TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Activists in both parties strongly suspect that political skullduggery led to two Kansas candidates with the same first and last name running against each other in a congressional primary, but a state board on Monday faced its own challenge: How should ballots differentiate between the two Wichita men?
Republican voters in the 4th District in the Wichita area are now set to choose Aug. 7 between Rep. Ron Estes, the incumbent, and Ron M. Estes, the challenger. The Kansas secretary of states office devised the listing after Ron M. Estes filed to challenge the freshman congressman in the GOP primary. A Democratic candidate objected, arguing that the plan to list the incumbent with Rep. gave him an unfair advantage.
But the all-GOP, three-member State Objections Board led by Secretary of State Kris Kobach concluded Monday that using middle initials to distinguish the candidates on the primary ballot still might prove too confusing for voters.
Democratic candidate Laura Lombard, who filed the objection, surmised that confusing voters was the point for the challenger or others backing him. So did Rep. Ron Estes chief of staff, Josh Bell.
I definitely do think someone put him up to it, Lombard told reporters after the boards decision, saying the Estes vs. Estes race has become a circus.
Rep. Ron Estes, a former two-term state treasurer, won a tougher-than-expected election last year for the seat formerly held by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Meanwhile, Ron M. Estes said in an email that hes worked for aircraft manufacturer Boeing for 40 years.
Both men are 61.
The challenger did not attend the Objections Board meeting in Topeka or send a representative, though he called the board corrupt in an email afterward and derided the decision as favoring career politicians.
No filings were available for the challenger on the Federal Election Commissions website Monday, suggesting he might not raise or spend $5,000 for his campaign. The incumbent spent almost $422,000 on his special election campaign.
The challenger has communicated with The Associated Press only through emails and hasnt made any public appearances so far. He filed to run May 31, the day before the deadline.
A Kansas election law generally prohibits listing a candidates name with a title. But the statute makes an exception for using a prefix or suffix when necessary to distinguish one candidate from another.
