Before Republicans fell in love with Steve Watkins, he was not their favorite.
Hes a charlatan, a fraud and an opportunist, said state Sen. Steve Fitzgerald, when the two, and five others, were pitted against each other in the August primary for the 2nd Congressional District.
Fitzgerald based those harsh words, no doubt, on the fact that Watkins, age 41, had up to that point never shown any interest in politics the first time he voted was in 2017 and the fact that his dad, a Topeka physician, is bankrolling his sons campaign through his personal Super PAC, in which hes funneled more than $765,000.
Clearly, this is the way the affluent get their middle-aged kids out of the basement, quipped Fitzgerald, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, who recently announced his retirement from the state senate.
In the run-up to the primary election, more than 40 Republican leaders signed a letter calling out Watkins entreaties to the Democratic Party in 2017 before settling with the Republicans.
Kansas congressional candidates should have a voting history in Kansas and a voting history as a Republican before receiving widespread support from Kansas Republicans, the letter said.
As a former resident of Massachusetts and Alaska, Watkins said he had never registered to vote and that during his time in the Army he had been discouraged from participating in politics, according to a July interview with the Kansas City Star.
REPUBLICANS, as they must, now embrace Watkins in his face-off with Democrat Paul Davis.
Since winning the Republican nomination Watkins has worked hard to change his stripes. Despite earlier statements endorsing gay rights and abortion, Watkins maintains he is a died-in-the-wool social and fiscal conservative.
In an Oct. 4 debate in Independence, Watkins said government programs for military veterans are a burden and that veterans would be better off seeking their care through private physicians.
Lets strip down the unnecessary and burdensome regulations, Watkins said. Lets empower the physicians who know best, and lets provide people with innovative problem solving solutions.
In our minds, anytime politicians say they want to empower, the people, thats code for shifting the responsibility, in this case from the VA to private care.
Davis took the opposite approach, saying, We need to expand Veterans Choice Programs and help the VA get active in rural areas.
If elected, Davis said a priority will be to keep the Affordable Care Act intact so that Americans with pre-existing conditions, especially, will not be booted from their insurance plans.
Watkins is a fan of Repeal and Replace, but wont get more specific.
