If the old saying “close but no cigar” were employed, either Jerry Daniels or Jim Mueller is going to be short a stogie come next week. AN INTERESTING outcome of the primary, and one that heartened those in Paul Davis’ camp, was how Sam Brownback, gubernatorial incumbent, defeated Jennifer Winn, a politically unknown from Wichita. Statewide Brownback won 63 to 37 percent. It’s unusual for a sitting Republican governor in Kansas to have even a token race in the primary.
Their race for the First District seat on the Allen County Commission in Tuesday’s primary election proved once again wisdom of the admonition that “every vote counts.”
Daniels, Humboldt, came away with a 251-250 victory over Mueller, Moran, on the Republican side of primary voting. With no Democrat in the race, the primary survivor will be the presumptive winner in November.
With eight provisional ballots cast — that means there was some question whether the vote was valid — the race won’t be decided until those ballots are considered on Monday. Six are from Humboldt wards and two from Moran, which would seem to favor Daniels. The candidates fared well in their home stomping grounds.
A race that wasn’t close was Kent Thompson’s effort to win a full two-year term as 9th District representative in the Legislature.
He won with 60 percent of the vote in the district, which contains much of Allen and Neosho counties. In Allen County, his home area, Thompson swept to victory by a 1,046 to 478 tally, a rousing 69 percent.
Allen Countians were less receptive to Brownback, giving him a 55-45 percent victory.
Davis was unopposed on the Democrat side. He and Brownback will square off in what promises to be one of the higher profile races for Kansas governor in recent memory.
When Election Day rolls around on Nov. 4, be sure to go to the polls. As the primary proved, every vote does count.
— Bob Johnson
A single vote decides race
