Kansas Race for Commissioner, Secretary of State Overshadowed

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With so much attention focused on battles for governor and attorney general, contests for secretary of state, state treasurer and insurance commissioner have fallen off the political radar and are known collectively as the “other races.”

But that hasn’t stopped the incumbent Republicans from raising money for their re-election efforts ahead of Tuesday’s general election.

Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh, State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins and Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger each has waged a low-key, nonconfrontational contest. The conventional thinking has been that none of them faces any real danger of losing.

For Thornburgh and Praeger, the real battles were in the Aug. 1 primary election. Jenkins was the only statewide officeholder to breeze through the primary unchallenged.

Thornburgh, seeking a fourth term as the state’s chief election official, raised $129,910 through Thursday and spent $100,833.63. Most of the money, he said, is for statewide television ads as he faces a rematch from 2002 against Sen. David Haley, D-Kansas City, whom he soundly defeated.

In the primary, Thornburgh faced conservative Sen. Kay O’Connor of Olathe and defeated her with 73 percent of the vote. O’Connor subsequently resigned her Senate seat, saying her defeat was a factor in her decision to get out of politics.

Still, Thornburgh isn’t leaving anything to chance.

“I think it’s important to run strong to the finish line. It’s important to do everything you can to win,” Thornburgh said Tuesday.

During the same reporting period, Haley collected $17,058 and spent $8,294. He said the unspent portion will be used to pay bills and, “We have to save something for a victory celebration.”

“This will be the closet race for secretary of state that Kansas has seen in many years,” he said. “We need to kick an 80-yard field goal, and we’ve got wind to our back.”

Meanwhile, Praeger reported raising $155,707 and spending $126,728. Her challenger, Rep. Bonnie Sharp, D-Kansas City, raised $28,527.89 and spent $26,210.07.

In her primary race, Praeger defeated Rep. Eric Carter of Overland Park with 59 percent of the vote in her quest for a second term.

“We just want to make sure people remember. The name recognition is there, but we just want to remind folks,” she said.

Jenkins faces Shawnee County Treasurer Larry Wilson. She raised $170,594 and spent $153,778. Wilson raised $5,525 including a $500 loan to himself, and spent only $500 for a get-out-the-vote effort by the Shawnee County Democratic Party.