Free State ResearchTracker
Map data updated 09/27 21:32 CT · what feeds this
Paid media for state legislative races rarely turns up in the FCC public file, so there is nothing to map yet. Their spend will come from the candidates' finance filings; we will add those runs here as the reports land.
| market | red | blue |
|---|---|---|
| Wichita-Hutchinson Plus 1576 files, 400 unpriced · digital $115,237 | $7,030,757 | $4,652,649 |
| Kansas City 349 files, 133 unpriced · digital $91,118 | $924,920 | $1,065,793 |
| Topeka 285 files, 31 unpriced · digital $32,159 | $560,282 | $522,109 |
| Joplin-Pittsburg 131 files, 43 unpriced · digital $13,400 | $86,763 | $28,127 |
| Unmapped 93 files, 11 unpriced | $74,512 | $46,870 |
| Lincoln-Hastings 0 files · digital $5,360 | $2,581 | $2,779 |
| Tulsa 0 files · digital $5,360 | $2,581 | $2,779 |
| St. Joseph 0 files · digital $2,680 | $1,291 | $1,389 |
| Amarillo 0 files · digital $2,680 | $1,291 | $1,389 |
| AT THE PUMP AND THE METER | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular gas | $4.39 Midwest | +45.8% a year | 09/21/26 · +0.29 this week |
| Diesel | $6.68 Midwest | +79.0% a year | 09/21/26 |
| Electricity | 15.27¢ per kWh, Kansas homes | +5.6% a year | July 2026 |
| Natural gas | $25.12 per thousand cubic feet, Kansas homes (about $2.42 a therm) | -4.3% a year | May 2026 |
| Propane | $1.98 a gallon, Kansas homes | +1.2% a year | 03/30/26 · last of the heating season |
| AT THE STORE | |||
| Eggs, a dozen | $2.27 | -36.7% a year | Aug 2026 |
| Milk, a gallon | $4.23 | +1.4% a year | Aug 2026 |
| Bread, a loaf | $1.82 | -1.0% a year | Aug 2026 |
| Ground beef, a pound | $6.92 | +9.6% a year | Aug 2026 |
| Chicken, a pound | $4.17 | -0.9% a year | Aug 2026 |
| Coffee, a pound | $9.30 | +4.8% a year | Aug 2026 |
| THE WHOLE BASKET | |||
| Food at home, U.S. | +2.2% over a year | Aug 2026 · +0.1% over 3 months | |
| Everything, Kansas City | +3.2% over a year | Jul 2026 | |
| Everything, Midwest | +3.6% over a year | Aug 2026 · -0.2% over 3 months | |
| Everything, U.S. | +3.4% over a year | Aug 2026 · -0.0% over 3 months | |
| Shelter, U.S. | +3.0% over a year | Aug 2026 · +0.5% over 3 months | |
| Electricity, U.S. | +3.8% over a year | Aug 2026 · +0.9% over 3 months | |
| Piped gas, U.S. | +4.4% over a year | Aug 2026 · +1.0% over 3 months | |
| Water, sewer and trash, U.S. | +4.8% over a year | Aug 2026 · +1.3% over 3 months | |
Gas and diesel from EIA weekly, electricity and natural gas from EIA monthly, propane from EIA weekly through the heating season, the store and basket lines from the Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly; the map's Prices layers carry the same figures by market.
| the question, in the poll's words | favor | oppose |
|---|---|---|
| Medicaid expansion · support expanding Medicaid in Kansas | 70.2% | 10.0% |
| Medicaid and rural hospitals · expanding Medicaid would help rural Kansas hospitals remain in business | 74.3% | 9.6% |
| Medical marijuana · support legalizing medical marijuana | 70.4% | 14.2% |
| Recreational marijuana · support legalizing recreational marijuana in general | 58.8% | 24.5% |
| Recreational marijuana, taxed · support legalizing recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older to allow state taxation | 64.8% | 19.2% |
| Abortion: who decides · women are in a better position than politicians to make their own choices about abortion | 72.2% | 13.0% |
| Abortion: no state regulation · the Kansas government should not place any regulations on the circumstances under which women can get abortions | 59.5% | 24.8% |
| Abortion: out-of-state travel ban · if Kansas banned abortion it should also make it illegal to travel out of state for one | 30.0% | 50.6% |
| Minimum wage · support raising the Kansas minimum wage · 81.4% when told neighboring states' levels | 79.5% | — |
| Cigarette and cigar taxes · support increasing taxes on cigarettes and cigars | 63.6% | 18.7% |
| Alcohol taxes · support increasing taxes on alcohol | 63.2% | 20.0% |
| Legal immigrants and the economy · legal immigrants contribute to the economic vitality of Kansas | 64.1% | 15.0% |
| Too many immigrants · there are too many immigrants coming into the U.S. | 43.7% | 31.2% |
| Leave law-abiding undocumented people alone · illegal immigrants should be left alone by authorities if they don't break other laws | 44.4% | 36.3% |
| Detention camps · illegal immigrants should be arrested and held in detention camps awaiting deportation hearings | 38.1% | 42.2% |
| Foreign ownership of farmland · very or moderately concerned about foreign ownership of Kansas farmland | 58.9% | — |
| Affordable childcare · high-quality, affordable infant and toddler childcare is extremely or highly important for Kansas families | 91.4% | 7.2% |
| Childcare and the economy · access to affordable childcare strengthens the economy | 86.0% | 3.3% |
| Elderly care at home · Kansans who require long-term care should be able to get it in their own community | 84.0% | — |
| Governor Kelly · satisfied with the performance of Governor Laura Kelly | 47.0% | 27.3% |
| The Kansas Legislature · satisfied with the Kansas Legislature | 34.0% | 31.2% |
| President Trump · satisfied with President Trump | 43.5% | 46.2% |
| U.S. Congress · satisfied with the U.S. Congress | 21.4% | 55.0% |
| Kansas economy · rate the Kansas economy very good or excellent · oppose = poor or very poor | 27.7% | 12.8% |
| Kansas: right track · Kansas is on the right track | 44.9% | 35.9% |
Issue opinion, not a horse race; the university's own wording and shares. The report and crosstabs ↗ · the Fall 2026 report is due in late October 2026
| Roger Marshall patients | 9.75× rising |
| Cindy Holscher | 2.11× rising |
| medical debt | 1.82× rising |
| Kris Kobach | 1.50× rising |
| Roger Marshall | 1.48× rising |
| Chris Mann | 1.33× rising |
| immigration | 1.21× rising |
| guns | 1.20× rising |
| Ty Masterson | 1.15× flat |
| abortion | 1.04× flat |
| Medicaid | 1.01× flat |
| Roger Marshall lawsuits | 1.00× flat |
| public schools | 0.99× flat |
| crime | 0.96× flat |
| health insurance | 0.79× fading |
| unemployment | 0.79× fading |
| drought | 0.72× fading |
| rent | 0.65× fading |
| gas prices | 0.61× fading |
| electric bill | 0.57× fading |
| property tax | 0.54× fading |
| tariffs | 0.47× fading |
| inflation | 0.40× fading |
One figure for the whole state, this week against last — a direction, not a level. Google Trends goes no finer than the media market (a metro/DMA, e.g. Wichita‑Hutchinson or Kansas City), never the county; the Search layer on the map above shows each term by market, and every county in a market carries that market's value. Read 2026-09-28 02:32 UTC.
| term | Joplin-Pittsburg | Kansas City | St. Joseph | Topeka | Wichita-Hutchinson Plus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| abortion | 12 | 14 | 17 | 13 | 10 |
| Chris Mann | – | 10 | – | 4 | 8 |
| Cindy Holscher | 29 | 25 | – | 35 | 27 |
| crime | 33 | 34 | 27 | 36 | 30 |
| drought | 7 | 4 | – | 5 | 5 |
| electric bill | 2 | 1 | – | 1 | 1 |
| gas prices | 23 | 14 | 19 | 14 | 9 |
| guns | 32 | 25 | 43 | 30 | 17 |
| health insurance | 24 | 31 | 19 | 35 | 47 |
| immigration | 9 | 13 | 8 | 12 | 33 |
| inflation | 5 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Kris Kobach | – | 3 | – | 3 | 2 |
| Medicaid | 48 | 37 | 63 | 32 | 25 |
| medical debt | – | 80 | – | – | 67 |
| property tax | 6 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| public schools | 14 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 10 |
| rent | 64 | 69 | 74 | 75 | 77 |
| Roger Marshall | 71 | 52 | – | 47 | 48 |
| Roger Marshall lawsuits | – | – | – | – | – |
| Roger Marshall patients | – | 20 | – | 100 | 33 |
| tariffs | 3 | 3 | – | 2 | 5 |
| Ty Masterson | – | 10 | – | 11 | 15 |
| unemployment | 18 | 25 | 18 | 26 | 18 |
Google Trends interest by media market, 0–100 read across markets for each term (100 = the market searching it most). Blank = too little volume there to report. This is Google’s finest geography — the same numbers shade the map’s Search layer.
| Chris Mann AG · blue |
0.91× Google search 1.33×≈ · Press 1 stories this week (0.17×) · Wikipedia no article of their own |
| Cindy Holscher Governor · blue |
0.91× Google search 2.11×≈ · Press 11 stories this week (0.42×) · Wikipedia 3,553 views this week (0.73×) |
| Kris Kobach AG · red |
0.91× Google search 1.50×≈ · Press 10 stories this week (0.59×) · Wikipedia 1,093 views this week (0.75×) |
| Ty Masterson Governor · red |
0.76× Google search 1.15×≈ · Press 6 stories this week (0.40×) · Wikipedia 2,277 views this week (0.69×) |
| Adam Hamilton Senate · blue |
0.66× Press 54 stories this week (0.53×) · Wikipedia 18,281 views this week (0.86×) · YouTube 0.41× |
| Roger Marshall Senate · red |
0.64× Google search 1.48×≈ · Press 68 stories this week (0.58×) · Wikipedia 9,963 views this week (0.41×) · YouTube 0.00×≈ |
One line per name: each source scaled to its own fortnight, then averaged, so the line is a shape and a momentum, never a level. YouTube and news interest by market are layers under Talk of. Read 2026-09-28 01:16 UTC.
| 3-month net change | Democratic | Republican | Unaffiliated | Libertarian | Other parties | All |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| statewide | +1,400 | -4,714 | +12,793 | -51 | -6,498 | +2,930 |
Every column is a headcount from the Secretary of State's monthly county workbooks, 2026-03 to 2026-06. All is the state's own total, so it includes the minor parties the first five columns do not; the five add up to it.
Shares now: D 24.7% · R 44.4% · unaffiliated 29.7%. The map's "Dem + unaffiliated net gain vs Republican" layer is per 1,000 registered over the same 3 months; a county can rank high because Republicans lapsed, not because Democrats joined — the click panel shows which.
The federal WARN Act makes an employer give about 60 days' notice before a plant closing or mass layoff — the earliest hard sign a county is about to lose a big employer, well before it reaches the unemployment rate. Kept for a year; the last 240 days feed the map, weighted so a fresh notice counts most and its weight halves every 90 days. A notice's city is sometimes the company's out-of-state headquarters, so the place shown is the Kansas site or, failing that, its workforce region.
| notice date | employer | where | age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-01 | First Student | Kansas WorkforceONE (western & north-central KS) | 150d |
| 2026-03-27 | Ashley Clinic/Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center | Allen County | 185d |
| 2026-02-27 | First Brands Group, LLC (Horizon Global) | Johnson County | 213d |
| 2026-02-23 | First Brands Group, LLC (Hopkins) | Johnson County | 217d |
| 2026-02-23 | First Brands Group, LLC (Hopkins) | Lyon County | 217d |
| 2026-02-13 | Lowe's | Workforce Partnership (Kansas City metro) | 227d |
| 2026-01-30 | Vornado Air, LLC. · context | Butler County | 241d |
| 2025-10-02 | Gates Corporation "Gates" · context | Allen County | 361d |
Sources: NWS alerts, US Drought Monitor, BLS county unemployment, CDC ILINet via Delphi, WastewaterSCAN, Google News and Kansas subreddit feeds. Rankings and momentum — not levels to quote.