One of the most astute statements about Tuesday’s election results in Kansas came from Kansas Republican Party Chairman Tim Shallenburger: “: if you are on the fringe on the left or fringe on the right, you have trouble winning.”

Although that nugget of wisdom came from a top Republican official, it seems to go a long way in explaining the success of Democrats in Kansas elections last Tuesday.

Democrats scored big in three key races: the re-election of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and in the races for attorney general and the 2nd District U.S. House seat. In the latter two races, Democrats overcame the incumbent advantage to oust Republican officeholders.

The victory of Nancy Boyda over Rep. Jim Ryun in the 2nd District race probably was at least partially attributable to the nationwide trend of voters seeking a change in federal government and specifically U.S. handling of the Iraq war. However, at least some voters probably viewed Ryun as part of the right “fringe” of the Republican Party.

An even clearer illustration of Shallenburger’s point came in the Kansas attorney general’s race, in which Johnson County Dist. Atty. Paul Morrison defeated Atty. Gen. Phill Kline, whose activism on medical records and other issues had clearly put him among the “fringe” candidates in many voters’ minds.

The results of Tuesday’s election may have a significant long-term impact on the future of the Kansas Republican Party, which has been controlled by conservative, evangelical activists for a number of years. Moderate Republicans like Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger, Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh and Treasurer Lynn Jenkins easily won re-election. And a couple of Democrats who, until recently, were part of the moderate Republican wing – Morrison and Sebelius’ running mate, Mark Parkinson – also were part of key victories in the state.

Morrison and Parkinson said they took the risk of switching parties because they no longer felt comfortable with the Republican Party. So instead of running as moderate Republicans, they ran as Democrats. While the Republican Party was being pulled to the conservative fringe by its leadership and key candidates, the Democratic Party was moving to the middle, away from its liberal fringe, in an effort to appeal to moderate Kansas voters.

Kansas still is a Republican state, at least according to its voter registration rolls, but the number of Republicans who apparently voted for Democrats in Tuesday’s election indicates that Morrison and Parkinson are not the only Kansas Republicans who feel left behind by their party. It will be interesting in the years to come to see how Republican leaders adjust their thinking or their election strategy to try to restore their political dominance in Kansas.