Groups aligned with Republicans and Democrats are planning to pour a couple hundred million dollars into state legislative battles, culminating with the November general election.
Nearly 5,800 legislative seats in 44 states are up for election this year.
Many of those states also are presidential battlegrounds. In some cases, national political groups are trying to link legislative candidates to the fortunes of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. In others, they are trying to distinguish them from the top of the ticket.
The Kansas House of Representsatives currently has 85 Republicans, more than twice as many as the Democrats.
The Kasas Senate has 29 Republicans and 11 Democrats.
Democrats are looking to break the Republicans’ two-thirds supermajority, which allows GOP lawmakers to override vetoes of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. A swing of just a couple seats in the House could make the difference. All seats in both chambers are up for election.