Eagle endorsements: Our advice on Tuesday’s primary election races | Opinion

One of the traditional roles of newspaper Opinion sections is to research candidates for public office and make recommendations for voters in races of significant interest.

Here at The Wichita Eagle, the decisions on who to endorse represent the consensus of an Editorial Board consisting of opinion editor Dion Lefler, opinion correspondent Joel Mathis, online producer Julie Mah and McClatchy executive Tony Berg, who lives in Wichita. The news department is separate from the board.

The Eagle is a sister paper with The Kansas City Star, and in some cases, where our circulation overlaps significantly, we have shared opinion reporting resources and our endorsement reflects the consensus of the editorial boards of both papers.

The following is a list of The Eagle’s endorsements for Tuesday’s primary election:

▪ Sedgwick County Commission, District 3, Republicans — In this race, our endorsement goes to Stephanie Wise.

We found her to be the best-informed and best-equipped to represent the district, which includes most of west Wichita, Goddard, Garden Plain, Cheney, Viola, Colwich, Andale, Mt. Hope and Bentley.

Our recommendation is amplified by recent campaign finance filings showing that two out-of-state political action committees are spending $90,000 to support her opponent, former Wichita City Councilman Greg Ferris.

One of them is a deceitfully named “Sedgwick County Conservatives PAC,” that is actually run by a political consulting firm based in Wisconsin.

Their shtick has been a smear campaign to convince voters that Wise is somehow linked to prominent Democrats, including President Joe Biden.

It’s garbage. Wise is Republican and conservative. When you go to the polls, don’t be fooled by false attacks from paid liars.

▪ Sedgwick County Commission, District 3, Democrats — Here, we recommend Celeste Racette.

Her opponent, AlmaAnn Jones, is also a quality candidate.

We chose Racette because of her experience as a federal bank examiner and her demonstrated ability to work across party lines, as when she teamed up with Republican conservative leaders to save Century II. She gives the Democrats their best chance in a Republican-dominated district.

▪ Kansas 1st Congressional District, Republicans — In a joint editorial of The Eagle and The Star, we recommend Eric Bloom of Lawrence.

While Bloom is lesser-known and faces an uphill battle against incumbent Rep. Tracey Mann, we aren’t about to reward Mann for his disgraceful performance in connection to the Jan. 6 incursion at the nation’s Capitol. Mann voted to carry on debunked and frivolous election challenges hours after being chased from his own chambers by a mob trying to steal the election.

Bloom supports Americans, their right to vote and to have their votes count. That puts him head and shoulders above Mann.

▪ Kansas 2nd Congressional District, Democrats — In another joint editorial, The Eagle and The Star recommend Matt Kleinmann.

You may remember Kleinmann as a member of the 2008 University of Kansas basketball national championship team. We like his campaign’s emphasis on bread-and-butter district issues, including housing affordability, raising the minimum wage and fixing problems at the Post Office.

▪ Kansas State Senate, Sedgwick County, District 26 - Our recommendation is former state Rep. J.C. Moore.

We’re recommending Moore primarily for two reasons: He supports Medicaid expansion, which is opposed by the appointed incumbent Sen. Chase Blasi; and he has said he will honor the will of Kansas voters who rejected the anti-abortion Value Them Both amendment, while Blasi has tried to circumvent the voters on the issue.

This story was originally published August 4, 2024 at 5:00 AM.