A conservative state senator wants to skip the preliminaries as long as he is not the one left out.
Steve Fitzgerald, R-Leavenworth, urged other Republicans to drop out of the race to succeed Lynn Jenkins, the Republican who is leaving the 2nd District seat from Kansas up for grabs with her retirement from Congress.
The plea from Fitzgerald on Wednesday came with an endorsement from a candidate who indeed was suspending his campaign. Matt Bevens, who lives in Topeka and works as a trader for We-star, joined Fitzgerald at a news conference designed to frame the retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel as the frontrunner among Republicans.
Indeed, the party could benefit from such clarity considering that Paul Davis, a Democrat who challenged Sam Brownback in the 2014 gubernatorial race, has raised more than $1 million in campaign contributions since announcing his candidacy.
Organization within the Davis campaign seems savvy. The candidate took advantage of an opportunity to stump for education during last weekends protracted negotiations at the Statehouse over K-12 funding. Davis worked the hallways and gained the support of educators who have grown weary over unconstitutional shortfalls in state allocations.
Fitzgeralds stance? If (teachers) dont like their terms of employment, they should go to their local school boards, where those are determined. Its not a state issue.?
Really? The youths of Kansas will become the future workforce for this state. Contemporary instruction must incorporate lessons that will help position students to advance in society, while also helping the state compete in a global marketplace. A study commissioned by the Legislature showed that Kansas teachers have made incredibly efficient use of funding. They should be rewarded, not only with competitive pay but access to programs and materials designed to facilitate technological demands.
REPUBLICANS would stand to benefit from a robust debate among their primary hopefuls rather than narrowing the 2nd Congressional field at this point. Other party members running for the seat include another state senator, Caryn Tyson of Parker; a state representative, Kevin Jones of Wellsville; Marine veteran Tyler Tannahill and Army veteran Steve Watkins. A clear frontrunner has not yet emerged.
All the candidates have expressed conservative values. They will maintain that stance on principal, and to differentiate themselves from Davis. Yet each should be expected to make their own choices about their campaigns and establish their own values and ideas before conceding the primary race at Fitzgeralds behest.
This was the state senator, remember, who made ongoing references to Nazi Germany and Auschwitz doctor Josef Mengele last month on the floor of the Kansas Senate while debating an amendment on aborted fetal tissue. Fitzgerald then defended his remarks to reporters. Such commentary suggests other Republican candidates need to be heard and their positions evaluated by voters.
Republicans need to get it right in the 2nd District. Davis will mount a strong challenge. Fitzgerald recognizes it too by attempting to gain separation with his plea to coalesce. He even issued a comment that could inspire President Donald Trump to offer his support. We must win this seat and advance the agenda that the American people approved, said Fitzgerald, a loyal nod to Trump and the resounding support the president received within Kansas in the 2016 election.
Will Trumps agenda win out, however, in the 2nd District in 2018? Will that agenda even be definable, given Trumps tendencies to change course, once a Republican is chosen to contest Davis in the general election? Will rural Kansans living in the 2nd District support a Republican who wholeheartedly favors Trumps directives?
The answer to those questions is, quite possibly, yes. Republicans can never be counted out in any Kansas congressional race. The party has held the 2nd Congressional seat for all but two years since January 1995.
Additional insights and ideas offered by Republican opponents challenging Fitzgerald are worth contemplating. Some could even be incorporated into a sound game plan the Republicans will need to retain the office Jenkins is vacating.
The Topeka Capital-Journal
