Moderate-leaning Kansans now have a good option for the U.S. Senate race with the filing last week of state Sen. Barbara Bollier, D-Mission Hills.
A lifelong Republican, Bollier switched parties late in 2018, one of four state lawmakers to do so.
Bolliers tipping point was when Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican, stripped Bollier of her leadership role on the Public Health and Welfare Committee.
Wagle said she demoted Bollier for her support of leftist Democrats, including Laura Kelly in the race for governor.
Kellys opponent was ultra-conservative Republican Kris Kobach.
A FORMER physician, Bollier entered politics in 2010 when she was elected a state representative. In 2016, Bollier was elected a state senator.
Her medical background makes Bollier, age 61, uniquely positioned to advocate for better healthcare, knowing the difference insurance can make. She was a vocal opponent of former Gov. Sam Brownbacks refusal to expand Medicaid and has said his stance on denying insurance to 130,000 Kansans factored into her abdication of the Republican Party, as did his ruinous tax cut experiment and evisceration of public education.
Today Bollier serves on the governors task force to expand Medicaid in Kansas.
In her campaign literature, Bollier said her 30-year practice as an anesthesiologist taught her to see patients through a prism as to how she could serve them not whether they were Republicans or Democrats and that she continues to use that metric as an elected official.
As such, Bollier supports the rights of the LGBTQ community and has spoken out against restrictive abortion measures.
RIGHT OFF the bat, Bolliers campaign received a big boost when front-runner Barry Grissom dropped out of the race Thursday and subsequently threw his support behind her. Grissoms campaign took on incredible baggage when during his tenure as a U.S. Attorney, staff members under his direction were found guilty of unethical conduct.
Former Rep. Nancy Boyda has also dropped out of the race. Our hope is that she, too, will encourage her followers to support Bollier.
Also vying for the Democratic nomination is Usha Reddi, a former elementary teacher who serves on the Manhattan city commission.
