So much happening as we get closer to the Aug. 7.
We have competing polls. We have new commercials. We have endorsements.
Let’s take a quick look across the state at five things you may have missed but need to know as we get closer to primary day.
Polls, polls, polls
There’s the latest Remington poll, which compares the Republican gubernatorial candidates against potential rival, Democratic state Sen. Laura Kelly.
The poll, reported by the Wichita Eagle, shows Kelly and Secretary of State Kris Kobach in a dead heat in a three-way race with independent Greg Orman trailing far behind. Kelly had 36 percent to 35 percent for Kobach with Orman trailing at 12 percent.
In a different matchup, the survey of 1,189 general election voters showed Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer leading a three-way field with Kelly and Orman. Colyer led that field with 38 percent with Kelly at 28 and Orman at 10.
Never one to lose out on the news cycle, however, Secretary of State Kris Kobach released the results of his own tracking poll that showed him leading the GOP primary field with 37 percent to 26 percent for Colyer.
Polling on the Democratic side has been limited. One poll done by Kelly’s campaign showed her with a commanding lead.
Another done by the Svaty’s campaign showed him with a lead, but only after surveyed voters were given several positive statements about the candidates in the race before asking who they would vote for in the governor’s campaign.
New Orman commercial
Independent Greg Orman released a new commercial this week, joining most of the Democrats and Republicans who have already been dumping tens of thousands of dollars onto the airwaves in recent weeks.
The ad, titled “Grocery,” is intended to underscore the lack of choices at the ballot box for Kansas voters and “the damage the two-party system has done to the state…”
Of course, the Orman campaign still needs to collect 5,000 signatures by noon on Aug. 6 to get on the ballot as an independent. The campaign has not indicated how many signatures it has collected so far.
Kansas’ tarnished image
Democratic state Sen. Laura Kelly has talked about this a lot as she has campaigned for governor. Kelly has said she wants to rebrand a state that has drawn a lot of national attention during the last eight years over tax policy, LGBT policies and voting rights. The Wichita Eagle takes a look at the image issues facing the state and what the gubernatorial candidates say about it.
Moderate endorsements in Reno County
This story today from the Hutchinson News about endorsements from a moderate group called Citizens for the Moderation of Our Democracy, or MOD squad as its known. This piece looks at the race pitting Republican state Rep. Steve Becker of Buhler against challenger Paul Waggoner. Becker, by the way, received the endorsement of the MOD squad.
Barnett claims endorsement
The American Federation of Teachers did what the KNEA couldn’t bring itself to do: Endorse former state Sen. Jim Barnett in the GOP primary for governor.
“The endorsement seems especially significant to me at this point in our campaign in light of the fact that my two main opponents, (Jeff) Colyer
and (Kris) Kobach, are spending their time and resources accusing each other of lying and crawling over each other to appear the most pro-gun, pro-life and anti-immigrant,” Barnett said in a statement.
“We believe Republicans in Kansas have had more than enough of listening to dirty politics. We seek the support of informed Kansas Republicans who will vote on the basis of past performance in public office,” Barnett said.
For what it’s worth, the Kansas Nation Education Association had some reservations about endorsing Barnett in the governor’s race.
The organization liked what it had been hearing from Barnett in the campaign, but was concerned about his record as a state senator from 2001 to 2010.
The KNEA said Barnett entered the Legislature as a moderate but left as a conservative. As KNEA’s lobbyist put it, “There are two Barnetts in history.”
