It didn’t happen in 1996. Or in 2000. Or even in 2004. But now Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh thinks Kansas can finally get a presidential primary again.
Why now? To start, there’s an open field. For the first time since 1928, there’s not a sitting president or vice-president running for the office. Then there’s the fact that the laws allow states a lot more freedom in scheduling their primaries than they used to, giving a small state a better chance to be heard.
And even if the stars weren’t quite right, Thornburgh still would be trying. To him, state caucuses don’t go far enough. He said he wants the voters out there.
“For me, it’s a numbers game,” Thornburgh said during a visit to Emporia to rally support for a primary. “The last time we had a caucus, 2,100 people showed up statewide for both parties, total. The last time we had a primary, we had hundreds of thousands of people participate. That’s the problem with caucuses. To me, they’re the modern equivalent of a smoke-filled room.”
He’s won half the fight so far. Governor Kathleen Sebelius included $2 million for a 2008 presidential primary election in her budget this year. The Senate kept it. But the House crossed it out, forcing negotiations in the Legislature.
If the presidential primary survives, it would be Kansas’ first since 1992. Every one that’s been proposed since has run into the same criticism -- that it costs too much money and doesn’t give Kansans enough of a voice. Often, by the time Kansas voters have gone to the polls, the major nominations already have been sewn up.
That could be different this time, Thornburgh said. Once the early-bird states are done -- Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina — a large knot of runners-up will be crowding into a few dates in February. As a result, Feb. 5 (already scheduled by California) could be the day that the candidates get winnowed down while the Feb. 12 primaries could end up nailing down a candidate.
Given his preference, Thornburgh would rather have the 12th.
“I think it’s very unlikely that one candidate will come out of the 5th with enough delegates to claim the nomination,” he said. “... I want Kansas to be there when the decision is made.”
And even with a small number of delegates, Kansas could be a more attractive state than it appears. For Democrats, it’s a state where the party has recently been re-energized, winning the governor’s seat, a pair of congressional districts and the attorney general’s office among others.
For Republicans, it’s a bit trickier. Kansas is a rock-solid GOP state, making it a decent litmus test for the party’s candidates. But with a “favorite son” on the ballot — U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan — that could lead some candidates to spend their effort elsewhere.
But Thornburgh still wants that primary. Cutting it out, even for budget reasons, sets a bad precedent, he said.
“You tell me what the price tag is supposed to be for democracy,” he said. “I think there are other considerations. It is a very dangerous slippery slope we’re on when we start saying which elections are important enough to fund, when we decide that this election isn’t worth supporting or that that one is. ... I just think there is an importance ... about letting the people’s voice be heard.”