Topeka ? For decades in Kansas, political candidates have been as much a part of the Fourth of July landscape as parades, picnics and fireworks – and this year is no exception.

Today, candidates for the scores of offices this year – from governor, to legislative, to local races – will be out in full force throughout the state, along with the red, white and blue bunting and blaring bands.

Primary elections are Aug. 1, making the Fourth of July the natural time when campaigns heat up.

In many cases, the primaries set the stage for the Nov. 7 general election; some candidates get a free primary ride but can use the time to drum up support for November.

“It’s a chance for the candidates to wrap themselves in the flag,” said Joe Aistrup, head of Kansas State University’s Department of Political Science. “After wrapping themselves in the flag, they typically come out and start punching each other. That’s the nature of primaries.”

Field unusually crowded

The Republican gubernatorial primary is an unusually crowded field of seven candidates, although most attention is focused on Sen. Jim Barnett, of Emporia; Ken Canfield, of Overland Park; and former House Speaker Robin Jennison, of Healy.

All three will be crisscrossing the state today in search of votes.

“With seven people out there dividing up the votes, you could have anybody winning with 30 or 40 percent,” Aistrup said. “The conservative vote could be divided in such a way that a more moderate candidate could sneak through.”

Gubernatorial race

Barnett will start Independence Day with a parade in Lenexa, which will be followed by the Johnson County Republican Picnic in Olathe. Canfield also will be at the picnic with Jennison at the Junction City parade.

In the evening, the three candidates will be in Wamego for its parade, which over the years has become one of the see-and-be-seen places for candidates because of its huge draw of spectators.

Whoever wins the GOP primary faces Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat elected in 2002 largely because moderate Republicans voted for her over conservative Tim Shallenburger.

“Parades are popular in Kansas,” she said. “Whether I’m running for office or not, I parade on the Fourth of July.”

The biggest strengths Sebelius has are her statewide popularity and lots of campaign cash waiting to be spent.

“Republicans better close ranks quickly and spend a lot of money to develop name recognition of their candidate,” Aistrup said. “They have to show themselves to be a person who can unseat a popular governor.”

Attorney general race

Atty. Gen. Phill Kline is unopposed in the GOP primary, but he faces a tough November race against Johnson County Dist. Atty. Paul Morrison, who switched from Republican to Democrat last fall when he decided to challenge the incumbent.

Kline plans to spend the Fourth by attending three parades – Hutchinson, Sterling and Wamego.

Asked why he was participating in three parades in a day, Kline said, “Because everybody has them.”

Morrison paints himself as a professional prosecutor with a long conviction rate and Kline as a lightweight lawyer.

But the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling upholding the state’s death penalty – in a case Kline argued before the justices – could give him a boost.

“I don’t know if it is the kind of thing that will push him over the edge to give him a majority, but it helps counteract the claims that he’s less than a real attorney,” Aistrup said. “The fact he won will ring in voters’ minds.”

Smart politics

Sebelius and Morrison will be in the same parades in Haysville and Derby – something Morrison’s camp said was coordinated with the governor’s campaign.

The governor then will have lunch with at the Veterans of Foreign Wars hall in Derby; Morrison plans a few stops in towns between Derby and his home in Lenexa.

Having Morrison and Sebelius at the same event is smart politics.

“The more the Democrats can grab hold of her coattails, the more it’s going to help the candidate,” Aistrup said.

“The more Morrison can attach himself to Sebelius, the better it will be for him.”