Voters go to the polls in two weeks and Republican Clifford Blackmore is already a state lawmaker representing House District 6.
In what was essentially an election before the election, Republican precinct leaders on Tuesday voted 19-8 to select Blackmore over Samantha Poetter to serve out the term of longtime state Rep. Jene Vickrey.
Vickrey is not seeking reelection, but abruptly resigned his position last month. His departure forced a precinct convention to choose someone to fill out his term.
The precinct convention was a little preview of the upcoming primary election between Blackmore and Poetter on Aug. 4.
There was some grumbling at Tuesday’s meeting over the letter announcing the convention that was sent out by Blackmore, the party chair in Miami County.
Blackmore sent out the letter by mail that contained the wrong address for the convention location in downtown Paola.
Blackmore, who presided over part of the meeting Tuesday, said he mistakenly copied the wrong address onto the letter.
“Wrong street, right address,” he said. “It just was because I was typing it in at 3 o’clock in the morning. The frustrating thing is we had five different people check it and none of us caught it.”
“I apologize. That’s my mistake,” Blackmore said of the letter. “I take full responsibility.”
The address on the letter, however, said the event would be held at the Paola Chamber of Commerce at 3 W. Wea St. in Paola. The chamber address is 6 W. Peoria Street.
Asked about the apparent conflict between overseeing the meeting while running for the same seat, Blackmore noted that the Osage County Republican Party chairwoman oversaw the balloting portion of the meeting.
“That’s why I am glad we had Osage County come and take over the meeting,” he said. “I wanted everybody to know this is fair.”
He said his selection wouldn’t make a difference in the primary.
“I don’t think it gives anybody any edge,” he said.
Poetter said she has been rebutting “lies” that the convention was set up to put her into the seat in advance of the primary election.
“It was completely false,” she said.
She, too, didn’t think the convention results would affect the race.
“It comes down to hard work and it comes down to who the people want to represent them,” she said.
Blackmore is a real estate agent and former newspaper publisher in western Kansas. He also worked as an investment officer. He has a bachelor’s degree from Ottawa University.
Both Blackmore and Poetter, who previously worked for Kris Kobach, are conservatives in the heavily conservative district.
Kobach carried the district by 20 percentage points over Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly two years ago.
No Democrat has filed to run for the seat. The district is centered in Miami County and includes Louisburg, Paola and part of Osawatomie.
The Kansas Chamber of Commerce and the Kansas Farm Bureau have endorsed Blackmore in the race.
Other major groups such as the National Rifle Association, Kansans for Life and the Kansas Livestock Association are sitting out the primary election.
