Kansas’ role in the presidential nomination process was best demonstrated in 2000, when the campaign of all-but-official GOP nominee George Bush declared victory in Kansas’ April primary — which lawmakers had canceled weeks before. But Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh (in photo) is onto something with his efforts to include Kansas among states in the region holding presidential primaries on the same day in 2008, preferably early enough to matter to what should be uncommonly wide-open contests in both major parties. On the right date and with the right regional coordination, a Kansas primary could draw campaigning candidates, stir voter interest and justify spending $2.5 million, which Thornburgh will ask the 2007 Legislature to set aside. “We’re going to continue to work with our neighboring states to try to develop a regional primary, and then we have the ability to place Kansas where it’s best able to be a part of that process,” he said.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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5 Comments
Save the $2.5 million. Honestly it won’t matter. We aren’t important enough, not because of when or how we do our Presidential primary, because our population size is too small to be competative and to matter.
We can’t be first because other states have it set in their Constitution that they must be first, i.e. Iowa, New Hampshire.
The general election is more fun anyways.
I’m glad that Thornburgh is in favor of the idea I raised several months ago, right here on the WE Blog. Joe doesn’t like the cost, but a lot of us would like to have input and help choose GOP and Dem presidential candidates, rather than just be told who are choices are, by Iowans, New Hampshirans and other small-state voters. The $2.5 million cost is about 90 CENTS per Kansan, Can’t afford that? Really?
I mean, if Kansans had been able to express themselves in the 2004 primary, we may have had Wesley Clark or John Edwards as the ultimate presidential candidate. Not Bush’s Yale Skull and Bones confederate who threw the election to the phony “Texan” Connecticut Yankee.
Kansas voters do enough damage as it is. I would NOT like to see them have influence on the nominations.
Hold a caucus the first Saturday after New Hampshire.