After announcing his candidacy for the Kansas 17th District Senate seat earlier this week, Mike Argabright now has the endorsement of retiring Senator Jeff Longbine.
Longbine gave Argabright his full endorsement during an interview on KVOE’s Morning Show Wednesday.
Longbine has served the 17th district since 2010 following Jim Barnett. In addition to his endorsement of Argabright, Longbine also offered his final thoughts on this year’s legislative session during Wednesday’s interiview focusing much of his time on tax relief and Medicaid expansion.
Regarding tax relief, Longbine’s appearance on Wednesday’s morning show comes as lawmakers are still awaiting word on whether or not Kansas Governor Laura Kelly plans to veto a tax relief package which would force lawmakers to return to the capital for a special session. Longbine says it is his hope this will not be necessary as it would mean the legislature would have to start from scratch on an entirely new package.
As for the topic of Medicaid expansion, Longbine, a known supporter of expansion, says he was disappointed but ultimately not surprised the matter did not receive enough votes to pull it out of committee during the veto session. When asked where he believes the topic of Medicaid expansion may be headed in the future, Longbine couldn’t say for sure but noted that election years, like this year, can often lead to a change in dynamics within the legislature.
Longbine’s appearance on KVOE’s Morning Show followed an appearance by retiring 76th District Representative Eric Smith of Burlington Tuesday. KVOE will conclude its legislative wrapup interviews with local law makers at 7:20 am Thursday when we are joined by 60th District Representative Mark Schreiber.
If you missed our interviews with Smith and Longbine you can listen to them in their entirety online in the KVOE.com audio vault.
