With a new leader, county Democrats look to rebut Trump
Staff writer
Saturday marked Marion County Democrats’ first meeting since 2010 without Eileen Sieger at the helm.
How long ago was that?
That year, the U.S. ended combat operations in Iraq, Apple released the first iPad, and a BP oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Democrats’ new chair, David Yoder, has had a circuitous path to the position.
Yoder majored in political science at Wichita State before diving into a career combining law with military service.
“I went through ROTC and the Air Force the same time I went through law school in Washburn [University],” he said. “I graduated from law school and then I got my commission.”
Yoder was assigned to Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota, where he was a judge advocate.
Within six months, he had been promoted to the chief of military justice.
After being honorably discharge in 1987, Yoder worked as a Harvey County court trustee, a position he founded, for 11 years.
He became Harvey County attorney in 2001.
In 2010, he moved from Newton to “a little yellow farmhouse” in south Marion County. Yoder retired — or tried to — New Year’s Eve, 2020.
“I had eight great days of retirement,” he said.
He was pulled back into work after a close friend, private practitioner Don Snapp, died of COVID. Yoder volunteered to replace Snapp on the court appointments list and take over his Marion County caseload, not realizing just how much work it would entail.
Four years later, he’s still working on about a dozen cases.
“At one point I had over 100 active cases,” he said.
Like many Marion County democrats, Yoder was not raised one.
“I was a lifelong Republican,” he said. “But I was very moderate.”
While he always had been “supportive” of Democrats, Yoder formally registered with the party after Donald Trump rose to power in 2016.
“I saw what I personally believe to be a Republican Party selling itself out for Donald Trump,” he said.
He became further involved in local politics after his wife, Lori, became a Democratic precinct committeewoman for East Branch Township, and began attending party meetings.
It led to his somewhat reluctant appointment as chairman of the Democrats this November.
“I had no intention of becoming the chair,” he said. “But if it means that the Marion County Democratic Party continues to operate. … No one else stepped forward, and if no one became the committee chair, we would have shut down.”
Asked what actions will be taken under his leadership, Yoder was vague, emphasizing the need to meet with other party leaders before developing an agenda.
“We need to get stronger voices and more voices in Congress to stand up to Donald Trump’s policies,” he said. “I can’t say what our Marion County Democratic Party is going to follow. It’s a dialogue; it’s a group decision.”
He described himself as a moderate and a classicist, perhaps an inclination that his preferred candidate would not be radical.
“I’m a fan of Plato, Aristotle, and John Locke,” he said.
Yoder emphasized the need for policies that serve the common people.
“The wealthy elite are the ones that seem to be taking control of our country, and they really don’t serve the interests of the majority,” he said.
He was critical of Trump as a man without respect for democratic ideals.
“When he signed an executive order to bypass the 14th Amendment, thinking he can completely abolish an amendment that gives citizens birthright, that shows either a complete disdain for the Constitution or a complete lack of understanding of how it works,” he said.
Though it is early, Yoder is cautiously optimistic about 2026 midterm elections.
“If we’ve got some good, strong candidates… and there are enough people that see the damage that Donald Trump has done to our democratic process, hopefully we will have success,” he said.
A lot hinges on the economy, in Yoder’s mind one of the largest reasons Kamala Harris was unable to defeat Trump.
“It’s like Bill Clinton’s campaign, way back when: ‘It’s the economy, stupid,’” he said.
Yoder is trying to retire from legal work soon, for good this time. He is excited to put his free time into working with the Democrats.
“I look forward to devoting the time to be able to focus on something that I think can make a big difference in people’s lives,” he said. “I’ve always been service-oriented. So this is just the next stage.”
Leading local Democrats, especially a one in a county as small as Marion and in a state as Republican as Kansas, feels, at times, a thankless, even fruitless task.
Still, Yoder is convinced the work matters and is determined to help the country move in what he regards as a healthier direction.
“I can’t change what is happening in other states, but I can try to make a difference in my community at the local level,” he said. “If enough people can do that, and enough of us can unite in a common voice, it will make a difference.”