The 2014 midterm elections will take place in Kansas on November 4, 2014 as veteran politicians and fresh faces square off in what is expected to be an extremely close election for Republicans and Democrats.
On November 4, voting stations across Kansas will open and the midterm elections will be underway. This year’s election will feature races for the Governor’s office and a U.S. Senate seat.
Alongside these on the ballot will be elections for the U.S. House of Representatives, Kansas House of Representatives, Kansas Secretary of State, Attorney General, Commissioner of Insurance, and State Treasurer.
Current governor Sam Brownback will face off with Democrat candidate Paul Davis for the Governor seat. Veteran Senator Pat Roberts is fighting for his seat in the U.S. Senate against Independent candidate Greg Orman. Republican incumbent Tim Huelskamp will face off against Democratic candidate James Sherow for the 1st Congressional District.
At the state level, Republican incumbent Sue Boldra from Hays and Democratic opponent James Leiker, also from Hays, are running for the 111th State District seat in the State House of Representatives.
Republican Kris Kobach from Piper and Democrat Jean Schodorf of Wichita will face off for the office of Kansas Secretary of State.
Democrat A.J. Kotich from Topeka and Republican Derek Schmidt from Independence, will be on the ballot for the office of Kansas Attorney General.
In the running for the office of Commissioner of Insurance are Republican Ken Selzer from Leawood, and Democrat Dennis Anderson from Overland Park.
Democrat Carmen Alldrit of Topeka and Republican Ron Estes, also of Topeka, will face off for the office of State Treasurer.
Several elections occurring this year have been much closer than were originally anticipated. The race for the governor’s office between incumbent Sam Brownback and opponent Paul Davis has turned into an extremely close race lately. The August primary revealed an almost 60:40 split among Republican voters statewide, while Davis was uncontested in the primary.
“The governor race is extraordinarily close right now,” said Chapman Rackaway, professor of political science.
Concerning the final weeks leading up to the election, Rackaway said, “In the coming days and weeks both candidates will unleash their most scathing attacks at their opponent.”
The race for Senator Pat Roberts seat in the U.S. Senate has also been extremely close, and more so after recent happenings.
On Sept. 4th, Democratic candidate Chad Taylor unexpectedly dropped out of the race for Roberts’ seat. This unforeseeable move by Taylor leaves Roberts in a heated run with Independent candidate Greg Orman, who is known to have affiliations with Democrats.
Orman drew a large number of Democratic votes in the August primary, and Taylor’s abrupt exit ends the possibility of a split vote for Democrats.
“This sudden move by Taylor certainly seems to have given Orman an advantage,” Rackaway said. “The biggest obstacle that Orman faced has now stepped aside, and any Democrat paying attention would go for Orman at this point.”
With an anti-incumbent attitude sweeping the nation, even incumbents that are still considered safe for another term may face a severely close election year. Be sure to turn out on Nov. 4 to have your say in this potentially historic midterm for Kansas.
You said, ‘Orman drew a large number of Democratic votes in the August primary, and Taylor’s abrupt exit ends the possibility of a split vote for Democrats.’ But Greg Orman didn’t participate in the primary because he’s 1) not a Democrat and 2) only one person wins a primary and can advance to the general election.
Orman was and is running as an independent candidate.
The comment concerning the the August primary is indeed a typo. Orman has however drawn interest from a fair number of Democrats and also Republicans.