76th district Incumbent defeats challenger Tony Trimble
By Gwendolynne Larson (Contact)
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Emporian Peggy Mast earned the right Tuesday night to pursue another term in the Kansas House of Representatives after defeating a challenger in the Republican primary.
Mast, who has held the 76th District seat for 12 years, defeated Republican challenger Tony Trimble of Burlington by a 2-to-1 margin.
“I have deep appreciation to all the people who helped with the campaign,” Mast said this morning. “People who agreed to put up yard signs, who walked door-to-door with me.”
Mast said she and her husband, John, watched the Buck, Rumble & Roll event Tuesday night at the Lyon County Free Fair with a small radio available to hear returns.
The 76th House District includes 20 precincts in Lyon County, 14 in Coffey County and two in Greenwood County. Mast carried Lyon County 846 votes to 276, a 3-to-1 margin. The two Greenwood County precincts were closer, with a split of 59 percent for Mast to 41 for Trimble. That translated into a vote count of 101-70.
Voters in Trimble’s home territory of Coffey County cast ballots with a narrower margin than Lyon County. Mast took Coffey County with 865 votes (62 percent) to Trimble’s 536 (38 percent).
Trimble said this morning that he didn’t have those final Coffey County results until about 1 a.m. today, which delayed his calling Mast until this morning to congratulate her on her victory. For Mast, the phone call was unexpected.
“Of all the opponents I’ve had,” Mast said, “he’s the only one to call me.”
Trimble told The Gazette that he learned a lot during the campaign.
“I want to personally thank my supporters and everyone who voted for me,” he said.
“The issues that separated us were very thin,” he added. “In the end, voters were willing to stay with an experienced candidate instead of trying something new.”
For now, Trimble said, it’s time to decide what the future brings.
“I’m going to take a couple of days to let the dust settle,” he said. That will include spending time with his wife, children and other family members.
“I’m very encouraged and excited about the future,” Trimble added.
Mast this morning said she appreciated the kind of campaign that Trimble ran, saying that he put a lot of research into the issues.
“He never made personal attacks on me, which shows a lot of good character,” Mast said.
Now, it’s time to prepare for the general election in November, when Mast will face Democratic challenger Carol Strickland of Emporia.
“I plan on staying in close touch with my constituents,” Mast said about her strategy. “I want to answer any questions they have on where I stand on the issues.”
In Chase County
Two incumbents fended off challengers for county seats, with one winning re-election outright.
In the race for Chase County clerk, incumbent June A. Morgan defeated her challenger, Cheryl Jahnke in the Republican primary with a vote of 498-186. Morgan now faces Democratic challenger Stacy Davis in the general election. Davis received 67 votes as she ran unopposed on the Democratic primary ballot.
In the county treasurer’s office, incumbent Janet Ayers defeated challenger Sondra Butter, 401-292, in the Republican primary. No Democratic candidates filed for the seat, so Ayers will run in November unopposed.
Comments
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Posted by jayhawker (anonymous) on August 6, 2008 at 3:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I believe that Ms. Butter is the incumbent Chase County Treasurer.
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