Marvin Robinson has represented Kansas’ 35th House District—a reliably Democratic, largely minority, economically struggling piece of Kansas City—since 2023. A Black Democrat, Robinson is a Navy veteran and a community activist in the true sense. He has long been on a mission to restore the Quindaro Ruins, a historical site of a stop on the Underground Railroad, and African American gravesites generally. He cares about the environment. He supports diversity and inclusion.
A progressive outlet, criticizing Robinson in 2023, nevertheless described him as “a well-liked and active member of the community. Add on his late mother’s decades of Democratic political activism, and Robinson easily won his race, with little or no campaigning.” It also didn’t hurt to have the backing of his cousin, the retiring representative who previously held the seat.
But Robinson cast key votes with the legislature’s Republican majority, including a decisive vote to override Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of a bill requiring that women be told about the life-saving option of Abortion Pill Reversal.
For that reason, he had to be pushed out. He garnered three primary opponents.
Things got nasty. Some of Robinson’s fellow Democrats accused him of trading his vote for funding for the Quindaro project (which Gov. Kelly vetoed anyway in a move widely seen as revenge). He was accused of having “fallen under the influence” of State Rep. Patrick Penn, a Black Republican with whom he is friendly, and called a “totally misguided” person who “needs direction.” But other Democrats pointed out Robinson has been conservative-leaning for years and supported Republicans like former Governor Sam Brownback.
NPR noted last year that Robinson “still enjoys support in his district.” Sadly, it was not enough and he lost his race Tuesday night.
The winner encapsulated the party’s views on why Robinson had to be given the axe, explaining that pro-life, conservative Democrats are considered impostors:
“You lied to us,” said Wanda Brownlee Paige, a retired teacher in Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools and who is running to replace him. “You told us you’re a Democrat. That’s why we voted for you. And that you would carry the values of the party and do what the people in this district elected you to do.
“He has not done that. So, we need to get him out.”
Marvin Robinson is at least the second casualty this year of the pro-abortion Democratic Party’s tiny-tent mentality (which will only worsen with the ascendancy of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz). In March, Nebraska Democrats censured State Senator Mike McDonnell after he voted to protect babies in the womb at 12 weeks – a mainstream position in Nebraska and across America. After the bill became law, the state saw a substantial drop in abortions overall and late-term abortions in particular.
In a parting statement, McDonnell minced no words: “I have asked the Democratic Party to respect my religious-based pro-life position. Instead, over the last year, they have decided to punish me for being pro-life.”
For his part, Robinson seems to have no regrets:
He told The Star he believes in “survival of our people” above party loyalty.
That’s a sentiment even the very left-wing Cori Bush – who was pushed into multiple abortions and told, as a Black teenager, that she would “wind up on food stamps and welfare” if she had a baby – might well support.
