Election 2018 – Page 27 – Welcome to Wyandotte Daily!

KCK venues big champions for election night parties

Brent Welder’s election night party was at the Hilton Garden Inn, 5th and Minnesota, Kansas City, Kansas. (Staff photo)

Wyandotte County venues could be the big champions in Tuesday night’s primary for Democratic Congressional candidates.

Four out of six of the Democratic candidates for U.S. representative, 3rd District, were holding election night watch parties in Wyandotte County.

They included Brent Welder, at the Hilton Garden Inn at 5th and Minnesota Avenue; Sharice Davids, at Breit’s at 412 N. 5th St.; Tom Niermann, at the Niermann headquarters, 4710 N. 43rd Ave.; and Mike McCamon at the Mason Jar, 941 N. 74th Drive.

Jay Sidie had his watch party at Conroy’s in Westwood, while Sylvia Williams was at Tanner’s Bar and Grill in Overland Park.

McCamon remarked that he had held several meetings with voters at the Mason Jar during the campaign, and he feels that Wyandotte County has largely been ignored by incumbent Rep. Kevin Yoder, a Republican.

“The wealth of Johnson County is only matched by the opportunity of Wyandotte County, if we can find a way to work together,” he said.

Music was echoing throughout Strawberry Hill, as Sharice Davids had an outdoor band at Breit’s , 412 N. 5th St., Kansas City, Kansas. (Staff photo)

Sharice Davids’ watch party was well attended at Breit’s , 412 N. 5th St., Kansas City, Kansas. (Staff photo)

Former Mayor Carol Marinovich was at the Tom Niermann watch party on West 43rd in the Rosedale area of Kansas City, Kansas. The event was like a garden party. (Staff photo)

Tom Niermann, right, at his election night watch party at his campaign headquarters on West 43rd Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas. (Staff photo)

At the Tom Niermann watch party in the Rosedale area of Kansas City, Kansas. (Staff photo)

Mike McCamon held his election watch party at the Mason Jar, 941 N. 74th Drive, Kansas City, Kansas. (Staff photo)

Many of those who attended Mike McCamon’s watch party at the Mason Jar ordered dinner. (Staff photo)

2018 primary: Sales tax renewal passes, Martinez wins open judge position in unofficial results

The renewal of the three-eighths-cent sales tax renewal for public safety and infrastructure was approved by a wide margin on Tuesday night, in unofficial results.

For Wyandotte County District Court judge, Tony Martinez won, 5,371 to 4,699 for Jane Sieve Wilson and 3,508 for Mike Nichols, in unofficial results.

Brent Welder carried Wyandotte County with 7,601 votes; Sharice Davids, 4,330; Tom Niermann, 990; Sylvia D. Williams, 591; Mike McCamon, 478; and Jay Sidie, 314.

Laura Kelly overwhelmed the other candidates for governor in Wyandotte County, with 6,208 votes; Carl Brewer, 3,189; Arden Andersen, 1,925; Joshua Svaty, 1,733; and Jack Bergeson, 495.

Statewide, Kelly led the other four candidates with 51 percent of the vote, with most of the votes in.

In the Republican primary, incumbent Gov. Jeff Colyer and Kris Kobach were neck-and-neck, with 41 percent of the vote, with 2,581 of 3,539 precincts reporting statewide. This contest is too close to call. Kobach had 94,505 votes to Colyer’s 93,715.

The unofficial, final results do not include provisional ballots and ballots that could still be in the mail.

According to information from the Wyandotte County election office, the unofficial turnout was 24.8 percent, just over 20,000 voters, which was higher than the usual primary turnout here.

Unofficial, partial results, Wyandotte County only
Final results, unofficial
Democratic ballot
(Contested races only)

U.S. Representative, 3rd District
in Wyandotte County
Sharice Davids. . . . . . . . . 4,330

Mike McCamon . . . . . . . . . 478

Tom Niermann . . . . . . . . . 990

Jay Sidie . . . . . . . . . . 314

Brent Welder . . . . . . . . . 7,601

Sylvia D. Williams . . . . . . . 591

3rd District in all, with 82 of 628 precincts reporting:
Sharice Davids 7,586
Mike McCamon, 1,499
Tom Niermann 4,058
Jay Sidie 648
Brent Welder 9,395
Sylvia D. Williams 1,177

Governor and Lieutenant Governor

Arden Andersen, Dale Cowsert . . . . 1,925

Jack Bergeson, Alexander Cline. . . . 495

Carl Brewer, Chris Morrow . . . . . 3,189

Laura Kelly, Lynn Rogers. . . . . . 6,208

Joshua Svaty, Katrina Gier Lewison . . 1,733

Statewide results, with 2,581 of 3,539 precincts reporting
Arden Andersen, 6,457
Jack Bergeson 2,934
Carl Brewer 23,901
Laura Kelly 55,150
Joshua Svaty 19,536

29th District Judge Division
Tony Martinez . . . . . . . . . 5,371

Mike Nichols . . . . . . . . . 3,508

Jane Sieve Wilson. . . . . . . . 4,699

Republican ballot
U.S. Representative, 3rd District
Wyandotte County
Trevor Keegan . . . . . . . . . 612

Joe Myers . . . . . . . . . . 517

Kevin Yoder 3,719

District-wide results, with 91 of 628 precincts reporting
Trevor Keegan 6,719
Joe Myers 4,070
Kevin Yoder 21,315

Governor and Lieutenant Governor
Jim Barnett, Rosie Hansen . . . . . 285

Jeff Colyer, Tracey Mann. . . . . . 1,538

Kris Kobach, Wink Hartman . . . . . 2,737

Patrick “PK” Kucera, Patricia Reitz . . 99

Tyler Ruzich, Dominic Scavuzzo. . . . 55

Ken Selzer, Jen Sanderson . . . . . 161

Joseph Tutera Jr., Phillip Clement . . 46

Statewide results, with 2,634 of 3,539 precincts reporting

Jeff Colyer, Tracey Mann. . . . . . 94,861

Kris Kobach, Wink Hartman . . . . . 95,317

Patrick “PK” Kucera, Patricia Reitz . . 1,909

Tyler Ruzich, Dominic Scavuzzo. . . . 1,296

Ken Selzer, Jen Sanderson . . . . . 18,971

Joseph Tutera Jr., Phillip Clement . . 938

Nonpartisan question
Sales Tax Question, Kansas City, Kansas
Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,484

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,801

Insights into tonight’s election

Supporters held campaign signs today for Sharice Davids, a candidate for U.S. Representative, 3rd District, across the street from a polling place on North 79th Street, north of State Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas. (Staff photo)

As we’re waiting for results to come in from tonight’s election, here are some insights into what is at stake in this primary election.

Patrick Miller, assistant professor of political science at the University of Kansas, was asked about the election earlier today.

Questions: What is at stake in this election? What effect will the Trump endorsement have on the governor’s contest? Do you think that a Democrat will have a good chance to win in the 3rd District, U.S. House, in the fall?

Patrick Miller: “Most Republicans are Trump supporters, both in terms of liking him as a person and approving of the job that he’s doing in office. Clearly (Kris) Kobach is not cleaning up in the primary, so there are a lot of Trump-supporting Republicans who are backing other candidates, and there is not a one-to-one relationship between Trump and Kobach support. I would say that if you don’t like Trump and you’re a Republican, you’re probably already decided on voting for Jim Barnett, or at least holding your nose and voting strategically for (Gov. Jeff) Colyer to stop Kobach. I don’t see this hurting Kobach, but it’s hard to gauge where the endorsement falls between a neutral to a net positive. If this moves a hundred more Republicans to show up or decide that Kobach is their candidate, then it matters, especially in a close race. I think that’s about all we can say.

“On paper, (U.S. Rep. Kevin) Yoder is very vulnerable. He is a Republican with an extremely conservative voting record who represents a district that Hillary Clinton won and that has been trending more Democratic in general. He will not be easy to beat since he is an established politician and has a lot of money in the bank and super PAC support, but Democrats definitely have a chance. That said, Democrats can nominate a weaker or a stronger candidate. Brent Welder is likely the weakest of the major Democrats in the race. He did himself major damage when he sent out a fundraising email capitalizing on the murder of two sheriff’s deputies in the line of duty in KCK and chose to remain in the race. Republicans have been advertising for him to Democratic voters and it would seem that they prefer him as an opponent, probably due to that fundraising story and the very liberal image that he has cultivated. Conversely, Sharice Davids or Tom Niermann would likely be stronger candidates for the Democrats, though each with their own strengths that could lead to a winning coalition. So while Democrats will not win the 3rd District today, they could easily throw the race away by nominating a critically flawed candidate.

“In general the election today is critical for both parties for setting up the fall matchups. The individuals they nominate today will have a major impact on what the fall races are like and how competitive they will be.”