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.