Kansas Democratic gubernatorial candidate’s union membership sparks political finger-pointing

State Sen. Ethan Corson, left, and Sen. Cindy Holscher, both Johnson County Democrats, appear at an April 26, 2026, debate in Shawnee. They now are turning up the heat in their campaigns for the Democratic Party's nomination for governor by arguing about labor union endorsements and membership issues. A third candidate in that Aug. 4 primary is Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog. (Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

TOPEKA — Kansas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Cindy Holscher shared snippets of family history during a campaign appearance that included references to her sharecropper grandparents and a father who worked as a union carpenter and a mother employed as a school custodian.

During the KCUR forum with Democratic rivals state Sen. Ethan Corson and Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog, Holscher credited her parents’ job opportunities for drawing the family out of poverty. Holscher, a Johnson County state senator, expressed empathy for Kansans struggling to afford inflated grocery and fuel costs.

“I know about working to make ends meet in that struggle. I come from a union family. I’m a union member myself. Come from a military family,” Holscher said. “I fight every day for public education and working families, not special interest groups and not billionaires.”

This biographical sketch offered by Holscher touched a nerve with Corson’s campaign, which has promoted his endorsements from the AFL-CIO and 18 other labor organizations.

Holscher, who entered the governor’s race in May 2025, worked as a temporary substitute teacher in Johnson County schools before joining the Kansas National Education Association in January.

“To join a teacher’s union seven months into a bid for governor with an expired emergency substitute license is a stunt, plain and simple,” said Glynnis Harvey, spokesperson for Corson’s campaign. “Kansans are tried of political stunts. They want sincere leaders who deliver results for working families.”

Holscher campaign manager Madi Ashcraft said Holscher became a substitute teacher, sometimes working five days a week, in response to the state’s teacher shortage.

“After a few years as a substitute, Cindy was invited to join the union, and she was proud to do so — following in the footsteps of her dad, a union construction worker,” Ashcraft said. “That some political insiders would try to make hay out of a substitute teacher joining the union is exactly why people are so sick and tired of politics.”

Holscher’s remarks about union membership registered with the Kansas Working Alliance, a coalition of union and nonunion groups speaking on behalf of about 500,000 Kansans.

Ty Dragoo, chair of Working Kansas Alliance, said Holscher’s claim two weeks ago of union membership was surprising since she worked much of her career in corporate management at Sprint.

Dragoo said Holscher didn’t hold a formal teaching license and her celebration of a union credential was “political theater” designed to serve her campaign for governor.

“We will not participate in a political funhouse where facts are distorted,” Dragoo said. “Kansas workers are not political props.”

Holscher voted against and Corson voted for the 2026 bill affirming a state-financed deal to build the Kansas City Chiefs a $3 billion NFL stadium in Wyandotte County. Kansas labor organizations lobbied for the stadium project and a practice facility and headquarters for the Chiefs to be in Johnson County because that construction would fuel union jobs.

Kansas AFL-CIO executive vice president John Nave said Corson was unanimously endorsed by the union’s executive board. Both Corson and Holscher hold a 100% legislative voting record with the AFL-CIO.

“Ethan Corson has proven, time and again, that he shows up for working people — not just at election time, but when prevailing wage is on the line, when collective bargaining is under attack and when working families need someone in their corner,” Nave said.

During the KCUR forum, Holscher said she was disappointed some labor organizations didn’t follow a transparent process whereby candidates could present written materials or be interviewed before union decisions about endorsements were made.

She implied the process was modified in the 2026 campaign cycle to favor Corson, who also was endorsed by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.

“This year, they were done differently,” Holscher said. “Normally, there is a process. Normally, there is an interview paperwork process. Wasn’t this year. I think people should be curious about that.”

Ann Bush, communications director for KNEA, said the organization’s political action committee planned to endorse a candidate for governor as well as wade into races for other statewide offices, the Legislature and state Board of Education.

“Our recommendation process is designed to identify candidates who demonstrate a genuine commitment to public education, who respect the role educators play in strengthening our communities, our state, and our nation, and who understand and support union values,” Bush said. “We also believe that union values are rooted in working together — not in using union membership or association as a political advantage over others.”

The statement added: “Any candidate who seeks to elevate themselves by boasting about or leveraging their union membership status to diminish another candidate does not reflect the values of solidarity that are fundamental to our union.”