Viral video of Biden effigy beating prompts calls for top Kansas Republican leaders to resign

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Two top Kansas Republican Party officials are facing internal calls to resign over a viral online video showing people at a fundraiser kicking and beating a mannequin wearing a mask of President Joe Biden, underscoring the national GOP’s deep divisions and problems winning over suburban voters.

Mike Brown, the Kansas GOP’s state chair, and Maria Holiday, the leader of the party in Johnson County in the Kansas City area, distanced themselves from the display at a Friday evening fundraiser for the county party. In a Facebook post, the state GOP blamed an outside vendor who rented space at the event to promote a martial arts school.

Brown said in an email Tuesday that the state party wouldn’t comment further. Holiday did not respond to a text message seeking an interview. The vendor has not been named.

The calls for their resignations started over the weekend with Brown’s predecessor, Mike Kuckelman, a Kansas City attorney and frequent Brown critic, and quickly led to bipartisan condemnations amid widespread news coverage. The state GOP accused Kuckelman of creating “a false narrative” and dividing the party.

The conflict between Brown and Kuckelman reflects the split in the national GOP between former President Donald Trump’s most ardent, election conspiracy-promoting supporters and its more establishment wing, including former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel. Kuckelman supported McDaniel’s reelection in 2022, while Brown wanted her out. Trump now fully controls the RNC through hand-picked-leaders.

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