In mid-July the Registers editorial page endorsed Gov. Jeff Colyer as the Republican nominee for Kansas governor.
Colyer was our man because we believed he has done a reasonably good job of leading the state and, more importantly, a vote for him would help defeat Secretary of State Kris Kobachs chances of winning.
In our heart, however, we preferred former Sen. Jim Barnett, the sole moderate of the Republican slate by evidence of his support for expanding Medicaid.
Barnett garnered 9 percent, 27,674 votes, in Tuesdays election, robbing Colyer of an easy victory. The outcome of the election is as yet undetermined.
So, do we wish Barnett, our soulmate, had withdrawn?
You bet.
BY EARLY summer it was clear the race was between the stark choice of Colyer or Kobach. Colyer has run on a platform of steadying what had been a rocky state of affairs under Gov. Sam Brownback by agreeing to support the legislatures tax and education reforms.
Kobach, on the other hand, promises to slash income taxes and once again send the states economy into a tailspin. Kobach also has a corner on fear, promising to ease our gun laws, if thats even possible. Kansas is among the least repressive in the nation when it comes to guns. Kobach would also have us believe voter fraud by illegal immigrants is rampant. Its not.
When the choices of leadership are that drastic, it should be all hands on deck.
Instead, Barnett and four other candidates, including Insurance Commissioner Ken Selzer, who garnered 8 percent of the vote, remained steadfast in their convictions that it was their democratic duty to offer Kansans their services, despite the polls saying it wasnt going to happen.
If Kansans were truly on the top of their minds, they would have sacrificed their personal goals.
SUCH SITUATIONS often come into play. In Iola, for example, the unifying effect of differences of opinion on USD 257 schools has worked to defeat any significant increase in funding for the last 40 years.
Singular issues have kept citizens from voting for the greater good.
There are those who dont want to put one red cent to improving our schools. Some insist only renovations to existing facilities should be approved. Others hold a grudge from past decisions and will vote no out of spite. When combined, those factions have had enough support to defeat any efforts to build new, sacrificing our childrens education.
An election is a race, pure and simple. Its about garnering enough support from enough angles to outnumber your opponents.
Democracy is messy. But at least it gives us another chance.
Susan Lynn
