NCJW opposes Anthony Powell Here’s why:
Anthony (Tony) Powell has long worked to advance far-right policy agendas, including efforts to attack and undermine reproductive rights, civil rights, and further politicize what should be an independent judiciary. As such, it is clear he would not be a fair or independent judge who remains faithful to constitutional values like equality and justice for all.
Anthony Powell’s stance on important issues:
Reproductive Rights
Anthony Powell’s legal positions favor restricting reproductive rights, undermining access to evidence-based medical care, and supporting government intrusion into personal medical decision-making. In litigation concerning abortion restrictions, he argued that the defeat of an anti-abortion ballot initiative should not influence court decisions because the Kansas Constitution itself had not been amended, even though the initiative’s defeat served to reaffirm the Kansas Supreme Court’s assertion that the state constitution protected reproductive rights. He has called specific methods of abortion “heinous” and said that abortion issues can’t be resolved by “judicial fiat.”
LGBTQ+ Issues
In 2025, Mr. Powell along with the Kansas Attorney General sued the Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) for allowing transgender Kansans to be identified on their driver’s licenses by their gender instead of their biological sex at birth. Powell argued that the KDOR was violating the recently passed so-called Women’s Bill of Rights, a law based on model language created by a far-right group opposing women’s rights. The law restricted recognition of gender identity in official state records.
Education and Career Highlights:
Mr. Powell earned a BA in Political Science from George Washington University in 1985 and a JD from Washburn University School of Law in 1991. Kansas Solicitor General since 2022, Mr. Powell began his legal career in private practice for 11 years before being elected to the Kansas House of Representatives where he served for eight years. He was then elected to the state district court where he served as a state district judge for ten years after which he was appointed to the Kansas Court of Appeals in 2013. In 2022, Mr. Powell assumed his current role as Kansas Solicitor General.