TOPEKA — Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach says the GOP can’t wait until the primary for governor is resolved next week to start campaigning against Democrats, so he will start immediately.
Kobach was leading Gov. Jeff Colyer in a race too close to call Wednesday morning. Kobach said it’s possible that his current 191 vote advantage will disappear when outstanding votes are counted next week and that Colyer could end up being the nominee and “taking the baton” of the campaign.
But he said it’s imperative that the party not wait to start the general election campaign, because the Democrats won’t wait.
Colyer was not conceding the race. In a statement, he cited the close results and “extraordinary problems” in Johnson County, the state’s most populous county.
10:30 a.m.
A Kansas state representative says it was a “day full of paradox” after winning the Republican primary for secretary of state exactly two years after his 10-year-old son was decapitated on a giant water slide.
The Kansas City Star reports that Rep. Scott Schwab, of Olathe, says he and his family didn’t spend Tuesday “caring a whole lot about politics.” Schwab’s son, Caleb Schwab, died on Aug. 7, 2016, when his raft went airborne while he was riding the 17-story Verruckt water slide at the Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City, Kansas.
Schwab said during his victory speech at an Overland Park hotel that he and his family would love to have Caleb on the stage with them. He said they “took a moment and said, `God, say hi to him for us.”’
10:15 a.m.
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is planning a news conference to discuss the results of his close Republican primary race with Gov. Jeff Colyer.
Kobach was having the event at noon Wednesday at the Topeka hotel where his supporters previously gathered for an election night watch party.
He led Colyer in the gubernatorial primary by fewer than 200 votes.
The state won’t have final results until early next week.
State elections director Bryan Caskey said the secretary of state’s office is estimating that between 8,000 and 10,000 provisional ballots were cast. And mail-in ballots postmarked Tuesday have until Friday to arrive in local election officials’ offices.
Colyer has not conceded.
9:55 a.m.
Kansas won’t have final results for the close Republican primary between Gov. Jeff Colyer and Secretary of State Kris Kobach until early next week.
Kobach led Wednesday morning by fewer than 200 votes.
But state elections director Bryan Caskey said the secretary of state’s office is estimating that between 8,000 and 10,000 provisional ballots were cast. Voters get such ballots when it’s not clear whether they are eligible to vote at a particular polling place.
State law also allows mail-in ballots postmarked Tuesday to be counted if they arrive by Friday. Caskey said state law prevents county officials from canvassing their results until Monday.
Colyer was not conceding the race. In a statement, he cited the close results and “extraordinary problems” in Johnson County, the state’s most populous county.
9:15 a.m.
Sharice Davids has shattered the mold for a congressional primary winner from Kansas as the state’s first Native American and gay nominee for Congress.
The 38-year-old attorney and activist prevailed in a close six-candidate Democratic primary and will face four-term Republican Rep. Kevin Yoder.
Davids also is a former mixed martial arts fighter who introduced herself to fellow Democrats with a video showing her in the ring and landing solid kicks to a large punching bag.
She was raised by a single mother and earned a law degree from Cornell University. She was a White House fellow during Barack Obama’s presidency.
Democrats are targeting Yoder this fall because Democrat Hillary Clinton narrowly won the district in the 2016 presidential race.
8:40 a.m.
State Sen. Vicki Schmidt has won the Republican primary for insurance commissioner in Kansas, advancing to face Democrat Nathaniel McLaughlin in a November matchup to become the state’s top insurance regulator.
Kansas Insurance Commissioner Ken Selzer sought the Republican nomination for governor in Tuesday’s primary, creating a wide open race for the state’s top insurance regulator. Schmidt defeated Selzer’s top deputy, Assistant Insurance Commissioner Clark Shultz, to capture the Republican nomination.
McLaughlin ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Schmidt, a pharmacist and the Senate’s lead negotiator on health issues, chairs the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee.
As a pharmacist, she says she deals with health insurance problems every day, and sees the effect of rising health care costs on families and seniors.
8:10 a.m.
The Republican primary for Kansas governor is too close to call.
With election officials in Kansas halting the vote count Wednesday morning, Secretary of State Kris Kobach leads incumbent Gov. Jeff Colyer by fewer than 200 votes. It could be a few days before all absentee votes are counted.
A new state law allows ballots postmarked as of Tuesday to be counted, so long as they arrive three days after Election Day.
Kobach received a late endorsement from President Donald Trump. Colyer received the endorsement of the National Rifle Association and had the backing of Kansas political legend Bob Dole.
7:50 a.m.
Immigration hardliner Kris Kobach and Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer remain virtually tied in the tight Republican gubernatorial primary race, with votes still outstanding in the state’s most populous county.
It’s yet to be seen whether President Donald Trump’s late endorsement can push his ally Kobach to victory. Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state, has advised the White House and served as vice chairman of a now-disbanded election fraud commission.
But Colyer raised more campaign contributions, was endorsed by the National Rifle Association, and has the backing of Kansas political legend, former U.S. Senator Bob Dole. Colyer became governor in January, succeeding Sam Brownback.
Only a few hundred votes separate them as they await results from Johnson County, which has nearly 23 percent of the state’s voters. The county suffered problems with new voting machines.
