Is this Kansas’ most important election in 40 years?

Kansas’ big political years have included 1930, when famous goat gland doctor John Brinkley might have won the governorship if not for some ballot discounting. But when the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza asked University of Kansas political science professor Burdett Loomis to put this year’s exciting contests into some historical context, he named 1974. That’s when Sen. Bob Dole narrowly survived a challenge from Rep. Bill Roy “because of anti-abortion forces (Roy was an obstetrician) and some clever Dole advertising,” Loomis said. “Had Dole lost that race, his career and the politics of the U.S. Senate would have been changed forever.” But it was the “hairsbreadth governor’s” win of Republican Robert Bennett over Democratic Attorney General Vern Miller that probably mattered more to Kansas, Loomis said. “Bennett had been a major reformer in the state Senate, and he continued on that path as governor, changing much of the structure of state government.” Miller still practices law in Wichita. – Rhonda Holman

This story was originally published September 29, 2014 at 7:05 PM with the headline "Is this Kansas’ most important election in 40 years?."