This primary begins to determine Kansas’ next path. Are you helping pave the way?
The last eight years, no matter the perspective, have been a grind in Kansas. The state’s economy has struggled and government programs have taken a fiscal beating. Kansans of all political ilks have felt the pain.
Blame, as always, is in the eye of the beholder.
Tuesday, voters get their say on the health of state government and how they want primary elections to shape November showdowns for governor and other races.
Are we happy with being close to a solution on public school funding, or should we tell the courts to butt out of the process?
Should Kansas join a group of other states in expanding Medicaid, or is it too cost-prohibitive?
Is the amount of revenue the state gathers through taxes too much, not enough, just right?
And who do we want leading this entire exercise?
Where we go in the next decade begins to be decided Tuesday. Where we’ve been in this decade will help voters make up their minds.
After eight years of Democrats Kathleen Sebelius and Mark Parkinson in the governor’s office, Republican Sam Brownback left the U.S. Senate and made a power run through the 2010 primary and general election. He beat Democrat Tom Holland by 36 percentage points with promises of lowering taxes and more efficient spending in state government.
Two years later, the first round of Brownback tax cuts was approved, slashing personal income taxes in an attempt to stimulate the economy. But after more cuts a year later, they didn’t affect the economy yet began tearing away at Kansas government. Declining revenues led to the state tapping its reserves and squeezing budgets to the point of essential services being less and less reliable to Kansans.
n 2014, the economy got so bad that two credit-rating agencies downgraded Kansas’ rating. The tax cuts stayed in place, but a higher sales tax and a bump in the cigarette tax were signs lawmakers knew revenue had to come from somewhere.
Kansans noticed — to a point — and 37 percent of Republican voters in the 2014 gubernatorial primary voted against Brownback. But he advanced anyway and eked past Democrat Paul Davis with slightly better than 50 percent in the general election.
Down the street at the secretary of state’s office, Kris Kobach easily won re-election. The inspiration behind the Legislature’s voter ID and proof-of-citizenship laws that made it tougher to vote illegally while likely disenfranchising some minorities and low-income Kansans, Kobach pursued anti-immigration laws around the country while eyeing our next governor’s race.
Brownback, meanwhile, saw re-election as a mandate to continue his policies. Lawmakers, seeing the damage tax cuts had done to the economy, remained hesitant to raise taxes for fear of the next election cycle. Monthly tax collection estimates proved somber occasions.
Brownback forged on. He said his tax plan was working. By 2016, he claimed no need for spending cuts or a tax increase. One of the nation’s lowest job-growth rates disagreed.
The 2016 elections, however, began a slow turning of the rudder. Voters sent more moderate Republicans — along with a few more Democrats — with a message to fix what Brownback broke. Lawmakers responded with a dramatic override to Brownback’s veto, restoring some of the taxes once cut.
And that’s where we are. Brownback is an ambassador in Washington, successor Jeff Colyer is running for another four years with six months of experience, and the Kansas electorate is in a great moment of wonder heading into Tuesday’s election.
The Republican primary pits frontrunners Colyer, a conservative with the weight of Brownback tax cuts on his back, against Kobach, a polarizing politician who’s one of President Trump’s biggest supporters and figures to have a similar base of conservative support. But does Kansas want to go that far right again?
The Democratic primary features three candidates who aren’t as recognizable as the Republicans, yet figure if they can beat their in-party rivals they might be attractive to enough moderates to win the general election.
All the while, independent Greg Orman tries to gain enough signatures to be on the November ballot and throw the race into a place no one can confidently predict.
Downballot races are as fascinating. Conservatives hope Republican voters remember the tax increase of 2017 (or tax-cut restorations, if you’re a moderate GOPer) and go to the right again in House races. Moderates argue overriding Brownback was a fiscal necessity voters should recognize.
They can agree on one thing: only those who vote control the direction of Kansas in the 2020s.
Tuesday’s primary and November’s general election bring rare opportunities for all voters to impact Kansas’ future. They will weigh candidates’ performances over the past few years and determine the right people to represent them as the state tries to bring stability to many areas of government: education, health care, child welfare, prisons, infrastructure and more.
Our next decade begins taking shape Tuesday. It’s your turn to have a say in it.