Tracey Mann

Incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann has filed for reelection in Kansas' 1st Congressional District.

Two Democrats, Colin McRoberts and Lauren Reinhold, are running in the primary to challenge Mann.

The 1st Congressional District is considered a Republican stronghold in Kansas.

Two Democrats from Lawrence are running in the Big First primary to challenge the incumbent Republican from Salina.

U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann, R-Kansas, represents the 1st Congressional District, which spans from rural western Kansas to Lawrence. He officially filed for reelection with the Kansas Secretary of State's Office on Feb. 26.

Democrats Colin McRoberts and Lauren Reinhold are running in the Democratic primary for the 1st District. They both participated in a candidate forum in Topeka on March 8.

In a March 5 fundraising email from his campaign, Mann informed supporters that he had officially filed for reelection.

"Washington is pushing harder than ever to expand government, raise costs on families, and undermine the values that make our country strong," Mann said in a March 5 email from his campaign. "That's why I've been fighting every day to push back — defending our freedoms, supporting Kansas farmers and ranchers, securing the border, and standing up for the America First policies that are getting our country back on track.

"Kansas deserves a strong conservative voice in Congress. Someone who won't back down when the pressure comes from Washington insiders or the radical left. That's exactly what I've worked to do. But the truth is, the fight ahead will be tough. Democrats are already raising money across the country to target conservative seats, and they would love nothing more than to flip districts like ours."

Mann's campaign had about $2.3 million cash on hand as of his latest filing with the Federal Election Commission.

"Together we can keep fighting for Kansas farmers, ranchers, small businesses, and families — and make sure the Big First stays strong, conservative, and proudly Kansas," Mann said in his fundraising email.

McRoberts' campaign had about $7,000 cash on hand as of the last FEC filing, while Reinhold had not yet filed to run as of the last FEC reporting period.

The Big First is a Republican stronghold. In the 2024 elections, Mann won by about 38 percentage points, the largest margin of victory that year in any of the state's four congressional districts.

McRoberts predicted 2026 will see a "blue wave" but acknowledged that a Democrat winning "is an aspirational goal, a high goal, that people don't think we can accomplish." He said "my goal is to make the 1st District competitive again."

Reinhold is a lawyer and "I was a proud public servant" until the Department of Government Efficiency started cutting federal government jobs.

"When DOGE pushed hardworking employees like me out the door, I decided if Washington won't fight for people, then I will," Reinhold said.

"I'm running to represent all Kansans of the 1st Congressional District to unseat Tracey Mann, who has spent his life enriching and protecting the wealthy. He ignores his constituents. He refuses to take any real stance on foreign policy or federal overreach, and votes to cut funding for our health and safety."

McRoberts said when the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, was shut down by DOGE, "Tracey Mann was happy to watch it get kicked to death because it was good for the party."

He accused Mann of being a "multimillionaire landlord who occasionally shows up in Congress to get his picture taken and vote the way he's told to vote."

"He does not care what that vote does," McRoberts said. "He doesn't care what it does to his neighbors. He doesn't care what it does to the rest of Kansas. He doesn't care what it does to the rest of the world, as long as it serves his interests, makes the party happy, gets him more qualified to one day go to the Senate or take some other easy, easy, no-fight election."