Monday, May 3, 2010
Editor’s Note: The primary election for the Kansas gubernatorial and congressional races will be August 3. Expect this summer to heat up with plenty of good political debate. Here, Chet Compton makes his predictions for the election outcome.
Governor – Sam Brownback
Brownback’s only primary challenger, Secretary of State Ron Thornburg, dropped out of the race last June. Barring any major shake-up, it is safe to say Sam Brownback will be the winner of the August primary. Republican’s across the state are excited about finally regaining the governorship. Sam Brownback is a leader that will make Kansas proud.
U.S. Senate – Todd Tiahrt
There are two candidates in this race, but only one real conservative. Tiahrt is the only candidate who has never voted to raise taxes. His record proves that he is the true fiscal conservative the state and the country need right now. He is proven to be strong on defense – supporting a robust Patriot Act and opposing giving new rights to terrorists. Tiahrt is a bold and effective leader who is not worried about taking a stand. He has also shown that he cares about college students – he has been endorsed by the Kansas Federation of College Republicans and is the only candidate in this race that has taken the time to come share his ideas with the KU College Republicans.
Kansas District 04 – Mike Pompeo
Pompeo is a conservative with a military, legal and business background. Pompeo learned first-hand the importance of fiscal responsibility and he knows what it takes to create jobs. He helped found and grow Thayer Aerospace to more than 500 employees. His impressive resume includes graduating first in his class from West Point, serving as a decorated cavalry officer in Germany and graduating with honors from Harvard Law School. Pompeo has successfully fired up the Republican base in the fourth district. He has by far the largest volunteer base, he has six times the individual contributors to his campaign than all the other Republican candidates combined and he out fundraised his Republican opponents by a 5-to-1 margin in the first quarter.
Kansas District 03 – Kevin Yoder
Like it or not, money matters in campaigns. In little more than three months, Yoder has shown that he knows how to raise money. He has raised half a million dollars in that short time, forcing his main opponent, Nick Jordan to drop out of the race. Yoder is the clear frontrunner in this campaign, and Kansas conservatives should be proud. During his Kansas House re-election campaign in 2008, he was endorsed by Kansans For Life and received an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association. He is now running as a fiscal conservative, ready to go to Washington to reign in spending and cut government waste.
Kansas District 02 – Lynn Jenkins
Jenkins is hoping to be the senior congresswoman from the state of Kansas after only two successful campaigns. As of now, she is running unopposed in the Republican primary.
Kansas District 01 – Tim Huelskamp
This is looking like it is going to be a close race between Huelskamp and former candidate for governor Jim Barnett. Huelskamp has earned himself a long list of solid endorsements, including Governors Rick Perry and Mike Huckabee, the conservative Club for Growth PAC and Kansans for Life. This seat looks to be safely in Republican hands, making the winner of the August primary a near lock for Congress.
— Compton is a senior from Wichita in history and political science.
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Comments
Compton: Looking ahead for state primaries
Jerry Moran opposes earmarks and voted against every single bailout. I'd say that makes him more conservative (at least on important issues) than Tiahrt.
Compton: Looking ahead for state primaries
Jerry Moran was the only Congressman from Kansas who voted against every bailout. How is that not conservative?
Also, Chet, you say: "like it or not, money matters in elections" when referring to Kevin Yoder. Yet, Jerry Moran has a $2 MILLION DOLLAR lead over Tiahrt.
Compton: Looking ahead for state primaries
I do find a few things interesting! What bailout did Todd vote for? Second, Jerry voted for S-CHIP, which was, as Pres. O put it, the down payment for his healthcare plan!
Then you have the fact that Jerry has voted against key provisions of the Patriot Act, including against military tribunals. What about the Bush Tax cuts that so many Americans have been able to enjoy for the past 10 years? Jerry didn't like those, did he?!?!
Finally, the earmark statement. Jerry has quite a large amount of earmarks! He is no "fiscal champion" in that regards, but at the same point. I DO NOT have a problem with useful "earmarks". As taxpayers, we give our money to Washington, and they are to appropriate that money! Why do you want a Representative or Senator who will not fight for tax dollars to come back to the district? It's crazy! The solution is to balance the budget, and appropriate the money as needed. Such as the help to the city of Augusta to help keep it from constantly flooding! Or maybe the money that was given to help the Wichita PD catch BTK! New technology was needed in the investigation, and it would not have happened without an evil "earmark".
Compton: Looking ahead for state primaries
I couldn't help but notice that the only woman in this survey was devoted only two sentences while all the men got at least four devoted to them. What's going on here, Chet?
Compton: Looking ahead for state primaries
Haha, you know Jerry Moran has led Tiahrt in every poll. Moran is the clear favorite at this point.
Moran is every bit as Conservative as Tiahrt. The difference is, that Moran is like Bob Dole. Tiahrt is like a Rick Santorum. Tiahrt uses overt religious rhetoric to attempt to influence voters. Moran, like Dole, avoids injecting religion into everything, probably because they actually believe in the separation of church and state.
Jerry Moran is an all-round good guy. He went to KU Law and he's from Western Kansas. Moran is a Kansan first.
Tiahrt went to some right-wing religious school is from Wichita and has greasy slicked hair of a used car salesmen. Tiahrt is a right-wing looney before a Kansan.
Real Republicans and real Kansans will be voting for Moran.
Compton: Looking ahead for state primaries
It's interesting that Chet uses the money card in the KS-04 race, Raj Goyle has outraised his Republican opponents on a level unprecedented - having more money than all of them combined - if money is the be-all end-all in politics, that's the choice Chet would have made. Again, Chet's column isn't swayed by the logic he employs, it's an amalgam of his thoughts and ignores what he wants, when he wants.
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