(Editor’s note: The following article has been edited to correct the spelling of Mike Soetaert’s last name. We regret the error.)
Mike Soetaert’s path into the political realm has been anything but typical.
Soetaert, part of a crowded Democratic field seeking a seat in the U.S. Senate, called into the Register this week to discuss his candidacy, including why he switched parties from Republican to Democrat in 2021, and the core values that have shaped his campaign.
Soetaert also carries the distinction of being the first openly gay candidate to run for a U.S. Senate seat from Kansas. A centerpiece of his campaign is “to ensure dignity, respect and equality for all.”
Soetaert is eschewing in-person campaigning, citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Rather, his “pandemic friendly” candidacy consists almost exclusively of updating his campaign website and Twitter feed.
“If I had to choose between your vote and your health and safety, this is easy,” he said. “I pick your health and safety. I would love to represent you and the great state of Kansas in the U.S. Senate. However, I’m not willing to walk over your body bag, coffin or funereal urn to do so.”
Soetaert warns that the latest COVID variant has been perhaps the virus’s most transmissible.
Because of that, he plans to stay virtual.
“It really is an online campaign, a pandemic campaign, and I don’t see that changing between now and November,” Soetaert said.
Soetaert, who lives in Alta Vista, ran unsuccessfully for the GOP nomination for Kansas’s First Congressional District in 2020, finishing fourth in a four-way race with about 5% of the vote.
While he considers himself a political independent, Soetaert notes independents have a virtually impossible shot at winning a statewide campaign.
Still, the lifelong Republican decided to switch parties in 2021 for three reasons.
“No. 1, the mismanagement of the pandemic under the Republican party was in and of itself reason enough to go home to the Democratic party,” Soetaert said.
Secondly, Soetaert said the Jan. 6 Capitol riots convinced him “the Republican party did, in fact, attempt a coup.”
Thirdly, Soetaert said his attempts to reach out to incumbent Republican Sen. Jerry Moran and fellow Sen. Roger Marshall for support for the Equality Act, which would guarantee protections for the LGBTQ community, were unsuccessful.
