Stay Red Kansas
KS - GOV: Brownback Cruising
The Democrats finally found someone to fall on the sword against Senator Brownback in this year's Gubernatorial Campaign when State Senator Tom Holland announced plans to seek the Democratic nomination two weeks ago in Topeka.
In our opinion, Holland is simply keeping the seat warm for Governor Parkinson to step in last minute and try and save the day - but that's another discussion for another day.
For today's news, Rasmussen Reports put out the race's first public survey, showing Senator Brownback with a commanding 22 point lead. Perhaps even more important are Brownback's approval numbers - 58% of the voters approve of Brownback's performance while only 34% do not.
Generic Ballot:
In fact, more voters hold a very favorable impression of Senator Brownback (36%) than the entire universe of folks with some level of disapproval (34%).
This represents a very solid start for Brownback. He starts way ahead and will have significantly more money to spend to maintain this edge - if Holland even truly does plan on staying in this one for the long haul.
In our opinion, Holland is simply keeping the seat warm for Governor Parkinson to step in last minute and try and save the day - but that's another discussion for another day.
For today's news, Rasmussen Reports put out the race's first public survey, showing Senator Brownback with a commanding 22 point lead. Perhaps even more important are Brownback's approval numbers - 58% of the voters approve of Brownback's performance while only 34% do not.
Generic Ballot:
- Brownback - 55%
- Holland - 33%
- Brownback - 58% favorable; 34% unfavorable
- Holland - 34% favorable; 23% unfavorable
In fact, more voters hold a very favorable impression of Senator Brownback (36%) than the entire universe of folks with some level of disapproval (34%).
This represents a very solid start for Brownback. He starts way ahead and will have significantly more money to spend to maintain this edge - if Holland even truly does plan on staying in this one for the long haul.
KS-4: Hartman Takes Huge Lead
Earlier this week, we reported polls from two of the State's three major primaries, KS-1 and KS-4. Today, Wichita television station KWCH released yet another survey, this one testing the field in KS-4.
At the onset of this race, conventional wisdom suggested that R.N.C. Committeeman Mike Pompeo might run away with the nomination. This KWCH poll, however, shows a much different story - Pompeo is actually tied for a distant third in this race to replace Todd Tiahrt. Leading the field is Wichita businessman Wink Hartman.
In any case, the winner of this one may have their hands full with Raj Goyle, who is raising obscene amounts of money on the Democratic side.
Fortunately, however, Goyle is still, well...a Democrat, and that probably won't play too well this year.
At the onset of this race, conventional wisdom suggested that R.N.C. Committeeman Mike Pompeo might run away with the nomination. This KWCH poll, however, shows a much different story - Pompeo is actually tied for a distant third in this race to replace Todd Tiahrt. Leading the field is Wichita businessman Wink Hartman.
- Hartman - 36%
- Kelsey - 11%
- Pompeo - 10%
- Schodorf - 10%
- Anderson - 6%
In any case, the winner of this one may have their hands full with Raj Goyle, who is raising obscene amounts of money on the Democratic side.
Fortunately, however, Goyle is still, well...a Democrat, and that probably won't play too well this year.
And the KDP Keynote is.......
"Mike Honda?"
"Who?"
Look, we don't mean to be disrespectful but when we heard that the Kansas Democratic Party's Keynote Speaker for their state convention this week was Mike Honda we had the same reaction most of our Democratic friends did.
Mike Honda?
Who?
Obviously, we pay a little too much attention to politics here at StayRed. We've learned to live with it. We watch so much political news on cable that we call C-SPAN 2 "the Deuce." We know Rachel Maddow's different fashion accessories. We knew when Brit Hume changed barbers. We watch a LOT of political news as well as follow our blogging counterparts across the political spectrum.
We'll fess up. We have never heard of Mike Honda. Ever.
Seems like a delightful man, loves his family serves his country probably likes long walks on the beach and poems about rain. Dandy. But it is not rude to point out that when it comes to the kind of visiting dignitaries you like to get for these sorts of things, he's a D-lister at best.
This from a party who had Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Tim Kaine and Brian Schweitzer in this slot during the last five years.
Now as we approach the most impactful election in recent Kansas history they have one credible candidate for federal office and a couple appointed office-holders they are praying can hold on to some down ballot statewide offices. If Kansas Ds are lucky, Republicans won't get a veto-proof majority in the Kansas House to go along with the one they have in the Senate.
And Mike Honda is their Keynote Speaker.
Mike Honda. Yikes.
Wow Sebelius screwed these people.
"Who?"
Look, we don't mean to be disrespectful but when we heard that the Kansas Democratic Party's Keynote Speaker for their state convention this week was Mike Honda we had the same reaction most of our Democratic friends did.
Mike Honda?
Who?
Obviously, we pay a little too much attention to politics here at StayRed. We've learned to live with it. We watch so much political news on cable that we call C-SPAN 2 "the Deuce." We know Rachel Maddow's different fashion accessories. We knew when Brit Hume changed barbers. We watch a LOT of political news as well as follow our blogging counterparts across the political spectrum.
We'll fess up. We have never heard of Mike Honda. Ever.
Seems like a delightful man, loves his family serves his country probably likes long walks on the beach and poems about rain. Dandy. But it is not rude to point out that when it comes to the kind of visiting dignitaries you like to get for these sorts of things, he's a D-lister at best.
This from a party who had Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Tim Kaine and Brian Schweitzer in this slot during the last five years.
Now as we approach the most impactful election in recent Kansas history they have one credible candidate for federal office and a couple appointed office-holders they are praying can hold on to some down ballot statewide offices. If Kansas Ds are lucky, Republicans won't get a veto-proof majority in the Kansas House to go along with the one they have in the Senate.
And Mike Honda is their Keynote Speaker.
Mike Honda. Yikes.
Wow Sebelius screwed these people.
Primary Polling Round-Up - KS-1; KS-3
We have polls to report in two of the State's three competitive Primaries today - the 1st and the 4th.
In the first District, Jim Barnett holds a solid lead over Tim Huelskamp, gaining 23% of the vote to Huelskamp's 16%.
In the 3rd District, Nick Jordan holds a solid lead, primarily resulting from residual name identification accumulated during the 2008 race.
Jordan's main opponent, Kevin Yoder, posted solid numbers for never being a district-wide candidate, however, and raised a substantial amount in the first quarter. He's got plenty of work to do to catch up with Jordan, but is raising the money to make this one competitive.
We'll keep you posted with any additional poll results from the State's other competitive Primary - KS-4 - should they become available.
In the first District, Jim Barnett holds a solid lead over Tim Huelskamp, gaining 23% of the vote to Huelskamp's 16%.
- 23% Barnett
- 5% Boldra
- 2% Cobb
- 16% Huelskamp
- 4% Mann
- 4% Shadwick
- 8% Wasinger
- 15% Other
- 23% Undecided
In the 3rd District, Nick Jordan holds a solid lead, primarily resulting from residual name identification accumulated during the 2008 race.
- 27% Jordan
- 9% Yoder
- 5% Lightner
- 5% O'Hara
Jordan's main opponent, Kevin Yoder, posted solid numbers for never being a district-wide candidate, however, and raised a substantial amount in the first quarter. He's got plenty of work to do to catch up with Jordan, but is raising the money to make this one competitive.
We'll keep you posted with any additional poll results from the State's other competitive Primary - KS-4 - should they become available.
Democrat Candidate Tom - Fourth Time a Charm? (Probably Not..)
For the time being, we finally have an announced opponent to Senator Brownback in the Gubernatorial race (we'll touch on this subject a bit more later).
Maybe Tom Holland can break this unlucky streak and score one for all of the Democrats across Kansas named Tom. We're not betting on it, and here's why (here and here).
Tom Holland, a little-known State Senator from Baldwin City, threw his hat into the ring yesterday, hoping to carry the Democratic mantle to victory in November (good luck with that).
Over the next few days, we are going to examine more thoroughly the candidacy of Tom Holland, including a bold prediction about its longevity (or lack thereof). For today, however, we wanted to share one interesting piece of information.
In Kansas' history, there have been three Democratic Gubernatorial candidates named 'Tom' - Docking ('86), Sawyer ('98) and Wiggans ('09). All have met the same unfortunate fate - defeat.
In fact, Tom Wiggans' was so hamstrung by the 'Curse of the Tom' that he couldn't even get his campaign off the ground.
In fact, Tom Wiggans' was so hamstrung by the 'Curse of the Tom' that he couldn't even get his campaign off the ground.
Maybe Tom Holland can break this unlucky streak and score one for all of the Democrats across Kansas named Tom. We're not betting on it, and here's why (here and here).
More to come in the next few days..
Sam Brownback is Most Popular Elected Official in Kansas
SurveyUSA just released their monthly job-approval numbers for Kansas' Senate delegation (and both Kansas GOP Senators post numbers MUCH better than those posted last month by the State's top Democrat, Governor Mark Parkinson.)
Senator Brownback's numbers seem to be rising monthly and make him currently the most well-liked elected official in the State of Kansas. 56% of Kansans approve of Brownback's performance while only 37% do not. Those look like pretty solid election-year numbers.
Who's the big loser here? That honor falls to the recently-announced Democrat Gubernatorial Candidate, State Senator Tom Holland, who is expected to officially announce his campaign today.
Add these approval numbers to the growing list of things working against Holland's long-shot bid: huge financial disparity, lack of any substantive name recognition throughout the State, non-existent Democratic threat in all but one of State's Congressional Districts and the 'D' that will be in front of his name on the ballot.
While incumbents across the country are seeing huge declines in public opinion, Sam Brownback is one Senator that is bucking the trend.
Senator Brownback's numbers seem to be rising monthly and make him currently the most well-liked elected official in the State of Kansas. 56% of Kansans approve of Brownback's performance while only 37% do not. Those look like pretty solid election-year numbers.
Who's the big loser here? That honor falls to the recently-announced Democrat Gubernatorial Candidate, State Senator Tom Holland, who is expected to officially announce his campaign today.
Add these approval numbers to the growing list of things working against Holland's long-shot bid: huge financial disparity, lack of any substantive name recognition throughout the State, non-existent Democratic threat in all but one of State's Congressional Districts and the 'D' that will be in front of his name on the ballot.
While incumbents across the country are seeing huge declines in public opinion, Sam Brownback is one Senator that is bucking the trend.
This Just In...Joe Reardon Doesn't Want To Lose Either
We are a couple days late on this, but I thought it would be good to just get it up there. The Democrats don't have candidates for anything...still. And that is including what's his name for Governor. Add Joe Reardon to the growing list of "viable" candidates for the 3rd District Congressional seat...that doesn't want to lose.
We'll let you know when the next candidate decides he/she doesn't want to lose either.
We'll let you know when the next candidate decides he/she doesn't want to lose either.
First Ad of the Year in KS-4
The Primary season is in full swing throughout the state, with competitive GOP primaries in three of the four Congressional districts. Here is an ad we had sent our way from Wink Hartman's Campaign - a very nice opening piece. In case you haven't noticed, Raj Goyle is going to be fairly formidable with the huge sums of money he's raising.
For more information on the campaigns, visit their websites:
Jim Anderson
Wink Hartman
Dick Kelsey
Mike Pompeo
For more information on the campaigns, visit their websites:
Jim Anderson
Wink Hartman
Dick Kelsey
Mike Pompeo
Where has Eric Carter been?
During the summer months of 2006, Eric Carter waged an extremely competitive campaign against incumbent Republican Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger. With the lack of public polling on the race, and the incredibly aggressive campaign waged by Carter, many thought he had a decent chance at victory. If he had pulled this off, Carter would've been on the short list of rising stars in the Kansas GOP.
Obviously, time has proven this to be far from the case. Carter lost the race by a surprisingly wide margin, and in the years since, has literally disappeared from the Kansas political scene.
Until now.
We got a tip from a Stay Red reader that an 'Eric Carter' from Overland Park in an address believed to be held by the same 'Eric Carter' we knew and loved popped up on a recent Congressional finance report.
Did Carter give money to Nick Jordan or Kevin Yoder, two of his former colleagues seeking the Republican 3rd District nomination? Nope.
How about Huelskamp, Barnett or any of the folks out in the Big 1st? No, sir.
An Eric Carter donated money to Raj Goyle's Campaign for Congress.
That's right, Raj Goyle - the most liberal Democrat in the entire State of Kansas seeking a promotion this year; the former ACLU trial-lawyer; the hand-picked choice of Kathleen Sebelius. Raj freaking Goyle.
We used to be huge Eric Carter fans at Stay Red Kansas. He had loads of potential. Now, however, we're extremely disappointed that Carter has decided to throw his name back into the political ring backing a cause so in-consistent with the beliefs he used to publicly hold, if this is indeed the same Eric Carter as we're led to believe.
Here's to hoping that there is a different Eric Carter living at the same address in Overland Park...
Obviously, time has proven this to be far from the case. Carter lost the race by a surprisingly wide margin, and in the years since, has literally disappeared from the Kansas political scene.
Until now.
We got a tip from a Stay Red reader that an 'Eric Carter' from Overland Park in an address believed to be held by the same 'Eric Carter' we knew and loved popped up on a recent Congressional finance report.
Did Carter give money to Nick Jordan or Kevin Yoder, two of his former colleagues seeking the Republican 3rd District nomination? Nope.
How about Huelskamp, Barnett or any of the folks out in the Big 1st? No, sir.
An Eric Carter donated money to Raj Goyle's Campaign for Congress.
That's right, Raj Goyle - the most liberal Democrat in the entire State of Kansas seeking a promotion this year; the former ACLU trial-lawyer; the hand-picked choice of Kathleen Sebelius. Raj freaking Goyle.
We used to be huge Eric Carter fans at Stay Red Kansas. He had loads of potential. Now, however, we're extremely disappointed that Carter has decided to throw his name back into the political ring backing a cause so in-consistent with the beliefs he used to publicly hold, if this is indeed the same Eric Carter as we're led to believe.
Here's to hoping that there is a different Eric Carter living at the same address in Overland Park...
More Fundraising Numbers Are In for the 3rd District
3rd District Congressional Seat
Kevin Yoder - Raised Q4 - $233,595 Cash on Hand - $227,694
Nick Jordan - Raised Q4 - $115,314 Cash on Hand - $117,000 (ish)
Patricia Lightner - raised Q4 - $9,792 Cash on Hand - $24,817
Thomas Scherer - Raised (80,000 ish?) (negative) Cash on Hand - $5.00
No new Numbers on the other 4 running (Charlotte O'hara and Craig McPherson did not file before the December 31 filing deadline so we will have to wait a couple months to see how they do in the fundraising arena).
What is the breakdown here? Well for one its clear that Jordan and Yoder can raise money as everyone expected. Yoder however blew the doors down. $233,000 in two weeks. If these two can sustain this early momentum - and we bet they can - look for this one to be a Primary for the record-books.
We will keep you updated when Rysavy and Gilyeat's numbers come in
Kevin Yoder - Raised Q4 - $233,595 Cash on Hand - $227,694
Nick Jordan - Raised Q4 - $115,314 Cash on Hand - $117,000 (ish)
Patricia Lightner - raised Q4 - $9,792 Cash on Hand - $24,817
Thomas Scherer - Raised (80,000 ish?) (negative) Cash on Hand - $5.00
No new Numbers on the other 4 running (Charlotte O'hara and Craig McPherson did not file before the December 31 filing deadline so we will have to wait a couple months to see how they do in the fundraising arena).
What is the breakdown here? Well for one its clear that Jordan and Yoder can raise money as everyone expected. Yoder however blew the doors down. $233,000 in two weeks. If these two can sustain this early momentum - and we bet they can - look for this one to be a Primary for the record-books.
We will keep you updated when Rysavy and Gilyeat's numbers come in
