Kansas

Kansas primary voters were smarter than megadonors expected. But too many stayed home.

Published

2 years ago

August 12, 2024

Kansas primary voters were smarter than megadonors expected. But too many stayed home.

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.

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Kansas

RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Friday after Tuesday sub-state wins

Published

2 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Friday after Tuesday sub-state wins

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Below is a look at the results from Tuesday night’s high school basketball sub-state semifinals in Northeast Kansas.

Editor’s Note: This story will be updated with what schools are hosting when that information becomes readily available.

WIBW Scoreboard

BOYS

5A East Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

KC Washington 68, Highland Park 38
Shawnee Heights 49, De Soto 37 (will play Leavenworth Friday)

5A West Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Topeka West 55, Hutchinson 32 (will play Bishop Carroll Friday)
Emporia 61, Great Bend 41 (will play Maize South Friday)
Seaman 73, Valley Center 51 (will play Hays Friday)

3A West Franklin Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Burlington 60, Osage City 35 (will play Baxter Springs Friday)

3A Sabetha Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Hiawatha 73, Oskaloosa 48 (will play Heritage Christian Friday)
Silver Lake 58, Sabetha 39 (will play Perry-Lecompton Friday 7:30 p.m.)

GIRLS

6A West Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Washburn Rural 60, Wichita South 32 (will play Derby)
Topeka High 69, Maize 45 (will play Liberal)
Manhattan 67, Free State 21 (will play Wichita East)

4A East Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Rock Creek 71, Parsons 23 (will play Tonganoxie)
Wamego 54, Labette County 33 (will play Bishop Miege)
Hayden 2, Athison 0 (will play Baldwin)

2A Eskridge/Mission Valley Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Rossville 71, KC Christian 49 (will play Maur Hill-Mount Academy)
Lyndon 61, Jeff. Co. North 31 (will play Valley Heights)
Valley Heights 65, Doniphan West 41 (will play Lyndon)

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Kansas

Doe v. State of Kansas | American Civil Liberties Union

Published

14 hours ago

March 3, 2026

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Doe v. State of Kansas | American Civil Liberties Union

In early 2026, the Kansas state legislature passed SB 244, a law which prohibits transgender people from using public restrooms on government property that align with their gender identity and establishes a private right of action that allows anyone who suspects someone is transgender and in violation of the law to sue that person for “damages” totaling $1,000.

The law also invalidates state-issued driver’s licenses with updated gender markers that reflect the carrier’s gender identity. In February 2026, transgender people across the state received letters from the state Department of Revenue’s Division of Vehicles informing them that their driver’s licenses “will no longer be valid,” effective immediately. SB 244 also prohibits transgender Kansans – or those born in Kansas – from updating the gender marker on state-issued birth certificates and driver’s licenses in the future.

The same day SB 244 went into effect, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kansas, and Ballard Spahr LLP filed a lawsuit challenging SB 244 in the District Court of Douglas County on behalf of two transgender men who had their driver’s licenses invalidated under the law. The lawsuit charges that SB 244 violates the Kansas Constitution’s protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality under the law, due process, and freedom of speech.

“The invalidation of state-issued IDs threatens to out transgender people against their will every time they apply for a job, rent an apartment, or interact with police,” said Harper Seldin, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project. “Taken as a whole, SB 244 is a transparent attempt to deny transgender people autonomy over their own identities and push them out of public life altogether.”

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Kansas

Kansas City man sentenced for cocaine trafficking, possession of illegal firearm

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

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Kansas City man sentenced for cocaine trafficking, possession of illegal firearm

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A Kansas City man was sentenced in federal court for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy and possession of an illegal firearm.

According to the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, 22-year-old Antoine R. Gillum was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole.

His sentencing stems from a June 2024 incident in a metro gas station. KCPD investigators contacted Gillum inside and found that he had discarded a 9 mm pistol in an aisle between the merchandise. He also discarded a pill bottle containing multiple illegal substances: cocaine base, oxycodone/acetaminophen and oxycodone.

Officers searched the vehicle Gillum had arrived in and found approximately 32 grams of cocaine base.

On May 6, 2025, Gillum pleaded guilty to one count each of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Jennings. It’s a part of ‘Operation Take Back America,’ a nationwide Department of Justice initiative to eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations.

No further information has been released.

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