Wichita Eagle: Elections

With fewer votes in Kansas caucus, Romney would have lost less ground

Dion Lefler — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 23:16 CDT

In an ironic postscript to the Kansas Republican caucus Saturday, it turns out that if Mitt Romney had just gotten slightly fewer votes, he’d have wound up losing less ground to his closest rival, Rick Santorum.

Santorum easily won the caucus with 51.2 percent to Romney’s 20.9.

That gave Santorum, who trails Romney in the national race, 33 Kansas delegates to Romney’s seven.

South Wichita most strongly against hotel tax incentive

Dion Lefler — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 09:49 CST

After years of complaints about their tax money going to downtown development, south Wichita flexed some political muscle in Tuesday’s special election on subsidizing a downtown boutique hotel.

In the referendum vote on whether a developer could keep a share of his hotel’s guest tax, the two southern City Council districts responded with the most resounding “no” votes in the city.

Overall, the measure lost 61 to 38 percent citywide.

Kansas vote marked by high stakes, low budgets

STEVE KRASKE — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 06:40 CST

It’s the 2012 presidential race. Multimillion-dollar budgets. High-priced consultants. Strategically situated campaign offices.

Then there’s the Newt Gingrich campaign in Kansas.

The Gingrich operation is headed by 34-year-old Mike Pirner, a laptop-wielding political veteran who sometimes works out of a Lenexa coffee shop.

Kansas GOP preparing for March 10 caucus

Dion Lefler — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:19 CST

Kansas Republicans will gather across the state on March 10 to have their say on who will carry their banner into battle against President Obama in the November election.

In Sedgwick County, the party caucus will be held, as it was four years ago, at the Century II Convention Center in Wichita, party officials announced Monday.

The doors will open at 8 a.m. with the voting process to take place about 10 a.m. The caucus is a “closed” caucus, meaning only registered Republicans will be allowed to vote. Photo ID will be required. Participants must be registered to vote as a Republican by Feb. 17 in order to participate, party officials said.

Incumbent Brewer fights for aviation, downtown renewal

BRENT D. WISTROM — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 06:39 CDT

Mayor Carl Brewer hasn't had to use the sword encased above his desk in City Hall.

But to hear him talk about how the city defends its aviation industry against offers from other cities — or his defense of investing in downtown revitalization — you'd think the sword is the only thing he hasn't tried in the past four years.

The city has given straight cash to retain Hawker Beechcraft, tax abatements to several smaller companies, a bailout loan to keep a downtown theater in business and a portfolio of incentives to jump-start downtown projects.

Dead folks voting? At least one's still alive

JEANNINE KORANDA — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 02:19 CDT

TOPEKA — Republican Kris Kobach, who has built his campaign for Secretary of State around the issue of voter fraud, raised the specter of the dead voting in Kansas.

Kobach said in a news conference Thursday that 1,966 deceased people were registered to vote in Kansas.

"Every one of those 1,966 identities is an opportunity for voter fraud waiting to happen," he said.

Holland emphasizes a focus on bipartisanship

JIM SULLINGER — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 06:48 CDT

BALDWIN CITY — The white haze from several large barbecue smokers hangs in the air as state Sen. Tom Holland shakes the hands of thousands of people at the annual Maple Leaf Festival.

A middle-age woman grabs his hand when offered and then holds on. She leans toward him until her face, which features a stern expression, is about a foot away.

"Sam Brownback will turn this state back a hundred years," she says and walks away.

Your guide to the House District 84 race

elliot mann — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 08:49 CDT

For the first time in six years, voters in Kansas House District 84 will choose between a Democrat and a Republican on Election Day.

Incumbent Gail Finney, a Democrat, faces a challenge from Republican Dan Heflin.

Since 2000, only two Republicans have mounted general election challenges for the seat in the north-central Wichita district. Each mustered less than 28 percent of the vote.

Jail, budget key topics in District 1 county race

Eliot Mann — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 08:44 CDT

Billboards for incumbent county commissioner Dave Unruh tower over Douglas and Central avenues, while on the northeast end of Wichita, yard signs for Betty Arnold grant muted support.

The District 1 race for Sedgwick County Commissioner is between the 10-year commissioner and the challenger Arnold, who has been a Wichita school board member since 2007.

District 1 spans the northeast end of Sedgwick County and leans heavily Republican.

Your guide to the House District 97 race

DION LEFLER — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 08:16 CDT

The last time Dale Swenson and Les Osterman squared off in south Wichita's 97th House District, Swenson was the Republican and Osterman the Democrat.

This time, Swenson's the Democrat and Osterman's the Republican.

The turnabout came after Swenson announced he was switching to the Democratic Party on Jan. 12, 2009. Osterman switched from Democrat to Republican five days later.

Your guide to the House District 105 race

Elliot Mann — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 06:22 CDT

The race for House District 105 features one candidate who says government reaches too far into private lives and another who says state budget cuts have impaired its ability to deliver vital services.

The incumbent, Republican Rep. Gene Suellentrop, says taxes are already too high and that the state's budget can be balanced through systematic and proportional cuts to agencies and services.

Democrat Jane Byrnes says too many services have already been eliminated. She supports the temporary sales tax increase passed in the 2010 legislative session. And she would go further, supporting an increase to the sales tax on alcohol.

In Kansas, U.S. Senate race markedly low-key

DAVE HELLING — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 00:03 CDT

A little more than a month before Election Day, U.S. Senate candidate Lisa Johnston, a Democrat, sits quietly in a Lenexa coffeehouse sipping iced tea and talking politics.

No press aide or consultant is nearby. There are no campaign signs planted along the roadside or brightly colored bumper stickers in the parking lot. Johnston doesn't even have a news release to distribute, or plans for a rally to announce, or a TV commercial to defend.

It's a loudly different story across the country. Senate candidates are battling each other, raising and spending millions of dollars, accusing one another of cronyism, socialism — even debating witchcraft.