Kansans show up to vote in the Aug. 5 primary election. (Maya Smith for Kansas Reflector)

Big money thought it could hornswoggle Kansas Democrats in the 35th District into selecting Rep. Marvin Robinson as their candidate.

Robinson, for those of you outside the Kansas City area, essentially swapped parties in 2023, siding with Republicans on hot-button issues. Groups that usually boost Republican candidates swamped his district with deceptive mailers touting supposed accomplishments. The most shameless by far swiped former President Barack Obama’s “O” logo and images of the Democratic leader.

Voters didn’t fall for it. They selected educator Wanda Brownlee Paige instead. She won a whopping 49% of the vote, while Robinson trailed with 22% and two others followed him.

This was one of the most heartening results from primaries held Tuesday, an example of how voters can stand up against the interest groups that usually dominate Kansas politics. Along the same lines, moderate GOP stalwarts Sen. Barbara Dietrich and Rep. Mark Schreiber won their respective races. Johnson County Sheriff Calvin Hayden lost his reelection bid, showing that even Republicans have tired of election conspiracy-mongering.

On the other hand, we could have done more.

I’ve encouraged Kansans to step up and participate in the electoral process using the metaphor of a board game.

If you don’t play, not only can’t you win, but you can’t even affect the outcome.

Unfortunately, numbers from early Wednesday showed that only 16.1% of Kansas voters bothered. That equals 318,728 ballots from nearly 2 million registered voters. Put another way, that means 1.68 million Kansans who could vote didn’t.

Secretary of State Scott Schwab suggested beforehand that turnout might be comparable to that in 2016’s primary, in which 24% of voters cast ballots. More ballots will likely be added to this year’s total as elections officials complete their work, but Kansans sure didn’t set any records. We weren’t even close.

Mark my words. In early 2025, we will see polls and hear from Kansans upset about what the Kansas Legislature’s course.

They will wonder, once again, why our state can’t expand Medicaid health insurance coverage for families in need, why we can’t legalize even medical cannabis, and why budget proposals pander to millionaires and billionaires. They will be right to ask these questions. I’ll ask them too.

But Kansas voters had an opportunity this past week to choose a different course. They could have removed many barriers to progress at the Statehouse. With a handful of exceptions, they chose to stay at home or vote for familiar faces.

Already, a large swath of next year’s legislature has been decided.

Fifty-two candidates made it past their primaries and will run unopposed for the 125-member Kansas House. For those who prefer percentages, that means 42% of state representatives have been set. Nine candidates won’t face challengers for seats in the 40-member Kansas Senate. That’s 23% of state senators decided. As the saying goes, “Game over, man.”

Bernadette Kinlaw of the Southern Poverty Law Center explains the basics: “Your vote holds elected officials accountable for their actions. It forces them to listen to you and the issues that most concern you. Your vote is your report card on lawmakers. If you’re not content with the job an elected official has done, you can use your vote to remove that official from office.”

That goes for general elections and primaries.

Voting reshapes our government directly. Not taking to the streets, not posting on social media, not writing opinion columns. Kansans should do all those things when so moved, but they only go so far. Voting actually creates change.

That’s what makes the primary results bittersweet. At least a handful of voters understand the stakes. They rid themselves of unrepresentative embarrassments Robinson and Hayden. They didn’t need to be persuaded by big money or glossy mailers; they took the initiative on their own. Cheers to all who showed up and took a stand.

But many other folks couldn’t be bothered. They chose not to vote at all, allowing others to make choices for them.

Those 2 million registered Kansas voters will have another, smaller, set of choices in November.

We’ll see what happens then.

Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCTV) – Democratic Party leadership in the state of Kansas wants to break the GOP supermajority in the state house and senate this election cycle. Local democratic leaders have identified Johnson County as a place where they can turn some red seats blue.

“We can’t coast. We can’t sit on our laurels,” said Jeanna Repass, the Chair of the Kansas Democratic Party. “We had a great primary day, but now the work begins.”

Republicans in Kansas hold more than two-thirds of the seats in both houses of the state legislature. That means Kansas Republicans can pass a bill, and then override any potential veto from Democratic governor, Laura Kelly. Kansas Democrats want that to stop.

“Looking forward to November, we are looking forward to getting a lot of Democrats elected and breaking the super-majority in Topeka,” said Deann Mitchell, the Chair of the Johnson County Democratic Party.

KCTV5 asked Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas what he thinks will happen across the state line in November. Lucas believes Democrats have a path to victory in some races in Johnson County.

“Congresswoman [Sharice] Davids will hold onto her seat,” Lucas said. “Look for a few more pick-ups, particularly in state legislative races. That’s what a lot of this is about – how do you make sure in the state senate and in the state house you break the super majority for republicans.”

On Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris picked Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to be her running mate in the presidential election. Kansas Democrats approve of her pick for VP.

“Not only in Johnson County but nationwide, there is a lot of excitement about the new top of the ticket. We are all very excited about Tim Walz to be the vice president choice,” said Mitchell.

“Walz is going to do so many amazing things to motivate young people. He’s also the kind of guy who relates to older people, working-class people,” said Repass. “We are not across the finish line. As a matter of fact, we are just getting started.”

The general election is on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Copyright 2024 KCTV. All rights reserved.

Oklahoma State’s season was filled with interesting matchups, and the Cowboys’ star had a breakout performance against the Jayhawks.

OSU came into its matchup against Kansas following a win against Kansas State to try and turn the season around. However, with one of the Big 12’s best entering Stillwater, a win was far from guaranteed. 

Much like their matchup against Kansas State, OSU took an early lead. Alan Bowman helped the Cowboys take a quick 14-0 lead with red zone touchdown throws to Ollie Gordon and Brennan Presley. However, Trevor Wilson’s 47-yard score helped turn things around for Kansas.

Without starting quarterback Jalon Daniels, Jason Bean filled in for the Jayhawks and helped them take a lead into halftime. He threw four touchdown passes in the first half. Back-to-back scores to Mason Fairchild for 30 and 44 yards helped Kansas take its first lead.

Gordon’s 42-yard run put the Cowboys back in front momentarily before Quentin Skinner’s 49-yard catch gave Kansas a 25-24 lead after some mishaps on an extra point and failed two-point conversions.

Bean added his final touchdown on Kansas’ first drive, finding Skinner for a 42-yard score. He finished with 410 yards, but OSU’s dynamic star stole the show.

Although OSU had to settle for three second-half field goals, Gordon finished the day with 168 yards on the ground and 116 receiving yards in one of the best all-around games in OSU history.

To help seal the game, Brennan Presley found the end zone on a 6-yard run in the closing minutes to take the lead, and Alex Hale nailed a 42-yard field goal to push the lead to seven with 15 seconds left. Following Kansas’ touchdown to open the third quarter, OSU’s defense forced turnovers on the next four drives before running out of time on the final possession.

Ranking OSU’s 2023 season:

No. 14 South Alabama
No. 13 UCF
No. 12 Texas
No. 11 Central Arkansas
No. 10 Iowa State
No. 9 Arizona State
No. 8 Houston
No. 7 Cincinnati
No. 6 Texas A&M

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