[CAPTURE PORTAL] 119TH CONGRESS

// Legislative Integrity Monitor

Goblin House Intelligence

Derek Schmidt

Republican · Representative, KS ·2

Score Components

28 ELEVATED

Connection Density 20%

0 → 0

Donor Influence 10%

0 → 0

Silence Risk 25%

10 → 3

Contradiction Risk 25%

82 → 21

Intelligence Volume 10%

51 → 5

Constituency Deviation 5%

0 → 0

Voting Misalignment 5%

0 → 0

% = weight in composite score · Raw component 0–100 × weight = weighted contribution (→) · Sum of contributions = overall score. Hover a row for details.

[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: 2024 presidential margin (Trump): 57.2% Trump – 41.2% Harris

secondary

[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: foreign-born population: 6.05% (44,300 residents)

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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: bachelor's degree or higher: 27.9%

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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: population: 732,657 (2024)

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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: homeownership rate: 68.0%

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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: median age: 37.7 years

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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: poverty rate: 13.3% (2024)

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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: median household income: $65,594 (2024)

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[constituency_baseline] Ballot measure: Kansas Constitutional Amendment on Legislative Veto of Agency Regulations (2024) — passed, margin 53.8% Yes – 46.2% No

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[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 11 - Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting (share 0.03)

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[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 44-45 - Retail Trade (share 0.114)

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[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 31-33 - Manufacturing (share 0.123)

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[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 62 - Health Care and Social Assistance (share 0.245)

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[constituency_baseline] Top employer: Fort Leavenworth (U.S. Army Combined Arms Center) (5500 employees)

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[constituency_baseline] Top employer: Kansas State University (5674 employees)

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[constituency_baseline] Top employer: Fort Riley (U.S. Army 1st Infantry Division) (15000 employees)

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[constituency_baseline] District summary: Kansas's 2nd Congressional District covers most of eastern Kansas across 27 counties, wrapping around the Kansas City metropolitan area. The district has a population of approximately 732,657, is 73.6% White (Non-Hispanic) with a 13.5% Hispanic population, and has a median age of 37.7. Median household income is $65,

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Voted yea on H.R. 4 (Rescissions Act of 2025) on 2025-06-12: Schmidt voted to rescind $9.4 billion in previously appropriated federal funding, including cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. KS-02 is largely rural with limited broadband access and many communities dependent on public broadcasting for news and emergency alerts. The vote aligned wit

primary · 2025-06-12

Voted yea on H.R. 26 (Protecting American Energy Production Act) on 2025-02-07: Schmidt voted to prohibit any presidential moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, aligning with the oil and gas industry. KS-02's economy is only 3% agriculture/forestry/fishing/mining combined, and the district contains no significant fracking operations. The vote primarily served

primary · 2025-02-07

Voted yea on H.Con.Res. 14 (Establishing the Congressional Budget for FY2025) on 2025-02-25: Schmidt supported a budget framework authorizing $4.5 trillion in tax cuts while calling for deep reductions to safety-net spending. He publicly acknowledged the resolution 'only slows the growth of federal spending — it doesn't cut it,' yet voted for a framework tha

primary · 2025-02-25

No connections mapped

Bill	Vote	Date	Alignment
One Big Beautiful Bill Act — On Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendment	yea	2025-07-03	misaligned
Rescissions Act of 2025	yea	2025-06-12	mixed
Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act	yea	2025-04-10	mixed
Establishing the Congressional Budget for FY2025	yea	2025-02-25	aligned
Protecting American Energy Production Act	yea	2025-02-07	aligned

Last contradiction analysis: Never

reversal 90/100

Platform: "As Kansas Attorney General, Schmidt defended the state's documentary proof-of-citizenship law for voter registration through multiple appeals, all the"

Vote: on "In April 2025, Congressman Schmidt joined House GOP leadership to promote the federal SAVE Act (H.R."

Schmidt defended Kansas' proof-of-citizenship law through years of failed litigation costing taxpayers $1.9 million, then as a Congressman championed a federal version. Despite claiming the SAVE Act is 'nearly identical' to the Kansas law that was st

position_evolution 60/100

Platform: "As Kansas Attorney General and Republican candidate for governor in 2022, Schmidt opposed Medicaid expansion in Kansas. His running mate stated: 'neit"

Vote: on "In his May 2025 statement applauding passage of H.R. 1, Schmidt wrote: 'We increased payments to rur"

Schmidt spent over a decade opposing Medicaid expansion and suing to block the ACA as AG. As a Congressman, he voted for H.R. 1 and claimed it would help rural hospitals in non-expansion states. The nonpartisan analysis projecting $880 billion in Med

position_evolution 60/100

Platform: "In his farewell letter as Kansas Attorney General in January 2023, Schmidt listed 'successful challenges to parts of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacar"

Vote: on "In October 2025, Schmidt accused Senate Democrats of 'playing political games with federal workers' "

Schmidt's 2023 farewell letter celebrated his legal challenges to the ACA and vaccine mandates. His October 2025 criticism of Senate Democrats for prolonging a shutdown he blamed on partisanship contrasts with his own history of using litigation to b

Last silence detection: Never

Clergy sexual abuse investigation — four-year delay in releasing findings

1513d silent

Expected position: As Kansas Attorney General who requested the KBI clergy abuse investigation in November 2018, Schmidt was expected to release findings promptly to enable prosecution. The investigat

No donor interests mapped

No constituency baseline modelled

No platform commitments archived

No committee memberships recorded

Scoring Methodology

The Capture Risk Score is a composite 0–100 index measuring potential regulatory capture of elected officials. It is computed from seven weighted components:

Component	Weight	Signal
Silence Risk	25%	Topics where donors have interests but the official is silent
Contradiction Risk	25%	Stated positions contradicted by voting record (recent findings boosted)
Connection Density	20%	Mapped relationships to lobbyists, contractors, interest groups
Intelligence Volume	10%	Documented facts from verified sources (logarithmic scale)
Donor Influence	10%	Distinct donors with interests overlapping committee jurisdiction
Constituency Deviation	5%	Gap between district priorities and legislative focus
Voting Misalignment	5%	Floor votes contradicting stated platform positions

Each component produces a raw score 0–100. The weighted sum yields the overall score. Tier thresholds: Critical ≥ 45, High ≥ 36, Elevated ≥ 22, Moderate ≥ 10, Low < 10.

Officials without at least 2 documented facts, 1 contradiction analysis, 1 voting record, or 1 constituency baseline are marked Insufficient Evidence and excluded from numeric ranking.

Contradiction findings from the last 180 days receive a recency boost. High-severity contradictions (score ≥ 70) receive additional weight.

Full methodology: /congress/methodology

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