Both Democrat and Republican voters in Kansas made their picks by long and short margins in Tuesday night’s primary matchups, and dispensed vengeance to incumbent members of both parties who ran astray of their flocks.
Republicans in the 3rd Senate District of Kansas exiled Dennis Pyle, who helped scuttle the 2022 Kansas governor’s race when he ran as an Independent against party favorite Derek Schmidt before again donning the GOP mantle for the 2024 primary. Pyle, of Hiawatha, came in a distant third in his GOP contest with some 24 percent of the vote as the majority of polls reported, apparently gaining no steam from a personal gratitude appearance with Governor Laura Kelly last month in Holton for his support of her side of the tax debate against Republicans this past session. Craig Bowser won the day in the 3rd with some 41 percent of the GOP selection.
Democrats in Douglas County dealt with quirky county District Attorney Suzanne Valdez after a disciplinary panel recommended she be censured for derogatory public comments about a district court judge, and bizarre goings on in her office including a verbal assault by one of her deputy attorneys on the local newspaper’s right to public records. Democrats gave Valdez only 9 percent of the party tally, picking Dakota Loomis by 63 percent.
See statewide primary results here
In the five-way Republican race for the second congressional district former Attorney General Derek Schmidt Pulled 52% of the vote for an easy win over the other four contenders. Shawn Tiffany ran the closest second with 20 percent. Schmidt thanked his followers and said it was time to focus on GOP objectives in the nation’s capital.
“This is a must-win race for Republicans,” Schmidt said, “and it is because of your support that we are one step closer to Defending our GOP Majority in Congress.”
The Democrat side of the 2nd District race was a squeaker, with former Congresswoman Nancy Boyda appearing to peel off a 52% win over Matt Kleinmann late in the evening.
Prasanth Reddy notched A 53-47 win over Karen Crnkovich in the GOP 3rd District race. Reddy said the message he got from Kansans in the 3rd District leading up to the primary was plain.
“Kansans are fed up with what’s happening in Congress, and they know Sharice Davids is part of the problem,”Reddy said in a statement. “Tonight, those Kansans sent a message that they’re ready for new leadership.”
Davids ran unopposed on the Democrat side.
In the First District, incumbent Tracy Mann won an easy victory with 87% of the vote over challenger Eric Bloom. Democrat Paul Buskirk was unopposed. Ron Estes was unopposed in the 4th District GOP race, as was Easau Freeman on the Democrat side.
Dane Hicks is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and the United States Marine Corps Officer Candidate School at Quantico, VA. He is the author of novels "The Skinning Tree" and "A Whisper For Help." As publisher of the Anderson County Review in Garnett, KS., he is a recipient of the Kansas Press Association's Boyd Community Service Award as well as more than 60 awards for excellence in news, editorial and photography.
