Jim McLean

The right to an abortion is teetering in Arizona, Kansas and Michigan — all states with primary elections on Aug. 2. In each state, the decision may come down to a different election outcome.

In 1957, residents of the southwestern town Protection set an example by being the first in the U.S. to be fully inoculated against polio. Now locals are divided on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.

A surprisingly close Senate race in Kansas is another sign Republicans are struggling to hold onto their majority in the upper chamber.

A retiring incumbent with no clear replacement, a pandemic and a president who's slipping in the polls creates a rare opportunity for Democrats – and trouble for Republicans.

The party has held both Senate seats in the state since the Great Depression, but ahead of a Monday deadline Republicans aren't confident that any of the candidates are assured of winning in November.

Republicans have had both of Kansas' Senate seats since the Great Depression. But this year they are worried they could lose them — some state's suburbs have started trending towards Democrats.

There is a political fight in Kansas over whether churches can gather more than 10 people for Easter Sunday.

As lawmakers returned to the Kansas state capitol this year, three seats won by Republicans are now in the hands of Democrats. That's after three suburban Republican women left the GOP.

Election night brought some power shifts to Kansas. A Democrat won the governor's race while another flipped a congressional seat.

In the Kansas race for governor, established Republicans are throwing their support behind the Democrat. Why? They say the Republican nominee would be bad for the state.

The Senate has confirmed Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback for a State Department post. That means Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer inherits Brownback's tax cut experiment that saddled the state with budget shortfalls.

Brownback, a staunch social conservative, was one of the least popular governors in the country after tax cuts he championed failed to ignite the state's economy and led to deep spending cuts.

"I am a product of rural Kansas," Sen. Jerry Moran said earlier this month. "I understand the value of a hospital in your community, of a physician in your town, of a pharmacy on Main Street."

Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran is one of the few Republicans holding town hall events this week while Congress is in recess. He is facing pressure over the Senate health care bill.

An estimated 300,000 Kansans could qualify for health care coverage, which comes as Congress debates replacing the Affordable Care Act.

Kansas voters who put conservatives in charge are shaking their heads in disbelief. Lawmakers recently passed one of the largest tax hikes in state history rather than cutting spending.

An open revolt among moderate Kansas Republicans has clouded Gov. Sam Brownback's re-election hopes and focused national attention on the tax-cutting experiment at the heart of his "red-state model."