Topeka ? With a large majority of Kansas voters satisfied with his performance in office, President Bush easily carried the state in Tuesday’s election.

Six electoral votes were at stake in Kansas. The Republican president had 61 percent of the vote with nearly half of the state’s precincts reporting, compared to 38 percent for Democrat John Kerry.

If that margin held up, Bush would win a larger victory in Kansas than he did four years ago. No Democrat has carried Kansas in 40 years.

About two-thirds of all voters said they approved of the way Bush is handling his job, and the same proportion approve of Bush’s decision to go to war in Iraq, according to a survey of 654 voters for AP and television networks by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International.

“I don’t think it is real good to change presidents in the middle of war,” said Sheryl Rorabaugh, a 53-year-old Peck resident, who voted for Bush. “Bush got us going in it, and I’d like to see him end it.”

Three other candidates split the remaining 1 percent of the vote: Ralph Nader, listed as the Reform Party nominee; Libertarian Michael Badnarik; and Michael Peroutka, listed as an independent but running nationally as the Constitution Party nominee.

The war in Iraq and the fight against terrorism were foremost in many Kansans’ minds.

Some Kansans questioned last year’s invasion of Iraq, arguing Bush should have concentrated instead on capturing or killing Osama bin Laden.

And Sandra Grabauskas, a 55-year-old Frito-Lay Inc. equipment operator from Topeka, said she voted for Kerry because of the war’s ongoing casualties.

“I think we’re losing too many guys,” she said. “We’re losing them day after day, and that’s not right.”

But Tuesday’s results indicated that far more voters were like Greg Palmer, a 53-year-old Topeka resident and partner in an Internet services company, who said Bush has done a good job of trying to combat terrorism.

“I like the fact that he’s taken the war to them, as opposed to letting them come to us,” Palmer said.

Jim Mank, a 24-year-old Overland Park student, is an independent but voted for Bush, calling his handling of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks “remarkable.”

In Belle Plaine, Brett Williams, a 22-year-old political science student at Cowley County Community College and Friends University, wore a Bush cap to his polling place.

“I think what we are doing in Iraq is the right thing to do,” Williams said.

Four years ago, Bush received 58 percent of the vote, compared to 37 percent for Democrat Al Gore.

The last Democrat to carry Kansas was Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Republicans have prevailed here in 28 of the 35 previous presidential elections since statehood in 1861.

Forty-six percent of the state’s 1.69 million registered voters are Republicans, outnumbering Democrats by more than 326,000.

Overview Unofficial election results Douglas County precinct map Election Day 2004 feedback Kids Voting ResultsCounty Democrat unseats D.A. of 8 years Former mayor defeats Buhler in Senate race Embattled district judge stays on bench McElhaney survives short-lived deficit Record number of voters cast their ballots in county Douglas County kids choose Kerry Politicians, supporters share ‘crazy’ election-night revelry Voters approve Perry-Lecompton bond issue Township lacks candidatesState Moore fends off another challenge Ryun wins contentious 2nd District Congress seat Brownback easily defends his U.S. Senate seat Holland inches past GOP challenge Pine takes 3rd District Senate seat Wagnon wins State Board of Education race Seven incumbents lose; GOP pads majority in House Voters deny sales tax for K.C. arena Bush wins Kansas handily Kansans show they’re satisfied with Bush Counties see high voter turnout Election briefsNational Too close to call President ‘upbeat’ on election returns Kerry sentimental as race nears end Analysis: Emotions guided presidential voting Networks use care in reporting results New media throw caution to the wind Presidential race prompts late selloff State by state results: Midwest State by state results: West State by state results: Northeast State by state results: South California backs stem-cell research Voters in 11 states approve gay-marriage bans GOP wins key states in South World riveted by U.S. electionMultimedia Photo Gallery: Election Day 2004 6News video: Dennis Moore wins in a ‘landslide’ 6News video: Dennis Moore victory speech 6News video: Bob Johnson wins 2nd District County Commission position 6News video: Paula Gilchrist presumed Douglas County Treasurer 6News video: Ken McGovern wins sheriff’s office 6News video: Jere McElhaney on the 3rd District Commissioner seat 6News video: Penrod optimistic about Douglas County Clerk position 6News video: Ermeling hopeful in 3rd District Commissioner race 6News video: Francisco likely to win 2nd District Barbara Ballard talks about younger voters and their importance in this election. Barbara Ballard talks about being in Lawrence and Kansas on election night. Paul Davis talks about the importance of this election to the Kansas Democrats. Paul Davis chooses his most important race in Kansas. Paul Davis talks about the feeling among other Democrats in Kansas. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius addresses the crowd at Abe ‘N Jakes Landing.