Voters in Kansas sent a message in Tuesday’s election that they are dissatisfied with the direction the state has taken the past two years under the leadership of Gov. Sam Brownback and the ultra-conservative majority in the Legislature.

The good news for Brownback? The governor still has two years to heed voters’ message, adjust his approach and alter his legacy. That’s more than can be said for the governor’s allies in the Legislature, many of whom lost their jobs in the election.

Tuesday’s results were not unexpected — voters had already sent a message in the Aug. 2 Republican primaries when 14 of the Legislature’s strongest Brownback supporters — six state senators and eight state representatives — lost to moderate, anti-Brownback Republicans. Clay Barker, executive director of the state Republican Party, said the Brownback wing of the Legislature lost 10 seats in the Senate and 13 in the House in the primaries.

On Tuesday, Democrats picked up 11 seats in the House and a seat in the Senate. The change in the Legislature was significant enough that Brownback’s support in the Legislature is tenuous at best. A coalition of Democrats and moderate Republicans now have the opportunity to exert control, particularly on major issues such as tax policy and school funding.

Given the state of the state, that’s as it should be.

Brownback and the ultraconservative majority set the state on a fiscal course of tax cuts that they said would stimulate the economy, raise incomes, spur job growth and increase spending that would drive sales tax revenue. They cut K-12 education funding and higher education funding, and delayed highway spending to balance the budget.

Four years since the first tax cuts were implemented, there is no evidence that the strategies are working. In fact, the evidence is that the Brownback approach has left state government underfunded and residents underserved.

State tax revenues have rarely met expectations and have come up short for six straight months, digging an $80 million financial hole for the newly elected legislators to deal with. Economic indicators show Kansas lags behind the rest of the nation in job, income and population growth. The state’s underwhelming sales tax revenues are evidence that the tax cuts haven’t spurred consumer spending.

Economic numbers don’t lie and neither do election results. Kansans want tax policies that spur the economy, fund good schools and build roads. They want economic growth. They want change and Tuesday’s election ensures they’ll get it in the Kansas Senate and House. Here’s hoping the governor’s mansion got the message too.