I have not and will not accept any campaign contributions from special interest groups or political action committees (PACs). But incumbent Senator Marci Francisco certainly has, and in this short video series, I intend to highlight some of the groups she is receiving money from and ask the question, who does she really represent?
Part 1 focuses on contributions made to Senator Francisco’s campaign from 2021 to 2023. In part 2, we will look at contributions she has received to date this year.
Transcript
Hello, I’m David Miller. I’m campaigning for election to the Kansas Senate here in the 2nd District in the city of Lawrence.
This is the first of what I plan to be a four-part series on what we’re calling “Marci’s Money.”
Marci, of course, refers to the incumbent in this race, Senator Marci Francisco, who has been in the senate since 2004.
Twenty years – five terms – she has been in the Kansas Senate.
And over those campaigns she has amassed a tremendous amount of contributions from special interest groups.
You know them as PACs, political action committees.
And PACs are required, as are candidates, to file reports with the state about their contributions.
I have looked at the Senator’s contribution reports from the past several years – they’re only available for about the last ten,
And in this first episode, I only intend to talk about her contributions over the past four years.
I have looked at her contributions from prior years, but I won’t go over that.
In 2021, she received a little over $10,400 in contributions, virtually all of it from PACs and political action committees.
There was a- one $100 contribution from someone in Lawrence.
She got money from something called the Stray Dog PAC…
She got $500 from T-Mobile…
She got $500 from the Hollywood Casino at the Kansas Speedway…
$500 from Blue Cross & Blue Shield…
$500 from Comcast…
And $1,000 from Delta Dental of Kansas.
That was in 2021, the first year of her current term.
In 2022 the report was filed, and it shows contributions of over $6,000,
And there are no reported contributions from anyone in Kansas- I’m sorry, anyone in Lawrence, Kansas.
I felt one of the more interesting things was $1,000 she got from a businessman named Phil Ruffin, who has a Wichita address.
He’s a well-known casino operator. He owns a big casino with somebody named Donald Trump in Las Vegas.
And Ruffin sent the Senator $1,000.
She also got $250 from the CHS McPherson refinery…
And $250 from AT&T.
And finally, the 2023 report shows that she received contributions of over $12,100.
Again, none of those contributions are listed showing someone in Lawrence Kansas making the contribution.
She got $1,000 from the Kansas Optimetric Political Association…
She’s also gotten money from the Ophthalmologist [Political Association]…
She got $1,000 from Void Gaming Corporations…
Money from the Kansas Livestock PAC…
And several others. All of these reports are available for public viewing at the website of the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission.
So this will give you just a little briefing on some of the tremendous amounts,
Tens of thousands of dollars the Senator has received from special interest and political action committees.
I’m David Miller, my website is davidgmiller.com,
Thank you for listening.
This, of course, is sponsored by Kansans for David G. Miller, Michelle Eagleman treasurer.
Thank you.