Topeka ? Nine candidates are seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, stumping for votes with less than three months left before crucial early tests in Iowa and New Hampshire.

But Kansas is quiet. No campaign buzz has developed, nor has any clear leader emerged in the Democratic field. A few prominent Democrats have quietly picked their candidates, but Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and state Chairman Larry Gates have not declared any preference.

Some Democrats want to see how early caucuses and primaries in other states winnow out the field before picking a candidate. Others say the lack of a primary and relying on caucuses starting in March to pick 41 delegates to the Democrats’ national nominating convention guarantees the candidates won’t be much interested in Kansas.

There’s also the state’s Republican heritage, which makes it likely President Bush will capture the state’s six electoral votes from the November 2004 general election.

“I don’t have any clue if we were to have the caucuses tomorrow, what the outcome would be,” Gates said.

Possible contenders

Prominent Democrats generally named four candidates they view as possible contenders for Kansas delegates: retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry.

Kansas Democrats also say North Carolina Sen. John Edwards enjoys support among trial lawyers, as he does nationally.

The four other candidates are former Illinois Sen. Carol Mosley Braun, Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman and New York activist Al Sharpton.

Kansas Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, of Topeka, said some of his fellow Democrats were awaiting the results of Jan. 19 Iowa caucuses and the Jan. 27 primary in New Hampshire.

¢ Republican Kansas voters keep electing Democrats (10-27-03)

Kansas Democrats do not start having caucuses in state Senate districts until March 13, 10 days after the “Super Tuesday” primaries in states including California, Georgia, New York and Texas. Democrats do not have their final, state convention until April 24.

“I want to see who emerges,” Hensley said.

Sebelius’ view

Gates, one of seven automatically designated “super-delegates” to the Democratic convention in Boston next year, said he did not plan to endorse a candidate because he views that course as “the best way to keep peace in our troops.”

Sebelius, also a super-delegate, has similar reasons for not endorsing a presidential candidate, though her oldest son, Ned, is working for the Kerry campaign in Iowa.

“I’m enthusiastic about supporting whoever the candidate is,” she said during a news conference Friday. “I think we’ve got some real talent in the field and I’m watching carefully what’s developing in Iowa and New Hampshire and elsewhere.”

However, Dean already has picked up one delegate with the endorsement of Topeka attorney Larry Tenopir, one of two Kansans serving on the Democratic National Committee. Tenopir also is a super-delegate.

Tenopir and the Dean campaign went public with Tenopir’s endorsement last month. Less public were Dan Lykins, a Topeka attorney and the party’s state treasurer, and Wichita businesswoman Jill Docking, both of whom support Kerry.

‘A little early’

But Lykins said, “In Kansas, I really don’t see any groundswell for anybody. I think people are waiting to see what happens in Iowa and New Hampshire.”

Kansas House Minority Leader Dennis McKinney, of Greensburg, likes Clark as a candidate, believing the retired general can appeal to centrist voters and can counter Bush on foreign policy.

Like other Democrats, he believes Gephardt enjoys the support of labor union activists.

But as far as a leading contender emerging in Kansas, McKinney said, “I think it’s a little early.”

Whoever emerges, Kansas appears likely to get little attention during the presidential race. The state had a presidential primary scheduled for April 6, 2004. However, legislators canceled it because of its estimated $1.75 million cost and because they believed it would be held too late to have much influence.

Gates said a primary in February or early March probably would attract some attention to Kansas.

With caucuses in Kansas starting in March, he said, “We’ll be getting a lot of guidance from the rest of the country.”

During the general election, Kansas is likely to be considered a safe GOP state. The last Democrat to carry it was Lyndon Johnson in 1964; GOP candidates have won the state’s electoral votes in 28 of the 35 presidential elections since statehood in 1861.