Within a week, Sen. Jim Barnett’s campaign for governor will broadcast its first television commercial since the primaries.
Barnett, an Emporia Republican, has mostly been working through radio spots and personal appearances in recent weeks. By contrast, Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius has already aired TV spots taking credit for the recent increases in public school funding.
The difference, of course, is money. When the last reporting period ended at the close of July, Sebelius had a little over $2 million in the bank. Barnett had just under $200,000. Things have picked up some, Barnett said, but not nearly enough to close that kind of gap.
“Unfortunately, money matters much more in politics today,” Barnett said.
For the senator, that makes grassroots campaigning more essential as well as more affordable. By stumping his message that Kansas needs new leadership to grow economically, Barnett hopes to bridge the gap between conservative and moderate Republicans, giving him the numbers to win.
So far, the numbers haven’t been favorable. No poll shows Barnett ahead of his incumbent opponent. But the Rasmussen Reports poll showed Sebelius at 48 percent while Barnett was at 37 percent, with Sebelius losing three points since the last survey and Barnett gaining three. To Barnett, that suggests she’s catchable.
While that may be so, it won’t be easy. The same report showed that 35 percent of voters view Sebelius very favorably, while only 11 percent view her very unfavorably.
A separate phone poll, conducted by SurveyUSA for the Wichita Eagle and KWCH television showed 58 percent of Kansans for Sebelius and 38 percent for Barnett, with a 4.1 percent margin of error.
According to The Eagle, the poll showed Barnett’s strongest area to be Wichita, home of his running mate, state Sen. Susan Wagle. Barnett agreed with that, adding that his greatest strength has tended to be in the First and Fourth Congressional Districts.
Barnett said that so far, Sebelius’ ads have been “disingenuous.”
“Her claim to have saved a billion dollars is something that’s not accurate,” Barnett said. “What she did was refinance the transportation plan. That moved money forward by bonding and borrowing. That just pushes the payments off to future generations. The net saving will be close to zero.”
He also took issue with the governor’s school finance ads, saying the last school finance plan she actually offered came three years ago.
“The Supreme Court drove that bus, not Governor Sebelius,” Barnett said. “Kansans are aware of that.”
Republican headquarters in Lyon County opened Monday afternoon, not long after Barnett made a campaign trip to the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City. Locally, Barnett appeared at a Republican picnic on Sunday.
The trip to Kansas City is nothing new for Barnett who has been doing everything he can to tie up Johnson County voters.
Most of the funds his campaign raised are going to statewide radio and television ads, Barnett said.
“It is critical that we go back on television to take our message to Kansans in that fashion as well,” Barnett said. “The people of Kansas are calling for true leadership. Governor Sebelius is a very nice person, but her policies are just wrong for Kansas.”