Alan LaPolice (Clyde) has filed to run for Congress in the First Congressional District of Kansas against incumbent Roger Marshall. LaPolice is seeking the Democratic nomination which would put him once again, head to head with Marshall in November. To date, no one other than Marshall has filed in the Republican primary. LaPolice ran in 2016 as an Independent candidate which required him to gather a minimum of 5,000 certified voter signatures to be placed on the ballot. He submitted over 9,000. In November of 2016, with no party support or infrastructure, he received nearly 70,000 First District votes.
The following is his statement of why he is seeking the nomination and running for national office:
This nation was founded on the belief that Americans had the right and the wisdom to self-govern. Brave patriots sacrificed all in order to form a more perfect Union, a collection of states with the shared goal of Liberty and Justice for all. This belief became one nation of diverse individuals, bound together to defend against tyranny and to share in the riches of this great land. Today, that belief, that Union is at great risk, not merely from foreign threats, but from internal divisions and partisanship. We’ve allowed our unity, our greatest strength to give way to anger and fear and hatred. In the past, we had leaders, men and women of great wisdom and fortitude, who guided us back to One Nation under God, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for All. The new reality is that these leaders would now be shut out of government. They’d be excluded from the election process because it’s not honor and integrity that win today’s elections, it’s money.
In the past, both parties have given us heroes. The Republican Party of yesterday gave us the world’s greatest political leader, Abraham Lincoln. It gave us the savior from the gilded age, Teddy Roosevelt and the hero of WW2, Dwight D. Eisenhower. These men would find no home in today’s GOP. The Democratic Party gave us another Roosevelt, the man who pulled America out of its worst depression and defended the whole world from Nazis and Fascism. They gave us the brilliance and grace of JFK and his even more capable brother Bobby. But today, even a Kennedy would find it impossible to be triumphant in this hyper-partisan political storm.
I have this belief, a belief that Kansans still believe in the value of collaboration, the necessity of compromise and the reality that together, we can be so much greater than we are divided. I’ve tried, in my own way, to follow in the footsteps of greatness and I’ve had my own degree of success. But today, I see a nation more divided, more frustrated than ever before. I’ve tried to represent all the people of the First District of Kansas, regardless of party affiliation, regardless of wealth. And when given the opportunity to make a back-room deal with the political powers, I refused. I chose honor over success and integrity over dishonesty. I chose the hard path because that’s what my heroes have done.
Now, in these difficult times, someone must do something dramatically different. Someone must be honorable, be ethical, be bold. Someone must be willing to turn the tide on the moneyed interests who’ve taken over the political process and give the power rightly back to the people. I wish to be that someone. I am taking that step. For this reason, I am seeking the nomination from the Democratic Party to represent ALL Kansans in the U.S. Congress. Let me be clear, I am not giving loyalty to one party. I am not adopting exclusive platforms of any one group. I am offering my loyalty to ALL Americans and I am maintaining a platform that is best for America. First District Democrats: I will proudly give you a voice in our nation’s capital, something you’ve lacked for nearly all of the past 100 years. Libertarians: I am offering you something you’ve always dreamed of; a stalwart voice in Congress, one who shares your beliefs in individual Liberty and Free and Fair Markets. Independents, my unrepresented brothers and sisters: you’ve known full well that neither party was willing to listen to you and that’s why you’re Independent. I am with you. I will represent you. Finally, all my Republican friends: I’ve always listened to you. I’ve always shared your voice. But you know in your hearts that leadership in your party has sold you out and can no longer make good on the promise of fiscal Conservatism and traditional Republicanism. I have always been your voice and will continue to fight for you in our nation’s capital. I will make good on the promise of our great past leaders and together, we will show the nation what leadership looks like. Together, we will Lead The Way.
I ask that everyone in the Kansas First District follow this race, listen to the candidates and demand your voices be heard. I hear time and time again from real Kansans that, “We vote for the person, not the party.” In this election, I ask that you do just that. Disregard the letter behind the name, focus on the integrity inside the man. We will show those who’ve ignored us for far too long that our voices must be heard and that together, we can take back our government.
