Sunny and Engaged - Hays Democracy Fest

The Hays Democracy Fest could not have asked for better weather or for a better crowd. Planning an outdoor event in October is always a risky proposition, but Mother Nature smiled on the one hundred and fifty attendees who gathered at Bird Farm on October 18th, 2025.

As this was the final event in our series, candidates who had spoken at prior events were able to present more honed, confident versions of themselves, and other candidates who had more recently started their campaigns could engage in their first public speaking event. These newer candidates included Sandy Spidel Neumann, who recently announced her run for US Senate, and Mark Schaukowitch, who announced his candidacy for Kansas House District 110 at the event.

Other speakers included gubernatorial candidates Ethan Corson and Cindy Holscher, US Senate candidate Christy Davis, Kansas Attorney General candidate Chirs Mann, Kansas Secretary of State candidate Jennifer Day, and US House candidates for Congressional District 1 Colin McRoberts and Lauren Reinhold. 

Each candidate was allowed five minutes to speak, followed by a question-and-answer session where answers from each candidate were limited to one minute each. Several attendees asked thoughtful questions of the candidates throughout the program.

The Hays Post also covered the event with a summary of the key message from most of the candidates.

We would like to once again thank Bird Farm for the generous donation of their beautiful venue, all the attendees and candidates who took the time to make the trek out to Hays, our security personnel for keeping us safe throughout the afternoon and the KDP for sponsoring these events.

Summary report and photos by Ellis Co Dems, cc 4.0 by-nc-nd.