS-REFERENCE · LANGHORNE

SOURCE · Public organizational record

OPEN VERIFICATION · Current role and biography; actual home county; earlier political activity; publicly expressed views; any genuine 2028 interest or consent. None presumed.

14 · GAIL DUPUIS-CHEATHAM

STATE CONNECTION · Northeast · Horton / Brown County

DOCUMENTED PUBLIC ROLE · Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas chairwoman

REASON FOR FOLLOW-UP · Public sovereign-government leadership; role should not imply federal candidacy

DOSSIER CROSS-REFERENCE · FANCY · REMY · ERIKA · LANGHORNE

SOURCE · Public organizational record

OPEN VERIFICATION · Current role and biography; actual home county; earlier political activity; publicly expressed views; any genuine 2028 interest or consent. None presumed.

15 · JOSEPH 'ZEKE' RUPNICK

STATE CONNECTION · Northeast · Mayetta / Jackson County

DOCUMENTED PUBLIC ROLE · Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation chair

REASON FOR FOLLOW-UP · Experience leading a sovereign government; title/date needs independent reconfirmation

DOSSIER CROSS-REFERENCE · FANCY · REMY · ERIKA · LANGHORNE

SOURCE · Public organizational record

OPEN VERIFICATION · Current role and biography; actual home county; earlier political activity; publicly expressed views; any genuine 2028 interest or consent. None presumed.

16 · TIAUNA CARNES

STATE CONNECTION · Northeast · Reserve / Brown County

DOCUMENTED PUBLIC ROLE · Sac and Fox Nation chairwoman

REASON FOR FOLLOW-UP · Distinctive sovereign public-administration perspective

DOSSIER CROSS-REFERENCE · FANCY · REMY · ERIKA · LANGHORNE

SOURCE · Public organizational record

OPEN VERIFICATION · Current role and biography; actual home county; earlier political activity; publicly expressed views; any genuine 2028 interest or consent. None presumed.

17 · BRIAN WALKER

STATE CONNECTION · South-central · Wichita

DOCUMENTED PUBLIC ROLE · Kansas Food Bank chief executive

REASON FOR FOLLOW-UP · Large-scale distribution and anti-hunger program management

DOSSIER CROSS-REFERENCE · FANCY · REMY · ERIKA

SOURCE · Public organizational record

OPEN VERIFICATION · Current role and biography; actual home county; earlier political activity; publicly expressed views; any genuine 2028 interest or consent. None presumed.

18 · ALICIA GIAN-MACIULIS

STATE CONNECTION · Southwest · Garden City / Finney County

DOCUMENTED PUBLIC ROLE · Small-business and wellness operator; Kansas Rural Center board

REASON FOR FOLLOW-UP · Southwest entrepreneurship and regional civic engagement

DOSSIER CROSS-REFERENCE · FANCY · REMY · LANGHORNE

SOURCE · Public organizational record

OPEN VERIFICATION · Current role and biography; actual home county; earlier political activity; publicly expressed views; any genuine 2028 interest or consent. None presumed.

19 · GLENN BRUNKOW

STATE CONNECTION · Northeast · Pottawatomie County

DOCUMENTED PUBLIC ROLE · Kansas Farm Bureau president; fifth-generation farmer and stockman

REASON FOR FOLLOW-UP · Substantial agricultural leadership but more established institutional role

DOSSIER CROSS-REFERENCE · LANGHORNE

SOURCE · Public organizational record

OPEN VERIFICATION · Current role and biography; actual home county; earlier political activity; publicly expressed views; any genuine 2028 interest or consent. None presumed.

20 · DEBRA BOLTON

STATE CONNECTION · Northeast-central · Manhattan / Riley County

DOCUMENTED PUBLIC ROLE · Kansas Rural Center board; educational connection to Haskell Indian Nations University

REASON FOR FOLLOW-UP · Civic and educational experience; specific roles and home base need checking

DOSSIER CROSS-REFERENCE · FANCY · REMY · LANGHORNE

SOURCE · Public organizational record

OPEN VERIFICATION · Current role and biography; actual home county; earlier political activity; publicly expressed views; any genuine 2028 interest or consent. None presumed.

21 · DENNY ASHCRAFT

STATE CONNECTION · Northeast · Mayetta / Jackson County

DOCUMENTED PUBLIC ROLE · Farmer and licensed water/wastewater operator; Farm Bureau director

REASON FOR FOLLOW-UP · Practical overlap of rural agriculture and utility systems

DOSSIER CROSS-REFERENCE · LANGHORNE

SOURCE · Public organizational record

OPEN VERIFICATION · Current role and biography; actual home county; earlier political activity; publicly expressed views; any genuine 2028 interest or consent. None presumed.

22 · CHRISTY GIBSON

STATE CONNECTION · Southwest · Greensburg / Kiowa County

DOCUMENTED PUBLIC ROLE · City clerk; League of Kansas Municipalities board

REASON FOR FOLLOW-UP · Hands-on small-town administrative experience without long legislative tenure

DOSSIER CROSS-REFERENCE · LANGHORNE

SOURCE · Public organizational record

OPEN VERIFICATION · Current role and biography; actual home county; earlier political activity; publicly expressed views; any genuine 2028 interest or consent. None presumed.

23 · NOEL LUCERO

STATE CONNECTION · South-central · Wichita / Sedgwick County

DOCUMENTED PUBLIC ROLE · Kansas NEA / United Teachers of Wichita representative

REASON FOR FOLLOW-UP · Classroom and educator-organizing connection; assess exact professional background

DOSSIER CROSS-REFERENCE · LANGHORNE

SOURCE · Public organizational record

OPEN VERIFICATION · Current role and biography; actual home county; earlier political activity; publicly expressed views; any genuine 2028 interest or consent. None presumed.

24 · LISA KNOLL

STATE CONNECTION · Southwest · Garden City / Finney County

DOCUMENTED PUBLIC ROLE · Kansas Food Bank community and donor relations, Garden City

REASON FOR FOLLOW-UP · Regional social-service operations in immigrant and agricultural communities

DOSSIER CROSS-REFERENCE · ERIKA

SOURCE · Public organizational record

OPEN VERIFICATION · Current role and biography; actual home county; earlier political activity; publicly expressed views; any genuine 2028 interest or consent. None presumed.

25 · KATE GIESSEL

STATE CONNECTION · Northeast · Kansas City region

DOCUMENTED PUBLIC ROLE · Attorney and Kansas Rural Center board president

REASON FOR FOLLOW-UP · Legal, small-business and agricultural organization background

DOSSIER CROSS-REFERENCE · FANCY · REMY · LANGHORNE

SOURCE · Public organizational record

OPEN VERIFICATION · Current role and biography; actual home county; earlier political activity; publicly expressed views; any genuine 2028 interest or consent. None presumed.

RETAIN IN RESEARCH LEDGER · NOT LOST TO THE CUTOFF

Farm/rural: Donn Teske, Herb Bartel, Nick Levendofsky, Mary Howell, Kami VanCampen, Scott Kohl, Angela Dake, Laura Fortmeyer, Karen Willey, Jackie Keller, Leslie Montee and Tom Buller. Rural healthcare: Jamie Hicks, Koi Wessell, Dorothy Hughes and other association members. Education: Sherri Schwanz, Kimberly Howard, Emily Riner, Tracy Rogers, Heather Guernsey and Dan Patterson. Labor: Brian Alexander, Susan Thompson, Steve Wentz and Michelle Jellison. Southwest food services and immigrant entrepreneurship: Robert Gonzales, additional Kansas Food Bank staff, and Hispanic Chamber figures in REMY's source register.

TRIBAL-GOVERNANCE RECORD CONFLICT · DO NOT SILENTLY RESOLVE

The documents disagree about the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska: FANCY and LANGHORNE describe Timothy Rhodd as chairman and Missty Slater as chief of staff; ERIKA identifies Missty Slater as chair based on a newer tribe-published first-term roster, while REMY lists additional leadership names. Verify the tribal government's current official roster and the exact effective date before attributing any office. These public figures are not presumed to be federal campaign prospects or to consent to this use.

Another naming variant: Joseph Rupnick / Joseph “Zeke” Rupnick, likely the same Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation officeholder; normalize only after primary record matching. Do not collapse organizational-office geography into domicile. Titles at Farmers Union, Farm Bureau, local governments and nonprofit boards are date-sensitive.

WHY SOME FAMILIAR NAMES ARE NOT IN THE TOP 25

Jerry Moran and Michael Soetaert belong in the verified electoral context because the source registers identify actual candidates, not because they are distinctive outsider discoveries. Long-tenured institutional officers can be valuable source contacts without automatically outranking someone with a compelling local operational record. Ranking does not establish ideological matching, a faction percentage or likely voter response.

NEXT FACT-CHECK PRIORITIES

1. Verify the current Kansas Secretary of State candidate and election-calendar records; distinguish FEC filings from ballot qualification.

2. Resolve the Iowa Tribe office discrepancy using the sovereign government's newest first-party record.

3. Validate each shortlisted person's current employment, regional base, prior campaigns, public positions and potential conflicts.

4. Add missing western Kansas workers, meatpacking employees, disability organizers and direct classroom/healthcare staff to the longer research bench.

5. Record any personal Senate intentions only when explicitly and publicly documented, not inferred from identity, profession or activism.

CLICKABLE SOURCE REGISTER · FOUR INPUTS + PRIMARY LEADS

FANCY 1.33 · Kansas original

REMY 1.6 · Kansas original

ERIKA 1.6 · Kansas original

LANGHORNE 1.1 · Kansas original

Kansas Secretary of State · Elections

2028 Kansas U.S. Senate · Ballotpedia

Kansas Farmers Union · Board

Kansas Rural Center · Team

Kansas Rural Health Association · Board

Kansas Native American Affairs · Tribal Governments

Kansas Food Bank · Staff

Kansas AFL-CIO · Labor

Kansas Policy Atlas

EDITORIAL CONTROL · 25 PUBLIC-RECORD SUBJECTS · NOT A CAMPAIGN ROSTER