evolution

Kansas voters turned out on 11.02 in record numbers. 1.2 million voted out of 1.6 million registered voters, a turnout of 75%.

Some cities in Kansas have approved Sunday liquor sales.

This is something of a curiosity to visitors from out-of-state, as few other states (the only other one that I know of is Indiana, a state I also lived in) ban the sale of liquor on Sunday. There are still towns and counties in Kansas that ban the sale of liquor entirely (the ones I know about are the city of Satanta and Pratt County, both in southwestern Kansas — in Satanta you can buy beer, but Pratt County is dry).

Anyway, I think this is a good thing, as Kansas businesses lose a great deal of money to Missouri due to the ban. It was challenged about a year and a half ago, and the Wyandotte County (Kansas City) District Court ruled that towns and counties can “opt out” and permit Sunday liquor sales after Wyandotte County residents voted to challenge the ban. The Kansas Supreme Court upheld the challenge, and voters in Olathe, Shawnee, Gardner, and Edgerton (all part of the Kansas City metropolitan area) voted to permit Sunday sales.

Also, the precinct-by-precinct breakdown of who voted for whom in Lawrence is out, and it shouldn’t surprise anyone who is familiar with Lawrence: the east side, which is in the Kansas 3rd and includes most of the KU campus, went entirely for Kerry and the Democrats; the far-west side, which consists of the Alvamar Country Club and the new, affluent areas, went for Bush and the Republicans. All but two of the 18 precincts outside of Lawrence (including all four in my hometown) went for Bush. Four of the 18 went for Democratic House candidates.

I am happy to report that finally my district’s State Senator and Representative have been elected, and they were both my choices: State Sen. Roger Reitz (R) and State Rep. Sydney Carlin (D). Both have served this area admirably, and both deserved to have their terms extended.

Since I am a teacher, I’ll be handing out grades for the election:

President George W. Bush: A. No doubt about it this time. It was close, but not that close.

The Republican Party: A. Made gains in the House, Senate, and several state offices.

The media: C. They tried hard, but those days sipping coffee in front of their iMacs in J-school die hard. Plus, they were too quick to plaster faulty exit-poll data which favored Sen. Kerry.

Kansas candidates for federal office: C-. The only reason two of you won was because you managed not to run worse campaigns than the other person. I’m speaking specifically to Congressmen Ryun and Moore. Moore won solely because he represents most of Lawrence, and his opponent, Kris Kobach, ran such a two-fisted conservative agenda that many were driven out just to oppose him. Ryun, on the other hand, made several blunders and ham-fisted moves, when all he had to do was stand back and let Stalinist-protester-organizer Nancy Boyda beat herself. Also, the other parties couldn’t be bothered to put up a decent challenge to Sen. Brownback — he didn’t even feel the need to debate issues with his opponents.

The Democratic Party, with one notable exception: F. You are killing yourselves with your ranting, washed-out hippie hatred. You paid the price for it last night.

Florida: B+. Thanks for getting it right this time.

Extra credit: Sen. John Kerry. Gracious in defeat — his party could learn a lesson from him.

It’s getting close to bedtime, so it’s time to call the races:

• US Senate: Sam Brownback, Republican
• US House, District 1: Jerry Moran, Republican
• US House, District 2: Jim Ryun, Republican (55-43 with 53% reporting)
• US House, District 3: Dennis Moore, Democrat
• US House, District 4: Todd Tiahrt, Republican

So, all Kansas incumbents will retain their federal seats. My county has not reported its results yet, so I won’t know until tomorrow who won my district’s state legislator seats.

I’d like to thank The Command Post for this opportunity to shine a light where Big Media doesn’t often point its cameras.

Jim Ryun is pulling away in the Kansas 2nd. New House race numbers, courtesy of KAKE-TV (Wichita):

U.S. House District 2
34% Reporting
Nancy Boyda (D) 54,248 (44%)
Jim Ryun (R) 74,291 (56%)

U.S. House District 3
93% Precincts Reporting
Kris Kobach (R) 130,651 (46%)
Dennis Moore (D) 151,208 (54%)

Rep. Jerry Moran (R-District 1) and Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-District 4) are cruising to re-election. It appears that Kansas will send Moore back for a fourth term as well.

[Cross-posted to The Command Post.]

There are still two Congressional races in Kansas that are still in doubt. In the Kansas 2nd District, Jim Ryun has opened up a 52-45 lead over Democratic challenger Nancy Boyda, with 24% of precincts reporting. In the 3rd district, Dennis Moore has opened up a 56-43 lead over Republican challenger Kris Kobach.

[Cross-posted to The Command Post.]

Some new numbers, from KAKE-TV in Wichita:

U.S. Senate
61% Precincts Reporting
Sam Brownback (R) 82,545 (66%) — projected winner
Lee Jones (D) 42,388 (35%)

U.S. House, District 1
20% Precincts Reporting
Jack Warner (D) 862 (10%)
Jerry Moran (R) 7,749 (90%) — projected winner

U.S. House District 2
34% Reporting
Nancy Boyda (D) 10,933 (49%)
Jim Ryun (R) 11,589 (51%)

U.S. House District 3
1% Precincts Reporting
Kris Kobach (R) 44,312 (46%)
Dennis Moore (D) 51,320 (54%)

U.S. House District 4
1% Precincts Reporting
MIchael Kinard (D) 2,734 (33%)
Todd Tiahrt (R) 6,143 (69%)

It appears that Reps. Moran and Tiahrt will retain their seats. The other two races are too close to call, although Rep. Ryun has taken the lead now over Democrat Nancy Boyda.

[Cross-posted to The Command Post.]

AP has projected that Republican Sen. Sam Brownback will retain his seat, defeating Democrat Lee Jones and two third-party challengers. With 1% of precincts reporting, Brownback leads 64-33.

I had grown tired of Brownback’s meddling in the private lives of Kansans, so I decided to vote against him. Now that he appears to have one, I’ll continue to use this medium to hopefully keep him honest.

[Cross-posted to The Command Post.]

MSNBC has called Kansas for Bush; he leads Kerry here 59-41. Votes are still being counted in the Senate and Congressional races. Numbers as reported by KSNT-TV Topeka, with 1% of precincts reporting:

• Senate: Brownback leads Jones 65-35
• House 1: Moran leads Warner 90-10
• House 2: Boyda leads Ryun 52-48
• House 3: Moore leads Kobach 53-47
• House 4: Tiahrt leads Kinard 68-31

[Cross-posted to The Command Post.]