Can Kansas Democrats mend hurt feelings by November? | Opinion

The great political pundit Will Rogers once said, “I’m not a member of any organized political party, I’m a Democrat.”

Those words ring true these days after last week’s primary election, and the message runs from the national ticket, down to the Kansas Legislature, and further to a local county commission race.

Here are the highlights:

There is an open state senate seat in Topeka. The Democratic primary election candidates were state Rep. Vic Miller and his challenger Patrick Schmidt. By virtue of being House Minority Leader, Miller is the House Democratic campaign coordinator, and Kansans for a Democratic House, a party committee, hired Wichita political strategist Levi Henry to be its political director.

Now it gets weird. Gov. Laura Kelly, arguably the top Democrat in state (who had backed Miller for House minority leader), comes out in opposition to Miller, instead backing Schmidt, who two years ago lost a bid for state congressional seat. As longtime House Democrat Tom Sawyer observed, “It’s a little bit odd” to have two of the top state Democrats on opposite sides of a primary election.

Miller goes on to lose the primary election. Schmidt wins, and that leaves a few unanswered questions about the relationship of the sitting governor and her political party.

Meanwhile, in nearby Lawrence, a Democratic stronghold, longtime state Sen. Marc Francisco won a primary challenge over state Rep. Christina Haswood, who was supported by none other than former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. Francisco might best be described as an endearing 1960s hippie who has repeatedly been endorsed by the bright blue electorate of Lawrence.

This is where it gets even more baffling. Why would Sebelius oppose such a long-term Democratic icon such as Francisco? Even stranger, Gov. Kelly came out in support of Francisco, putting her at odds with Sebelius.

OK, now let’s trickle down to the local level. Celeste Racette runs for the Democratic nomination to the 3rd District Sedgwick County Commission seat. She easily defeats her challenger, AlmaAnn Jones, who had the open support of none other than Levi Henry, the aforementioned state party “political strategist.”

Wichita political strategist Levi Henry, who worked for the party committee Kansans for a Democratic House, was a thorn in the side for Racette when she unsuccessfully ran for Wichita mayor last year, and he sustained that nastiness by supporting Jones in her failed attempt to win the Democratic nomination for County Commission.

These conflicting and confusing actions by state and local Democrats have caused some bad blood among party members, not unlike the national picture, where two far-left incumbents were rejected in the Aug. 6 primary.

Those two incumbents were part of a nine-member progressive coalition known as “The Squad,” and their losses seem to indicate a shift back toward middle ground.

You’ll remember “middle of the road” rhetoric from Gov. Kelly, which she used successfully to win reelection.

State Democratic Party Chair Jeanna Repass confirmed that Gov. Kelly’s support for several primary election candidates was an effort to solidify a “middle ground” message.

“She’s amazing; she’s very thoughtful,” Repass responded, when asked for comment about the governor’s involvement in the primary election aftermath. “She’s looking out for the future.”

Repass said she plans to visit Wichita soon to help smooth over some of lingering animosities that are still very obvious.

She also acknowledged that the Sedgwick County Democratic Party is somewhat unique in its divisive infighting, but expects everybody to join hands in the end and support all the party’s candidates in the general election.

“It may take a few days to settle in, but I fully expect everyone will be rowing the boat in the same direction,” she said.

Sawyer, Wichita’s leading House Democrat, agreed that various personality battles were a challenge to party unity.

But in the end, the governor came out on top, Sawyer noted. The four primary candidates she endorsed all survived, including Schmidt and Francisco. In Sawyer’s view, that bodes well for an ultimate unified ticket in November.

But it remains to be seen if the Democratic Party leaders can mend all those broken fences in time for the upcoming general election in November.

If they don’t, Will Rogers’ grim description of the Democratic Party will live on.

This story was originally published August 13, 2024 at 5:09 AM.