Posted on 10/24/2018 6:34:23 AM PDT by centurion316
Kansas is a state entirely controlled by Republicans now and one that voted for President Donald Trump in 2016 by 20 points. And yet in a couple of weeks, voters there could elect a Democrat to be their governor for the first time in eight years - just in time to have a hand in the upcoming redistricting battle that could shape control of the state for the next decade.
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Republicans' fears have so far become reality. Polls show Democrat Laura Kelly and Kobach running about even, with a third-party candidate, Greg Orman, taking about 9 percent of the vote (mostly from the Democrat, theorize election watchers).
Kobach has struggled to get out from under the Brownback legacy, but he also brings new baggage. Kobach is perhaps best known nationally and in Kansas as the voter-fraud guy. Voter ID laws are popular in Republican states, but Kobach took that to a new level in the past two years.
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Democrats in Kansas agree that the race is basically about everything they're not. That's evidenced on the campaign trail, where Kelly - a decidedly less flashy character than Kobach - talks about how, as a legislator in the state Senate, she helped push the tax increase package that was a rebuke to Brownback.
Her campaign has gotten some serious momentum in the final weeks after being endorsed by every living former Republican governor of Kansas, save Brownback.
Kobach is doubling down on Trump, trying to drum up his and the president's shared base. One analyst watching the race said Trump's approval is about 50 percent, which isn't nearly as high as other conservative states - but at least the president is more popular than Kobach now, who polls in the 30 and 40 percent favorability rating.
(Excerpt) Read more at mysanantonio.com ...
I am predicting they either will or they won’t.
How can we lose Kansas and Iowa in this environment?
Too many self-righteous Mennonites.
I am glad that three of my great-great uncles participated in the sacking of Lawrence, Kansas (i.e. the liberal hell hole of Kansas).
I think Kobach will sqeekit out
I think Kobach will sqeek it out. Wild card is Johnson county
Kobach needs Executive experience before he runs for POTUS. Same as DeSantis. Hopefully the voters of Kansas give him the chance. I don’t see how Brownback could have given the GOP such a bad name in that state. He checked all the conservative boxes.
Sure thing! Keep using fake polls to get there.
I haven’t seen any polls on the Kansas gubernatorial race, have you? I interpret lack of published polls as a good sign for Kobach.
Many people have no idea what is going on within the Democrat Party and who really runs that organized criminal enterprise. They believe the Democrat political ads and don’t go beyond. Free Stuff and the magic bean that will deliver wonderful health care that won’t cost them a thing.
If Kobach wins then Greg Orman deserves the credit. Without him the race wouldn’t even be close.
Has Kansas had a recent influx of transplants (i.e. Liberal Locusts) from Colorado or California?
Kobach hasn't struggled to get out of anything. He's embraced the Brownback legacy and plans on reintroducing it to a much greater extent.
Yes. He is pulling 9% right now and apparently most of them are Democrats. He’s the different flavor magic bean, for those who don’t like the Democrat magic bean.
Mennonites? Hardly. I’m guessing you are not in the Midwest.
Kansas City Kansas (Wyandotte county) is a die hard democrat county.
Lawrence (home of KU) is liberal.
A minority faction of Johnson County is Democrat.
Kansas will stay Red unless this independent guy pulls enough votes away from Kobach.
Six years of budget deficits resulting in large cuts to education and infrastructure spending.
To my “suburban” sisters: what joy I feel as we approach the centennial of when we gave you suffrage. Make sure you exercise your sacred right to vote on Election Day, Wednesday, November 7! Love, j.havenfarm
“This is a very close race and could go either way. Suburban women do not like Kobach and most will vote Democrat.”
Agreed. Johnson County (IOW suburban KC) will be a battleground. It’s full of soccer moms and millennials who “feel” about an issue instead of “think” about an issue. Whenever a Dem has won statewide in Kansas, it’s because they performed better than expected in Johnson County. Heck, from ‘98 to ‘10, that area was represented by a Dem in Congress, Dennis Moore.
I also wonder if there’s some residual bad blood because of the primary between Jeff Colyer and Kobach. Given how really close that race was, it wouldn’t surprise me.
Emerson and PPP polled in September. Kobach was up by 1. KC TV has been dominated by Democrat ads.
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