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Kansas grabs spotlight in 2014 midterm election
7
BY ALLISON KITE
@ALLIE_KITE
In sharp contrast to past landslide races, Kansas has emerged as a state to watch, with three races making headlines.
Competitive races for governor, U.S. Senate and Kansas Secretary of State have voters talking about what's at stake in November.
GOVERNOR
Brownback won the 2010 gubernatorial election by a 31-point spread, but some of his policies have come under fire.
incumbent Republican Sam Brownback leads challenger Democrat Paul Davis on Oct. 21 by only .6 points, according to an average of several polls by Real Clear Politics.
What it means: The heat Brownback is getting makes this election an uphill battle for him to bring down moderate Democrat Davis.
Much of the anti-Brownback discussion in the race revolves around the declining tax revenue and potential debt because of tax cuts. University political science professor Burdett Loomis said the tax cuts have failed to stimulate the economy as promised.
"We're talking about a state where there was supposed to be great economic growth," Loomis said. "That's what the governor said. It was an experiment that if we cut taxes, businesses would flourish, wed have great economic growth and everything would be wonderful. That hasn't occurred."
Kelly Arnold, chair of the Kansas Republican Party, argued that the cuts were effective, citing the unemployment rate of 4.9 percent and job creation, and said the plan needs
more time to be effective.
[brownback] had to come in and make some major changes in the structure of our government, our administration to kind of just get over this hump, to turn the corner on an economic aspect of it," Arnold said.
SFNATE
The race for U.S. Senate has been equally tight. According to Real Clear Politics, Republican incumbent Pat Roberts has come back up in the polls to a dead tie. In September, when former Democratic candidate Chad Taylor withdrew, votes shifted toward independent Greg Orman, putting him in a 45.5 to 37.5 lead over Roberts. Arnold suggested the comeback is a function of Orman's perceived lack of stance on issues.
What it means: Loomis and Arnold said the Senate race will have more of an effect on the nation as a whole than the state. Arnold said control of the Senate could potentially depend heavily on the outcome in Kansas, especially because Orman has yet to announce which party he would caucus with.
"Do you want the Democrats to control the United States Senate, or do you want the Republicans? That's really what it boils down to," Arnold said.
The race for U.S. Senate began garnering attention when Roberts fought a tough primary against Milton Wolf and continued through Taylor's withdrawal. Loomis said the level of competition in the Senate race was not as predictable as the gubernatorial race, but losing a formerly solid Republican seat could make it more difficult for Republicans to take control of the Senate.
"It's odd because we're in a red
state, and it's contested," Loomis said. "It's odd because we have an independent candidate, so from a whole variety of ways, it sets itself up as a pretty good news story."
Brittany Bodenheimer, president of the KU Young Democrats, said she believes the tight race is a result of a general feeling of misdirection and a strong challenging candidate.
"Right now in Kansas there's a really strong attitude of anti-incumbency," she said. "People are less willing to re-elect people who are already in office because of the way things are going. With Pat Roberts, he's been in office for a long time now. I think, once again, we're seeing a lot of failed policy, but I think we have a really great alternative candidate."
SFORFTARY OF STATE
The race for Kansas Secretary of State, Loomis said is normally a relatively boring race, has become more competitive. According to Public Policy Polling, it's now a 6 point race with Kris Kobach leading 47 to 41. Current Secretary of State Kobach has received heat for the 2011-2012 law requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote, which has left many Kansas voters in suspense.
What it means: Kobach has said the law is a measure to prevent illegal voting by non-citizens. However, those opposed to the 2011-2012 law have argued it's more of a deterrent to would-be voters than a protection from voter fraud.
Loomis said he believed many of these voters would be democratic voters.
"In Kansas, he's being partisan in an office that should be run in a nonpartisan way," Loomis said. However, Loomis added that
However, Loomis added that
Democratic candidate Jean Schodorf hasn't stolen the show.
Arnold said following the legislature's passing of the proof of citizenship bill, it is up to the 105 election officials to implement it. He added that those officials have made it as easy as possible, by allowing voters to submit their proof via smartphone and trying to reach people on the list of voters in suspense.
"Schodorf has been an OK candidate. She hasn't raised very much money."
"I know several state representatives that have gone door-to-door to people that are on this list of people waiting to verify proof of citizenship to help them complete that transaction," Arnold said.
In September, Taylor sued Kobach for refusing to remove his name from the ballot, which Arnold said has pulled the Secretary of State's race into the limelight.
With only two week left until election day, races in Kansas remain extremely close.
- EDITED BY JACOB OLEMEN
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