When Kansans vote Tuesday they will deal with different districts, a new requirement to provide photo identification and the smoke from Republican Party warfare.
Officials are predicting a low turnout at the polls, which will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
In the Republican Party primary, Gov. Sam Brownback, the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, the billionaire Koch brothers, and Kansans for Life have been working to defeat a group of Republican senators who they say have been obstacles to their agenda.
Brownback said he got involved "because of the alliance in the state Senate between Democrats and some Republicans that join together to promote a Democrat agenda."
House Minority Leader Paul Davis of Lawrence said when he read that statement from Brownback he thought it was peculiar. "Do the people of Kansas want their representatives to work with each other or not? I believe the answer is a clear yes."
Meanwhile, those Republican incumbents were battling back with the support of teachers, bi-partisan union PACs and gaming interests.
"The moderates have really fought back in a more aggressive fashion than I think some of us who have been watching Kansas politics had anticipated," said Burdett Loomis, a political science professor at Kansas University.
"The moderates aren't going down without a fight," said Washburn University political science professor Bob Beatty. "It's a true battle. It's not like the U.S. men playing Nigeria in basketball."
While GOP state legislative races have dominated politics in much of Kansas, Douglas County is part of a Democratic primary for the 2nd Congressional District.
Lawrence and Douglas County had been split the previous 10 years between the 2nd and 3rd Districts, but redistricting brought the county entirely into the 2nd.
Scott Barnhart, Robert Eye and Tobias Schlingensiepen are vying for the Democratic nomination to face U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Topeka, who is seeking her third two-year term.
Barnhart is a farmer from Ottawa; Eye, an attorney from Lawrence; and Schlingensiepen, a pastor from Topeka.
Eye and Schlingensiepen have had the most active campaigns.
Back on the legislative side, two Republicans are vying for their party's nod in the 3rd Senate District. James C. "J.C." Tellefson, a former Leavenworth County commissioner, faces Anthony Brown, a state representative from Eudora. The winner will go against incumbent state Sen. Tom Holland, D-Baldwin City, in the November general election.
The newly drawn 3rd Senate District covers parts of Leavenworth and Douglas counties, including Basehor, Tonganoxie, Eudora, Baldwin City and about one-third of Lawrence’s population.
In the GOP primary in Senate District 19, two newcomers face off: Matthew Windheuser of Lawrence and Casey Moore of Topeka. The winner will face state Sen. Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, in the district that covers western Douglas County, east Topeka and all of Osage County.
In Senate District 2, Ronald Ellis of Meriden faces Jeremy Pierce of Lawrence, but Pierce ended his campaign and threw his support behind Ellis, who is expected to challenge state Sen. Marci Francisco, D-Lawrence.
Lawrence state Reps. Barbara Ballard and Paul Davis, both Democrats, and Tom Sloan, a Republican, face no primary opponents.
Republican primaries are being held in two House districts that include portions of Douglas County.
State Rep. Connie O'Brien, of Tonganoxie, faces Sandra Bohne of Leavenworth in the 42nd House District; and Debra "Debbi" Childers of Auburn, Ken Corbet of Topeka, and Dana Webber of Scranton are running in the 54th House District. The winner in that race will face state Rep. Ann Mah, D-Topeka.
The newly aligned districts were ordered by a panel of three federal judges in June, producing massive changes in voters' political representation. The primary also will be the first statewide test of the Kansas law that requires photo ID to vote.
Critics of the law say it will suppress voting rights and cause confusion. Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a national proponent of voter ID laws, predicted it won't cause any problems.
Comments
Cant_have_it_both_ways 4 years, 11 months ago
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/election-integrity-watchdog-sends-notice-to-160-counties-it-says-have-more-registered-voters-than-are-actually-eligible-to-vote/
Hooligan_016 4 years, 11 months ago
How about another source that isn't from Glenn Beck's "The Blaze"?
Phoghorn 4 years, 11 months ago
As Bernice replied...
Okay, LJW, I promise not to do another spoof of this guy, so please don't delete my comment. I have noticed that this type of spammer only seems to be able to post on discussion boards that allow threaded comments.
In other words, they can not make an original comment or start a thread. They can only reply to comments already on the board. Good luck getting rid of them.
CodybivDimotov 4 years, 11 months ago
just as Tracy said I am impressed that a mother able to get paid $7202 in 1 month on the computer. have you read this page (Click on menu Home more information) http://goo.gl/EefZe
Lydia Reimers 4 years, 11 months ago
Anything from Glenn Beck is infinitely better than the constant editorializing disguised as reporting from Scott Rothschild.
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 4 years, 11 months ago
"Anything from Glenn Beck is infinitely better"
Anyone who begins a sentence like this has serious issues with their frontal lobes.
Martin Shupert 4 years, 11 months ago
Glenn Beck? He's insane. Just drink the coolaid and go lie down over there with your friends.
rtwngr 4 years, 11 months ago
Scott Rothschild is the definition of "Yellow Journalism!"
Michael LoBurgio 4 years, 11 months ago
Kansas’ day of political reckoning is Tuesday.
Primary voters will determine whether Gov. Sam Brownback gets a Legislature willing to cooperate fully with his draconian social and fiscal agendas.
The House is there already. Only two or three votes in the Senate stand in the way. That’s why Brownback and his allies, which include the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and the wealthy Koch family in Wichita, are pulling out all the stops to purge the Senate of moderate Republicans.
Kansas will be a meaner and poorer state if voters allow that to happen.
Here is some of what is at stake in this election:
• The shape of public education. Brownback and the Legislature have cut deeply from the operating budgets of public school districts already.That all plays into Brownback’s small-government philosophy. Kansas needs legislators who understand what quality school districts mean to families and communities and are willing to protect them.
• Separation of powers. Not content with just legislative cooperation, Brownback wants the governor to also be able to hand-pick the state’s judiciary.
• Taxes and services. Brownback signed a crippling income tax cut into law this year and is likely not finished. His philosophical allies are pushing for a “taxpayer bill of rights” that would cap spending and require voter approval of any tax increases. That would impair the state from adequately funding schools or whittling down its disgracefully long waiting lists for disabled citizens needing services. College tuition would also be expected to increase.
• Sales and property taxes. Fewer dollars at the state level would put pressure on city and county governments to maintain their levels of services by increasing taxes on purchases and on property values. Brownback also wants to give school districts permission to seek unlimited tax proposals from voters. All of this creates a wider gap between wealthy and less affluent communities and school districts.
• Choice. Brownback has made it clear he will sign any bill limiting a woman’s right to an abortion, whether or not it is constitutional. His intrusions don’t stop there. On another front, the governor intends to turn all of the state’s Medicaid program over to private managed care companies, including long-term services for developmentally disabled citizens. Understandably, that group is deeply worried about receiving poorer care and fewer options. Brownback sincerely believes in diminishing government and in stamping his religious values into public policy. We think Kansas has too proud, too compassionate and too independent a heritage to allow itself to be turned into a test lab for those radical principles.
http://www.kansascity.com/2012/08/02/3739815/the-stars-recommendations-huge.html#storylink=cpy#storylink=cpy
by bluekansas
voevoda 4 years, 11 months ago
Maybe we should move to Canada, which now has a higher standard of living and excellent public services? Or maybe you should move to a place that has low taxes and little in the way of public services, such as Somalia.
Ken Lassman 4 years, 11 months ago
Why? Because he had the audacity to cover the primaries from both perspectives instead of just copying the press releases handed to him? What is factually incorrect here? Are the Brownback/Chamber/Right to Lifers et al not mounting a campaign to oust the moderates from the Republican party? Did he give the wrong candidates' names?
Mindless name calling does not become you.
BigAl 4 years, 11 months ago
If it is not served up by Fox News with a heavy conservative slant, some far-right folks simply blame the press for everything. Even though there is factually nothing wrong with this article, they simply don't like the facts so it is easier to blame the reporter. This has been going on for some time now by most of the right wing of the republican party.
BigAl 4 years, 11 months ago
None of them match the "zealotry" of Fox & Friends or individuals like Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck and others.
Again, there is nothing factually wrong with this article. Simply continue to blame the press.
optimist 4 years, 11 months ago
Nothing he said was necessarily inaccurate but rather from a skewed perspective I think is the point. Telling only part of the truth or half the story is untruth by omission. We are all smart enough to understand that. For example when he quotes Paul Davis in saying "Do the people of Kansas want their representatives to work with each other or not? I believe the answer is a clear yes" he fails to point out that if those same "moderate" Republicans were to side with the Conservative Republicans and the Governor it would be described as divisive and a legislature acting against the people. It is only bi-partisan when Republicans support the Democrat agenda. In any case politicians are always working together on one side of an issue or another. The only politicians not working together are those that vote present because they fail to take a side. I think the Governors point in his statements aren't that our legislators aren't working together but rather those working together in favor of opposing his plans should be defeated in favor of candidates that will work together with legislators sympathetic to his policies. That's democracy. The people will decide.
jafs 4 years, 11 months ago
When moderate Republicans and Democrats work together, it's not to advance a "Democrat" agenda, it's to advance a "moderate" one.
Since I believe that most folks in KS are moderate, not liberal or strongly conservative, this represents the people best.
In fact, on another story, it's commented that Republicans generally believe that low turnouts favor conservatives, so apparently they also feel most people aren't conservative.
Ken Lassman 4 years, 11 months ago
Optimist, Paul Davis' quote was presented in response to Brownback's quote, which was: ""because of the alliance in the state Senate between Democrats and some Republicans that join together to promote a Democrat agenda."
So the reporter was covering both perspectives in a divisive issue and so I'm still scratching my head about how you and rtwinger can frame that as having a skewed perspective. Reporting both sides of an issue is not telling only part of the truth or half of the story, it is what good journalism should be all about. So please do tell how this or any other part of this story is skewed to any perspective!
Steve Bunch 4 years, 11 months ago
The majority of these comments confirm that we live in a moronocracy.
Armstrong 4 years, 11 months ago
@rvjayhawk, you're mighty generous today with the comparison. Rothy has made a living spewing the left side of life and passing that off as journalism.
deec 4 years, 11 months ago
Back again?
voevoda 4 years, 11 months ago
I didn't see a single thing in this article that's actually Marxist. Care to specify, SageonPage, what, exactly, in this article qualifies as Marxist?
Patricia Davis 4 years, 11 months ago
President Obama is a centrist.
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 4 years, 11 months ago
Looks like pure partisan ignorance and idiocy is alive and well in Linwood.
deec 4 years, 11 months ago
What specific word choices or phrases lead all these people to think this story is biased?
How about addressing the topic of the story rather than making unsubstantiated attacks on the reporter?
Or is the problem just that the reporter whose beat is politics and state government actually reports the doings of the politicians?
rtwngr 4 years, 11 months ago
"Smoke from Republican warfare."
That's editorial comment not reporting. Those of us on the right can claim the same moral high ground as those on the left when it comes to political warfare. The problem is that these are opinions, not facts. For the author of this article (I cannot bring myself to call him either a reporter or journalist) to use incindiary language like this is wrong. Pointing to other news agencies to justify this behavior is wrong, too.
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 4 years, 11 months ago
It's figurative language, which just happens to capture the reality of the in-fighting within the Republican Party.
Just because you don't like that dirty laundry aired doesn't mean that it isn't the truth.
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 4 years, 11 months ago
In the rightwing wackosphere, a balanced and accurate report (such as this one) is considered "biased" simply because it lacks the regurgitation of propaganda they've been conditioned to expect on Fox News, Rush, etc.
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 4 years, 11 months ago
Unfortunately, that's not quite true.
But even if it were, the instances of pure idiocy that emanate from those sources are so plentiful that it gives lots of fodder for "MSNBC, Huffie, moveon, dailykos or the Maddow types," and they don't even have to take it out of context.
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 4 years, 11 months ago
Looks like the returned troll got disappeared pretty quickly (again.)
Matthew Herbert 4 years, 11 months ago
I had to show i.d to get a library card. Just sayin....
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 4 years, 11 months ago
Items at the library cost a considerable amount of money to purchase, which creates a significant incentive for theft.
There is little or nothing to be gained by casting a fraudulent vote, but much to lose (it is a felony,) thus there is little or no incentive to do so.
Just sayin...
rtwngr 4 years, 11 months ago
Oh sure. Like standing in front of a polling place, brandishing a club, and making intimidating remarks on national television. Yeah, the DOJ really cracks down on voter fraud and intimidation, doesn't it bozo?
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 4 years, 11 months ago
Got any more urban myths you heard on Fox News or Rush or through email spam that want to puke out?
jafs 4 years, 11 months ago
Come on, have you seen the video?
There were in fact, two, I believe New Black Panther guys outside a polling place in PA doing very much what was described.
Nobody should defend that sort of behavior, in my view.
verity 4 years, 11 months ago
I don't think anybody was defending it.
But one or two isolated incidents some years ago hardly constitutes a trend or defines Democrats or liberals, as much as some commenters would like us to believe.
But it's very useful for a distraction.
jafs 4 years, 11 months ago
Well, bozo was implying that it's not in fact true, when it clearly is true.
I suppose that's not the same thing as defending it, though.
But, I do wonder why those folks weren't prosecuted, at least for something like harassment.
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 4 years, 11 months ago
Actually, there was a prosecution against one of the defendants, and he was sanctioned for his actions.
My initial response here was a bit hasty. What I should have said was that while the behavior of the New Black Panthers was reprehensible, possibly even illegal, this incident was blown completely out of proportion, and doesn't in any way represent an organized national campaign by the NBP's-- as a matter of fact, the people who did this were criticized and sanctioned by the national organization for taking this action.
It's interesting that rtwngr has no problems with what really is a national campaign by the Republican Party to harass and intimidate voters to keep them from voting, and they do it in minority precincts that are likely to vote Democratic.
Regardless, it has absolutely nothing to do with voter fraud, or voter ID, which is what my comment to Renaissance was about.
StirrrThePot 4 years, 11 months ago
I walked in, presented my KS DL, and voted. Get out there and make yours count, Kansans!
Patricia Davis 4 years, 11 months ago
Fox News is yellow journalism personified.
voevoda 4 years, 11 months ago
Still haven't heard anything actually "Marxist" from any of these people--much less in this article. Do you know what Marxism is, other than a term of abuse thrown by the radical right wing in a futile attempt to discredit advocates of the American way?
verity 4 years, 11 months ago
All this worry, sound and fury about rampant voter fraud. Much ado, time, energy and money spent to make sure that no one votes illegally. No proof constitutes proof that it's happening.
And yet, nary a whisper about Diebold, voting machines with no paper trail (that would be too difficult, costly, and well nigh impossible), programmed so that they can be hacked to flip votes. No comments about what party this company supports.
voevoda 4 years, 11 months ago
And who stole the 2004 election, with fraud in Ohio, SageonPage? Not the Democrats.
deec 4 years, 11 months ago
"CLEVELAND (AP) — Two election workers in the state's most populous county were convicted Wednesday of illegally rigging the 2004 presidential election recount so they could avoid a more thorough review of the votes.
A third employee who had been charged was acquitted on all counts.
Jacqueline Maiden, the elections' coordinator who was the board's third-highest ranking employee when she was indicted last March, and ballot manager Kathleen Dreamer each were convicted of a felony count of negligent misconduct of an elections employee.
Maiden and Dreamer also were convicted of one misdemeanor count each of failure of elections employees to perform their duty."
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4071/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_United_States_election_voting_controversies
http://truth-out.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=2319:new-court-filing-reveals-how-the-2004-ohio-presidential-election-was-hacked
Andrew Reeves 4 years, 11 months ago
"I do worry about those voting machines, especially the ones that gave 'Hairy Read' his re-election in 2010. When people went to vote the ballot auto filled with Dems and good old looney Hairy. If any group would attempt to steal an election it is Obooba's gang."
"Have any proof, or are you following 'The Party' line that if you tell a lie often and long enough that sheeple will believe it?"
jafs 4 years, 11 months ago
Wow, somebody came back, and made it less than half the morning before they got disappeared again, huh?
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