TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The race for governor is the marquee contest in Kansas this year with contested primaries in both the Democratic and Republican parties and a prominent independent candidate.
But the state has other competitive races.
Republican voters in Tuesday’s primary in Kansas are picking a nominee for two open statewide offices and their candidate for an open congressional seat that has been targeted by Democrats.
Democrats also will settle a crowded contest for the party’s nomination in the Kansas City-area district held by four-term Republican Rep. Kevin Yoder. The race drew the attention of 2016 presidential candidate, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
All polling places across the state must open at 7 a.m., though local election officials have the authority to allow voting to begin at 6 a.m. Polls close at 7 p.m. local time.
What to know about the election:
TAKING ON YODER
Democrats are targeting Yoder because Hillary Clinton narrowly carried his 3rd Congressional District in the 2016 presidential election and Yoder won a closer-than-expected race against a relatively unknown Democrat.
Six Democrats are on the ballot, showcasing the debate within the party over how far left its candidates should go to tap the energy of liberal activists and opponents of President Donald Trump.
Sanders, the patriarch of the democratic socialist movement, and New York congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the movement’s rising star, campaigned for Brent Welder, a Kansas City, Kansas, labor attorney.
But Sharice Davids, another Kansas City, Kansas, attorney, attracted considerable attention as both a Native American and gay candidate with strong liberal credentials. And other Democrats were rallying behind Tom Niermann, a Prairie Village teacher, seen as more of a centrist.
OPEN HOUSE SEAT
In the 2nd Congressional District of eastern Kansas, five-term Republican Rep. Lynn Jenkins did not seek re-election, setting up both a seven-candidate scramble for the GOP nomination and an opportunity for Democrats to pick up an otherwise out-of-reach seat. Their nominee is former Kansas House Minority Leader Paul Davis, who narrowly lost the 2014 governor’s race.
The Republican field includes four state legislators and an ex-Kansas House speaker. But they weren’t as visible in the final weeks as Army veteran and political newcomer Steve Watkins, who benefited from television ads from a political action committee formed by his father.
OTHER RACES FOR CONGRESS
In the 4th District in the Wichita area, civil rights attorney James Thompson faced businesswoman Laura Lombard in the Democratic primary for the right to challenge Republican Rep. Ron Estes. Estes won a closer-than-expected special election in April 2017 against Thompson.
In the 1st District of western and central Kansas, freshman Rep. Roger Marshall was expected to handily defeat an unknown GOP primary challenger.
SECRETARY OF STATE
Republican Secretary of State Kris Kobach is running for governor, and five GOP candidates are running to replace him. They included Kansas House Speaker Pro Tem Scott Schwab and House Elections Committee Chairman Keith Esau, both from Olathe, and Craig McCullah, a former Kobach deputy.
The winner of the Republican race will face Democrat Brian McClendon, a former Google and Uber executive from Lawrence.
INSURANCE COMMISSIONER
Insurance Commissioner Ken Selzer also is running for governor, and Assistant Commissioner Clark Shultz is hoping to replace him. But Shultz faces state Sen. Vicki Schmidt, of Topeka, chairwoman of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee, in the GOP primary.
The winner will face Democrat Nathaniel McLaughlin, a retired health industry executive from Kansas City, Kansas