Two years ago, the Democratic Party in Kansas looked to be on the rebound. Kansas elected a second Democratic U.S. representative, Nancy Boyda, and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius had just won reelection with a convincing majority of voters.

With the departure of Sebelius to Obama's cabinet, the future of the Kansas Democratic Party seems much more questionable. The party has lost its leader and voice of Republican dissent in Sebelius, and there is no immediate replacement waiting in the wings.

For six years, Sebelius was a very popular governor and the symbol of a growing Democratic Party in the state. As de-facto leader, though, she failed to really build a strong group of Democratic leaders.

Joe Aistrup, associate dean for the College of Arts and Sciences and an expert on Kansas politics, said Sebelius' placement of Paul Morrison as Kansas attorney general and recruitment of Mark Parkinson as lieutenant governor in her second term as governor failed to solidify state Democratic leadership.

Morrison stepped down after he was accused of sexual harassment of a female office administrator, and Parkinson announced he would not plan to run for governor in 2010 even though many Democrats believe he would be able to compete against Republican candidates Sen. Sam Brownback or Kansas Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh. Both Morrison and Parkinson switched their political affiliations from Republican to Democrat during Sebelius' term as governor.

"Right now the future of the Democratic Party is not looking as bright as it should after six years of a very successful governor," Aistrup said. "There are no obvious choices for the Democrats to replace her."

2010 does not look bright for Kansas Democrats. They have no clear candidates for the gubernatorial race or Sen. Brownback's open Senate seat, while the Republicans have two very strong candidates already in each race.

Rep. Dennis Moore might be the only big-name Democrat to win a state race in 2010, unless Boyda continues to play musical chairs with the Republicans. Aistrup said there are potential candidates who could rise to the occasion to replace Sebelius, but they would need to be highly motivated and do a good job of raising money, which could be harder without Sebelius.

Sebelius' nomination as HHS secretary is great publicity for the state of Kansas, but it puts the future of Kansas Democrats in question. If Democratic donors in the state want to continue making inroads in the Kansas House and Senate, they will need to open their wallets and get on the telephone to find the next voice of the Democratic Party.

Scott Girard is a senior in print journalism. Please send comments to opinion@spub.ksu.edu.

• Facebook Comments
• Site Comments

6 comments

Gamble20

Thu Mar 26 2009 11:22

Also, Sebelius won mostly on an anti-Bush platform. Then after building an enormously powerful brand, she left. The few Dem. victories were basically 'mooching' off of Sebelius. Well there is no Bush and no brand which will make democratic victories even tougher.

I would agree with this article. Democrats will be swept in every race except for possibly Moore, and even that seat they will have to fight hard for.

Gamble20

Thu Mar 26 2009 11:17

Dennis Moore is in a lot of danger, but I still think he will win. The district he presides in has rapidly grown liberal. Especially in Olathe and Leawood, where it is believed that the cities are closer to 53-47 leaning right as opposed to 55-45 or 60-40 in years past. Plus, as incumbent his name alone is enough to win. The Republicans have really dropped the ball on this guy. If they were smart, they would pour money into defeating him but instead are focused on winning races in other states. If they can beat Moore, a long time pest to the party, it will be very hard for Democrats to get the seat back.

Still, Moore won't win by 16% like last year. I'd say he wins.. like 52-48 or something similar.

Tone Mendoza

Thu Mar 5 2009 22:06

When I was a kid my mom worked hard for the Democratic party because she saw it as pro-labor and working for the poor. She would help people fill out job applications, adoption papers; help get their kids out of trouble and back in school. People looked to her for help and she always was willing to do so. People formed a loyalty to her and now her granddaughter will be the Kansas Republican Party Executive Director, as of 1 APR 09. Oh, Mom, how the world has changed now that Cici's back in town.

Your name

Thu Mar 5 2009 00:43

People care about the Democratic party?

K

Wed Mar 4 2009 13:12

The Democratic Party has not been strong in Kansas even with all the examples you have given. The election of Nancy Boyda was not a vote for her, but rather a vote against Jim Ryan. That point was demonstrated with Jenkins' victory last November. With respect to Paul Morrison, he only switched parties because he knew he couldn't beat Phil Kline in the Republican primary. Dennis Moore is quickly becoming a strongly disliked individual in Kansas, because of his recent votes this session in Congress. The Kansas Democratic Party is really starting to suffer, but don't worry there are plenty of Republicans in the state who want high taxes, wasteful spending, and governmental controls, just like the Democrats

Your name

Wed Mar 4 2009 12:12

Muhahahahahahaha!

Add comment


I am not posting spam. I understand posting spam or other comments that are unrelated to this article will cause my comment to be flagged for deletion and possibly cause my IP address to be permanently banned from this server.

Enter the characters in the image above:

log out