The Star’s endorsements for Kansas in Tuesday’s primary elections

Not only are several races too close to call heading into Tuesday’s primaries in Kansas, but some feature extraordinarily tough calls between quality candidates.

What follows is a guide — a roundup, if you will — of The Star’s endorsements in key races in the state. We urge you to get out and vote in what normally are low-turnout elections. In Kansas, election authorities anticipate that as many as as three in four voters will sit this one out.

If you don’t vote, you’re depriving your fellow citizens of your wisdom and experience, as Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft told The Star editorial board Monday. Who’d want to do that?

Governor: Republicans

The Star endorses Jim Barnett, the former state senator and the GOP’s 2006 nominee for governor.

No candidate in any 2018 race who met with The Star editorial board showed a more impressive grasp of the issues. He has both the perspective and the eyes-wide-open determination it will take to turn Kansas around after the self-inflicted disaster of the Brownback-Colyer years.

Our hot-headed secretary of state, Kris Kobach, promises to push for tax cuts that would not work any better this time around than they did under Brownback. Gov. Jeff Colyer gave us the mess that is KanCare while he worked as Sam Brownback’s lieutenant governor.

Barnett understands that investing in the state’s future is what’s required now. Given how desperately underfunded any number of areas of state government remain, Barnett’s tenure would be a welcome advance for Kansas.

Governor: Democrats

The choice here was a difficult one between Laura Kelly, the state senator from Topeka, and Josh Svaty, the former state lawmaker and agriculture secretary.

But we endorse Kelly, who’s deceptively tough, knows the state budget and is focused on the right priorities for Kansas. Plus, she knows how and when to reach across the aisle to build bipartisan backing for key initiatives.

Thanks to her years of experience in state government, Kelly can reposition Kansas for a more prosperous future. A four-term senator, she can readily grasp what’s doable and what’s not.

She spent much of her time in office fighting the Brownback tax cuts and advocating for more funding for the state’s beleaguered public schools. Kelly promises a clear-eyed beginning for Kansas.

Kansas 3rd District for U.S. House: Democrats

Our pick in an extremely competitive, six-candidate field is Sharice Davids, who was raised by a single mother, then went on to get a law degree from Cornell and become a White House fellow.

Davids has drawn notice in the national media because she is Native American, lesbian and a former mixed martial arts fighter.

She’s far too smart to think she has all the answers. She will be willing to listen to different views and seek compromise where possible — an essential quality for those who aspire to service in our national legislature.

Her thoughtful approach to policy questions would serve the 3rd District well, and her nomination would send an important signal to the nation that Kansas is a place of tolerance and inclusiveness in an era when those qualities too often are lacking.

This story was originally published August 7, 2018 at 5:30 AM.