The "Big First District" has new Democrat candidate

The Oberlin Herald

Wednesday, Jan 21, 2026 | $1

The "Big First District" has new Democrat candidate

By Destry Jackson

Lauren Reinhold is a Democrat candidate for the Kansas First Congressional District, also known as the "Big First" District, as it encompasses the majority of the state. Reinhold said her parents brought her to Kansas as a baby, and they lived in Kansas for six years before moving back to St. Louis. "I later came back to Kansas for law school at age 22," Reinhold said. "I've been living here since then."

Reinhold said she attended college at Northeast Missouri State University, now known as Truman State University. She attended law school at the University of Kansas (KU).

"I'm running for office because I'm seeing what's happening to Kansas and our nation," she said. "Kansans are getting poorer and sicker and often losing out on federal services due to recent cuts."

When asked where she worked before deciding to go into politics, she replied, "I was a federal employee. I was most recently a Human Resources specialist with the social security headquarters. I was remotely based, while the majority of the team were in the home office in Washington, D.C. I was in the hearing office in Topeka prior to that for 12 years."

"There's been a complicated series of cuts, mainly to Medicaid, that will affect rural hospitals," Reinhold said. "We need strong congress to help decide where the money will go and ensure it goes to the right places, so we can help keep the rural hospitals going."

"For rural farmers, I plan to fight for a modernized, stable market farm bill," Reinhold said. "We need to create a fair market and stability situation that's fair for the small farmers to help them keep going. To keep rural communities growing and succeeding, we need to make sure hospitals and schools are funded well and farmers have a stable market and income. That should help the rural communities to grow."

When asked how she plans to ensure fair markets, she replied, "The farm bill in the past has had more fairness. We would need to create a situation where markets are as good as they used to be in the past for farm families. Tariffs are a big problem," Reinhold added. "We need individual prosperity for farmers and small businesses."

When asked about how she plans to help school systems, she said, "For schools, it comes down to individual prosperity. If farms, small businesses, and individuals are barely getting by, they aren't going to vote for a bond issue to renovate a school or other entities."

"The federal government has more ability to help, but the recent cuts are making that less likely," Reinhold added. "There's a lot of funding that's supposed to go toward schools, after school programs, and more. The cuts will make the budget squeeze even more dire."

"We've heard many schools around the state are having staffing issues," Reinhold said. "Teachers aren't as well-trained as they should be. The federal government has been cutting a lot of the funds that are supposed to go to the school districts on the state level. Many agencies are still in danger of more cuts. The federal government is not covering as much of special education for example as schools have depended on."

"Our current congressman, Tracey Mann, hasn't been fighting for these things," Reinhold said. "He hasn't been fighting for rural hospitals to have increased access to direct care now. He's gone along with every cut in the federal government. These programs are needed, especially for the rural communities. Mann is not fighting for federal funds to be maintained for our school districts either."

"We are just getting started," Reinhold said. "My campaign is based on three pillars. The first pillar is R for results, which means getting things done in congress, and fighting the gridlock in the legislature. P is for prosperity, especially prosperity for the individual, family, small business, and agriculture. Everyone should be able to have a job where they can make enough to meet all expenses and have enough left over to save and spend. The third pillar is S for service. I'm running because I want to serve Kansas, not corporate interests."

Photo Caption: Democrat candidate Lauren Reinhold stopped by The Oberlin Herald to discuss her platform. Photo By: Destry Jackson