Fred Gardner made it a point during the fall campaign to vow to bring conservative values to Topeka, but without the partisan rancor that has run amok in today’s political discord.
Voters in the newly reformed Kansas Ninth House district agreed, favoring the Garnett Republican over Humboldt’s Alana Cloutier by a roughly 3-to-1 margin.
The Ninth District encompasses all of Allen and Anderson counties as well as slivers of Linn and Miami counties.
“We look forward to representing the people in Topeka and working with the others the people in Kansas have elected,” Gardner said Wednesday. “We want to work in a cooperative and civil manner and bring about what’s best for the people of Kansas.”
Gardner, a veterinarian, essentially replaces Kent Thompson in the State Legislature. Thompson represented most of Allen County in the Ninth District for the past decade but declined to run for re-election. The district was redrawn following the 2020 census.
Cloutier, whose decision to file was largely prompted by her disdain for seeing candidates running unopposed for elective office, was gracious in defeat.
“Though I didn’t win, that we had two candidates willing to go out and talk to voters about the issues they care about, is a win for our district,” Cloutier told the Register in an email. “That Dr. Gardner and I don’t agree on many things, but that we are still on friendly terms, is also a win. We are both Kansans, and want the best for the district, and I hope his time in Topeka is productive for District 9.”
WHILE THE predicted “red wave”of Republican victories didn’t necessarily come to fruition elsewhere on Election Night, Allen Countians overwhelmingly favored the GOP in the other contested races.
Despite trailing Gov. Laura Kelly by a slim margin in the statewide vote, Derek Schmidt captured nearly 60% of the vote in Allen County, 2,327 to 1,485.
Likewise, Kris Kobach, who holds a slim lead over Chris Mann in the Kansas attorney general’s race, carried 64% of the vote in Allen County.
Other Republicans who cruised to wins both statewide and in Allen County were U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, over Mark Holland and David C. Graham; Jake LaTurner over Patrick Schmidt in their congressional race; Scott Schwab over Jeanna Repass for secretary of state; Steven Johnson over Lynn Rogers for state treasurer; and Vicki Schmidt over Kiel Korkran for insurance commissioner.
Allen County Commissioner Jerry Daniels was unopposed in his re-election bid. And after winning his GOP primary in August, State Board of Education member Jim Porter was unopposed in Tuesday’s general election.
ALLEN COUNTY also voted yes in both constitutional amendment questions. More than 70% here agreed sheriff’s elections should be included in the State Constitution. Statewide, 62% of Kansans voted in favor.
Still to be determined is if the amendment question regarding whether the State Legislature should be given an easier route to override a governor’s executive orders will pass.
As of Wednesday morning, the “no” votes led by a scant 6,079 votes out of more than 922,000 cast. A “yes” vote would give the Legislature authority to override executive orders by a simple majority vote. A “no” vote keeps the status quo, requiring a two-thirds legislative majority.
