KANSAN.COM
ELECTION 2016
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Kansas Republican Sen. Jerry Moran speaks at the Overland Park Marriott after he won re-election in his race Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016.
Associated Press
Trump wins KS, hunting and fishing amendment passes
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican nominee Donald Trump carried Kansas in the presidential race as expected, and GOP Sen. Jerry Moran was handed an easy reelection victory in Tuesday's election.
Voters also approved an amendment to the state constitution to protect hunting and fishing. Republicans anticipated winning all four of the state's U.S. House seats.
Secretary of State Kris Kobach's office said more than 505,000 voters cast their ballots ahead of polls opening Tuesday. a 47 percent increase over the morning of the
last presidential election in 2012. Kobach was predicting that a record 1.3 million of the state's 1.8 million registered voters would participate.
What to know about the election:
PRESIDENTIAL CONTEST
Kansas was always considered a safe state for Trump, and he took it as anticipated. The last Democratic presidential nominee to carry the state was Lyndon Johnson in 1964.
Many Republicans had misgivings about Trump, particularly as multiple women came forward in the final weeks of the campaign to publicly accuse the New York businessman of inappropriate sexual
conduct. Voters in the GOP caucuses in March opted overwhelmingly for Texas Sen.Ted Cruz.
But many voters wary of Trump also couldn't stomach voting for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. GOP Gov. Sam Brownback argued that people should back Trump because the next president could fill multiple U.S. Supreme Court vacancies.
U.S. SENATE RACE
Moran easily won his second, six-year term in the Senate. He first won his seat in 2010 after serving 14 years representing the 1st District of western and central Kansas in the House.
His Democratic opponent was Patrick Wiesner, a Lawrence
accountant and tax attorney who ran unsuccessfully for the party's Senate nomination in 2010 and 2014.
CONGRESSIONAL RACES
Moran raised more than $4.1 million in contributions from the start of 2015 through mid-October, while Wiesner had received less than $14,000 in contributions through September.
The most competitive congressional race was in the 3rd District in the Kansas City area. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spent nearly $2.2 million on ads in the campaign's final weeks to boost political unknown Jay Sidie in his race against GOP incumbent Kevin
Yoder.
Democrats saw Yoder as vulnerable because he backed Trump and because of a political backlash against Gov. Brownback over the state's budget problems. But a Republican super PAC spent $804,000 to help Yoder, who already was well funded.
Republican incumbent Lynn Jenkins won reelection in the 2nd District in eastern Kansas. Republican Mike Pompeo is expected to win re-election in the 4th District in southcentral Kansas.
In the 1st District, Roger Marshall, a Great Bend physician, won the sprawling 1st District of western and central Kansas. Marshall gained national attention for knocking off Rep. Tim Huelskamp in the
August primary. Democrats did not have a candidate, but Alan LaPolice, a Clifton educator and farmer, was waging a long-shot bid as an independent.
PROTECTING HUNTING
The constitutional amendment on hunting and fishing passed the Legislature with broad, bipartisan support. Supporters said it's a preemptive move against possible attempts by animal rights groups to limit traditional sporting activities.
It adds a new section to the constitution's Bill of Rights declaring that Kansas residents have a right to hunt, fish and trap subject to "reasonable" state laws.
Hailey Dixon/KANSAN
Students watch election results at SUA election watch party on Nov. 8. The party was hosted in the Union.
SUA event lets students watch 2016 election unfold
▶ HAILEY DIXON
@_hailey_dixon
University students eagerly awaited the election results on Tuesday night at the SUA election watch party. The party was held on the fourth floor of the Kansas Union in the traditions area.
"This election is really important to me," said Collin Cox, SUA event coordinator. "Not only because it's my first election I'm voting in, but also noting that it's a really crucial time for this country."
Around 50 students attended the event. Students were handed red and blue beads, and had the opportunity to take pictures at the photo booth, play games, eat food and view the election results. While viewing the election, students were sitting in couches and chairs, all while socializing with others.
Cox said it was important that University students had a place on campus to watch the 2016 election unfold. Seeing as not everyone has access to cable, Cox said having a watch party was an alternative to gather as a group and watch the results come in live.
Four years ago, SUA held a watch party for the 2012 presidential election. Due to its success, they decided to do it again, Cox said.
"It gives them another person to dialogue with," said Michelle Compton, SUA advisor and associate director of marketing, media, and programs for the Memorial Union.
Compton said that the election party in 2012 was similar, but the party this year had less time for prizes and games, since this election was more dramatic.
David Nguyen, graduate student in education, said he was ready for the election to finally be over.
"I think most of us have been waiting for it to be over for like the past several months," he said.
LAC watch party promotes unity in divisive election
The Lawrence Arts Center hosted a bipartisan watch party for the 2016 Presidential election on Tuesday evening, with the hope of fostering a light-hearted atmosphere on a tense night.
Sarah Bishop, the chief communications officer, said that the Lawrence Arts Center chose to host a watch party because art can provide a sense of unity.
"We feel so strongly that art is a really great way to engage people in a really meaningful way, and it's very important, especially in this election and this campaign season, to ensure that people are engaged in the political process."Bishop said.
According to Bishop, bringing in cheerful and lighthearted elements was a key goal of the evening.
"We're just trying to have fun. There's lots of puns, there's lots of funny signs. This election season has just been so crazy, and filled with so much drama," Bishop said. "It's great to able to kick back, relax, and poke a little fun at the whole thing."
▶ ELLE CLOUSE
@Elle_Clouse
Ben Ahlvers, director of
"I think that the approach for me, was that I wanted to tap into some of the absurdity of the last year and a half. There's been absurdity from all corners," Ahlvers said.
Mike Anderson, a resident of Lawrence and a party attendee, said that the crowd was left leaning, and became uneasy after candidate Donald Trump
exhibitions, said that the evening was a "last hoorah" for an eventful election season, a spirit which he incorporated into the theme of the party.
"I think it's a very pro-Clinton crowd," Anderson said, "That's not surprising. We're here in an Arts Center, and we're in Lawrence."
Anderson said that the evening reflected the views of the city, and that the attendees enjoyed being around like minded voters.
"People here in Lawrence care about politics," Anderson said, "And I think they're around people who share similar ideologies."
won Ohio.
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Andrea Ringgenberg/KANSAN
Andrea Ringgenbergh/KANSAN The Lawrence Arts Center held an election watch party on Nov. 8, 2016.
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