With a month to go before the general election, the Kansas Republican Party made a stop in Emporia to drum up the vote Saturday.
At the Lyon County Fairgrounds, governor candidate and current Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt is up against incumbent Democrat Laura Kelly. Schmidt says Kelly’s decisions related to COVID-19 put the state in a worse position than it was when the pandemic started, using education as an example.
US House Second District candidate Jake LaTurner is running against political newcomer Patrick Schmidt. LaTurner says the country faces a lot of issues at this time, inflation at or near the top of the list.
The bus stop in Emporia drew about 75 people to the Fairgrounds and included appearances by former governor Jeff Colyer, current US Senator Roger Marshall and Kansas House 76th District Representative Eric Smith.
KVOE Candidate Forum series to begin Tuesday
The election race at the local level comes to the KVOE airwaves over the next week and a half:
*On Tuesday, we look at the Lyon County Commission First District race between two political newcomers, Republican Ken Duft and Democrat Gregg Stair.
*On Thursday, the focus is the Kansas House 76th District race between Republican incumbent Eric Smith and Democrat challenger Chuck Torres.
*On Oct. 18, we look at the Kansas House 60th District race involving Republican incumbent Mark Schreiber and Democrat Mic McGuire.
All programs begin at 10:06 am. KVOE News will ask questions of the candidates, with time allowed for listeners to ask their own questions.
Election dates of note coming soon
Mid-October is a big time for the upcoming election because voter registration ends Oct. 18, with advance mail ballot voting starting Oct. 19, offsite voting at the Fairgrounds Anderson Building Oct. 19-22 and advance voting at the Lyon County Courthouse beginning Oct. 24. Lyon County Election Officer Tammy Vopat joins the KVOE Newsmaker segment at 7:20 am Thursday with more details.
Click here for KVOE’s 2022 general election information page.
