We’ve endorsed corporate attorney and longtime Blue Valley resident Karen Thurlow for KS State Senate District 11.
Thurlow is challenging MAGA-Republican incumbent state senator Kellie Warren. Warren previously unseated moderate Republican legislators in the 2018 and 2020 Republican primaries. In 2022, she lost to Kris Kobach in the Republican primary for state Attorney General.
Karen Thurlow is ready to represent our community on issues that matter here. She says, “My parents were public educators and, throughout my life, preached the importance of a strong education.” Thurlow will be a steadfast advocate for students and public schools in the legislature. She states: “I’ll fight back against policies that send public tax dollars to private schools and that interfere with the work of our amazing educators.”
Thurlow’s adult children graduated from Blue Valley Schools; she was an active volunteer during their K-12 years. Thurlow plans to fund our schools and support policies that lead to teacher retention. She opposes the use of public tax money to fund private schools. Thurlow opposes school staff - other than SROs - carrying guns on campus.
On our candidate survey, Thurlow said, “Our current legislators are not listening to their constituents on a wide array of important issues. They are interested in headlines and culture wars, not the best interests of their constituents.” This is certainly true of her opponent.
Kellie Warren has a record of voting against Blue Valley students and schools. She voted for reckless Brownback-like tax cuts, and voting restrictions. Warren is best known for getting the “Value Them Both” constitutional amendment on the August 2022 ballot. “Value Them Both” was overwhelmingly voted down by constituents in Warren’s own district, with 67% voting “NO.”
Read more about Warren’s votes against our kids’ schools here: https://www.standupbluevalley.org/blog/categories/kellie-warren
Warren has been a member of the local Moms For Liberty chapter since its 2021 founding. Read about MFL here: https://www.standupbluevalley.org/blog/categories/moms-for-liberty
Warren’s campaigns have been backed by Americans for (Their Own) Prosperity to the tune of over $100,000 to date. https://www.standupbluevalley.org/post/how-much-will-afp-spend-to-elect-kellie-warren
Warren was just given another “A” grade from the NRA, has voted to allow 18 year olds to carry concealed weapons on college campuses, and has voted to require schools to use NRA propaganda in curriculum. https://www.standupbluevalley.org/post/bv-area-legislators-backed-by-the-nra
She also sponsored a culture-war bill that took money away from Blue Valley kids. https://www.standupbluevalley.org/post/warren-s-failed-sb-40-provision-took-dollars-away-from-bv-students
Warren’s extreme voting record doesn’t reflect the community she’s supposed to represent.
Visit her Karen Thurlow’s website to read all of her positions, donate to her campaign and request a yard sign: https://www.karen4kansas.com/
Thurlow’s FB page: https://www.facebook.com/Karen4Kansas/
Senate District 11 voters, be sure your family and neighbors know to vote FOR our kids’ Blue Valley Schools by voting for Karen Thurlow.
See map of District 11 here: https://www.karen4kansas.com/ (scroll down)
