Kansas Democrats' victory seen as 'bellwether' for party / LJWorld.com

Archive for Sunday, November 19, 2006

November 19, 2006

Topeka — Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' father, John Gilligan, has seen numerous political battles.

But on election night, the 85-year-old former governor of Ohio made a bold prediction after his daughter won re-election in Kansas and Democrats made significant gains both statewide and nationally.

"What's happening today in Kansas is a bellwether for what's going to happen in the future for the Democratic Party," Gilligan said.

Historically, Democrats have been the long-suffering minority party in Kansas. Of the state's 1.66 million voters, 47 percent are registered as Republicans, 27 percent unaffiliated and 26 percent Democrat.

But now, Democrats have established themselves as a tough, growing adversary to the dominant Republican Party.

'50-state strategy'

Sebelius won an easy re-election, Democrat Paul Morrison ousted Atty. Gen. Phill Kline, Nancy Boyda upset five-term conservative Republican icon Jim Ryun in the 2nd Congressional District, and the Democrats picked up a handful of seats in the state House.

"People could look at what has happened here and find some new ideas based on what we've done," said Kansas Democratic Party executive director Mike Gaughan.

Gaughan and other Democrats said the party benefited from national chairman Howard Dean's "50-state strategy" and the cross-party appeal of Sebelius.

When Dean became chairman of the Democratic National Committee, his main goal was to try to organize and grow the party in all states instead of ceding states, such as Kansas, to the Republicans.

AP File Photo

Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is joined at the governor's residence for dinner by her son Ned Sebelius, center, and her father, John Gilligan, on election night in Topeka. Gilligan predicts the tide has turned for Democrats in Kansas and across the nation.

The election validated this decision, Dean said.

"The American voters also sent a message to Democrats that if we show up, work hard and ask for their vote, we can win in any part of the country," he said in a statement after the election.

Dean listed Kansas as a prime example of the strategy working.

"Strong leadership from the Democratic Party created a wave of party-switchers - moderate Republicans fed-up with the right-wing stranglehold on their party," he said.

That was evident Election Day - Morrison switched parties to take on Kline, and Sebelius' lieutenant governor running mate, Mark Parkinson, is a former chairman of the Kansas Republican Party. Boyda also had been a Republican, and several state House winners used to be in the GOP.

Gaughan said Kansas Democrats applied the 50-state strategy locally by organizing in areas in Kansas "that hadn't seen the party for a while."

For example, he said that in Lawrence, the party was well-established on the east side in the 3rd Congressional District, but made an effort to get better organized on the west side, which is in Boyda's newly won 2nd District.

Statehouse gains

Working across the state and nation in Republican strongholds made voters familiar with Democrats and their message, officials said.

And while the Democratic takeover of Congress has been well-publicized, Democrats also made significant gains in state Houses nationwide.

Before the election, Republicans held a 28-22 edge in governors. That is now reversed, with Democrats holding a 28-22 lead.

Fifteen states now have both Democratic governors and legislatures, seven more than before the election.

Sebelius said voters responded to a Democratic message of working hard on tough issues and trying to seek bipartisanship.

"I heard it all over the state, people would say, 'Why in the world can't people work across party lines, what are they doing in D.C.?'" she said.

Kansans also thought the Republican Congress had gotten lazy, which made it seem further out of touch, she said.

"Congress, last year, had 92 work days in the entire year. That's supposed to be a full-time job. In Kansas, legislators in a part-time job were here more than 92 days, and we actually got some results," she said.

Sebelius also said that Democrats are now seen as the ones trying to get things done on a bipartisan basis. Because they are so outnumbered, Kansas Democrats are accustomed to reaching toward Republicans and independents.

"It's not only Kansas, it's Arizona, Wyoming and Oklahoma, and you look at states traditionally one would think they would be Republican states, and yet a Democrat is in the governor's office and clearly works across party lines, and again has been re-elected with pretty resounding majorities," she said.

Sebelius said that should serve as a lesson to the federal government.

And she said the 2006 election results bodes well for Democrats in 2008, a presidential election year.

Noting the majority of governors who are Democrats, she said, "That's an incredible infrastructure across this country where people have connected with the CEO who is a Democrat."

Discussion

LJWorld.com doesn't necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post.
Read our full policy. Also, read about banned accounts and harassing comments.

19 November 2006
at 6:45 a.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

Kropotkin (Anonymous) says…

This November and before that, in primaries, Democrats benefited from a “perfect storm.” Republicans, in power in Congress for 12 years and about as long in the Kansas legislature, had grown accustomed to a lack of any accountability whatsoever. They lost races, not because of the wholesale abandonment of their supposed core principles such as balanced budgets and small government, for which they should have been legitimately taken to task, but for their abandonment of any pretense at honesty and morality. In Congress we had the spectacle of candidates such as Mark Foley engaged in sexual escapades that made the Christian right wing wonder why it bothered to support such a corrupt enterprise. Bob Ney and Duke Cunninham succumbed to the lure of rampant corruption. But closer examination shows that the “Born Agains” did not abandon the Republican party.

A few examples.

In Kansas, voters rejected the primary challenge by the far-right Kay O'Connor, but endorsed the consistently mediocre performance of Ron Thornburg. They ousted the lackluster Jim Ryun but reelected Tom DeLay apologist and supposedly “Christian” hack Todd Tiahrt.

In Montana, they barely dumped three-term, dim witted and as yet undicted co-conspirator Senator Conrad Burns, but the same voters reelected Republican Congressman Denny Rehburg with 59% of the vote. He garnered 40 thousand more ballots than Senator-elect Jon Tester. Tester was helped by votes cast for a far-right, lunatic fringe third party candidate.

In Minnesota, “Christian” (whose church claims the pope is the anti-Christ) State Senator Michele Bachmann received 50% of her Congressional district vote though the homophobic conspiracy theorist is every bit as loopy as Kansas' own Connie Morris. A credible challenger, Patty Wetterling, received only 42% with a third party candidate garnering the balance.

28 current Republican congressional seats nationwide changed hands, with the average partisan shift in votes in those district being an astonishing 31%. But if the Democrats rest upon their laurels, they will quickly return to the minority in 2008. The American public wants to see change, not rhetoric.
19 November 2006
at 2:49 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

centralcalifhawk (Anonymous) says…

Gov. Sebelius' analysis is just lazy. Is it that unusual that Democrats have won in Kansas and in other, “red” states? I think not. Go back 20 odd years…and it's not that spectacular for a Democrat to win in these states. Let's go down the list: Kansas (John Carlin, the Docking family, Dan Glickman, Jim Slattery), Arizona (Bruce Babbitt, Dennis Deconcini…also Clinton won that state in 1996), Oklahoma (David Boren..and numerous others). North Dakota has a solidly blue congressional delegation. Any chance for the Democrats taking that state in a presidential election in 2008? I highly doubt it. Just like the fact that Massachusetts, until the recent election had a Republican governor since 1990 and New York and Pataki for three terms (not to mention over 12 years GOP rule in NYC)..yet know one suggests that those states are in “play” in a Presidential election for the Republicans.
19 November 2006
at 4:39 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

jimincountry (Anonymous) says…

The republicans lost and democrats won by default; the Bush administration has done more damage to the republican party than any administration since Jimmy Carter scuttled the democrats.

Dems should not count on turning the state blue for 2008 election. Repubs should not count on Kansas staying red either.

Are there any Reagans or JFK's around to bring any unity?!
19 November 2006
at 4:54 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

jimincountry (Anonymous) says…

OR,………..It's time for a 3rd party!!!!????
19 November 2006
at 10:39 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

coldsplice (Anonymous) says…

kropotikin-double check your data. I don't know about all your examples but when you look at the Minnesota race, keep in mind that Michelle Bachman's district voted overwhelmingly for a pro-choice, pro-stem cell candidate in Hennepin County (Minneapolis) Attorney Amy Klobuchar for US Senate. Further, outside of the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, MN is largely a socially conservative state and Klobuchar carried 78 of the 87 counties in the state. Lastly, Klobuchar's opponent in the Senate race was the outgoing 3 term Republican incumbent that Bachman is replacing, Mark Kennedy. Kennedy, like Bachman is a pro-life, anti-stem cell, person of “strong faith”.
20 November 2006
at 4:51 a.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

mike_blur (Mike Blur) says…

jimincountry said:

“Dems should not count on turning the state blue for 2008 election. Repubs should not count on Kansas staying red either.”

Boyda could be the swing person in this matter. I voted for her and I will make every effort to make sure she is responsive to her constituents in the Second. (I never voted for Ryun, so it would have been presumptious of me to take him to task - and, anyhow, he wasn't responsive to his constituents one way or another, anyhow)

Boyda is on the cusp of the wave of legislators who could make a difference. It's up to citizens like myself and others who voted for her to make sure she stays on task. The fault with the 'Pubs 12 year dominance from 94 to 06 was the they were content to rest on their laurels until the electorate finally wised up.
21 November 2006
at 8:07 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

Wilbur_Nether (Anonymous) says…

Does anyone really see Boyda being a multi-term Congressperson? It seems to me that she simply ran as the anti-Ryun; the voters saw her as more palatable that Ryun. I suspect a number of moderate Republicans will come out of the woodwork in 2008 to challenge her.