MSC News

For the tabulation of KS races, go here.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas voters have protected abortion rights by rejecting a measure that would have allowed the Republican-controlled Legislature to tighten abortion restrictions or ban it outright. The vote Tuesday was the first test of voters’ feelings about abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in late June. Voters rejected a change in the Kansas Constitution to ensure that it does not grant a right to an abortion so that legislators could regulate it as they see fit. The measure was a response to a 2019 state Supreme Court decision protecting abortion rights. Supporters of the change would not say whether they would pursue a ban, while opponents predicted one would be coming if the measure had passed.

Former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach on Tuesday won the Republican nomination for state attorney general, promising to weaponize the office against the Biden administration. The Kansas City Star reports Kobach’s primary victory marks the 56-year-old’s first political win since he lost the Republican U.S. Senate race two years ago and re-establishes him as a force within the Kansas Republican Party. But the hard-right candidate now faces Democrat Chris Mann, a former police officer and Wyandotte County prosecutor. Mann ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

The Kansas Gubernatorial race is now set, with the incumbent Democrat to face-off against the current Republican Attorney General in November. Kansas Governor Laura Kelly Tuesday was declared the winner of the Democratic Primary, after she defeated challenger Richard Karnowski 209,207 to 12,017. Kelly, in November's General Election, will be challenged by Republican Derek Schmidt. The current attorney general defeated challenger Arlyn Briggs with 241,810 to Briggs' 60,971. Both Kelly and Schmidt were declared winners by the Associated Press just one hour after the polls closed Tuesday. Following his win, Schmidt issued the following statement:

“Tonight it is my honor to join the ranks of those few Kansans who have had the privilege of carrying the nomination of the Republican Party for Governor of Kansas. I am humbled and mindful of the trust that has been placed in me. As a fifth-generation Southeast Kansan, it brings me particular pride to be the first son of Independence to carry this nomination since Alf Landon did so successfully in 1934.

“As your Attorney General these past years, I have stood up for you time and again against the illegal big-government overreach of the Obama and Biden administrations. I have stood before the Supreme Court of the United States on your behalf, and won. I have sat with brokenhearted Kansas families, comforted abused children, and ached inside at the cruel mistreatment of the elderly and of the innocent.

“But through it all, I have cherished every day of being able to lead this important public office, which I soon will hand off to my successor better than I found it. Thank you for the great privilege of serving as your Kansas Attorney General.

“Now I want to serve as your Governor because Kansas can do so much better.

“Kansas needs a new governor – one who didn’t hurt our kids by rushing to lock them out of school, who won’t trail far behind the nation in recovering jobs her lockdowns destroyed, and who never again will lose $700 million to unemployment fraud while utterly failing to help thousands of out-of-work Kansans in their time of greatest need.

“We need a Republican governor who will grow our communities faster than our government, champion religious liberty, defend our freedoms, keep us safe from crime and deadly drugs, respect life, put students and parents first in our education system so we can better prepare more of our kids for careers in Kansas, continually improve election integrity, advocate for the dignity of work over welfare, and fight to make the cost of daily living more affordable for struggling families.

“The late-Senator Bob Dole used to tell me something that has always stuck with me. He would say, ‘Kansans will show you the way, you just have to listen.’

“We need a new governor who follows that advice - who listens to Kansans – all Kansans – and works together with people of goodwill to help the hardworking citizens of this state.

“Remember this: In the Derek Schmidt-Katie Sawyer administration, Kansas will move forward to a bright future, not remain stuck in the stale past. We will give you our best every day, because that is what Kansans deserve.

“During the next 98 days of this campaign, we will continue to work tirelessly to earn the support of every Kansan in every community in every county in our state. Our citizens want and deserve effective, commonsense leadership guided by Kansas conservative values.

“With the primary election behind us, it is time for Republicans to come together behind our nominees and reject the big-government liberalism that binds Joe Biden to Laura Kelly. Biden’s bailouts are what’s propping up Kelly’s unsustainable re-election spending spree.

“But the truth is: young people and retirees are leaving our state, more than 20,000 fewer Kansans are working here than the day she took office, and Kansas families are struggling with the skyrocketing cost of daily life because of Biden’s big-government inflation.

“Kansans know we can, and must, do better.

“That’s why Katie and I are running. We need your help. Together, we can make it happen

“God bless you all, God bless Kansas, and may God continue to bless the United States of America.”