Kansas voters flock to polling places for presidential race, political issues take center stage • Kansas Reflector

LECOMPTON — Paola resident Cameron Mott, a registered Republican for more than half a century, paid particular attention to the 2024 election cycle.

His attention was not focused on the city council, county commission, state legislature or congressional elections that took place Tuesday. His main focus was the outcome of the showdown between Republican Donald Trump, who won in 2016 and lost in 2020, and Democrat Kamala Harris, the vice president who stepped into the gap left by President Joe Biden's withdrawal under pressure.

“I voted for Harris and have been a registered Republican since 1972,” he said. “It’s just Trump. He was a total disaster. He was not qualified and should never have been president. I have never seen typical presidential behavior.”

Mott voted in advance and relaxed at a playground in Lecompton on Election Day with Martha Heavilin of Spring Hill and her 2-year-old son, Rubin. Voters streamed in and out of the nearby polling place in Lecompton, a stone's throw from Constitution Hall, which played a role in the slavery crisis in Bleeding Kansas.

Heavilin, a registered Democrat since she was 18, said she is committed to exercising her right to vote. That feeling reinforces that every vote matters, regardless of the outcome, she said. In this election, Heavilin said she felt it was important to cast a vote for U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, the Democrat who serves the 3rd District, which covers Johnson, Anderson, Franklin and Miami counties and half of Wyandotte County in the Kansas City area.

“I really wanted to keep Sharice Davids in office,” Heavilin said. “I think she is incredibly responsive to people. I tend to choose blue, but I have two children. The last pregnancy was a bit scary at the end. For any woman who is pregnant and wants to end that pregnancy for good reasons but can't, that's scary.”

Abortion was the focus of the re-election campaign of Davids, an abortion rights advocate. She was challenged by Republican Prasanth Reddy, a doctor endorsed by the Kansans for Life PAC.

In Kansas' 2024 election cycle, voters will select the 125 members of the Kansas House of Representatives and 40 members of the Kansas Senate. The state will elect four members to the U.S. House of Representatives, including at least one newcomer, as U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner decided not to seek re-election in the 2nd District. In addition, Kans residents were asked to make decisions on local election matters, city and county commission elections, and judicial forfeiture decisions.

Brent Smith of Lenexa said he split his candidacy by voting for Harris for president but Republicans for Congress and the Legislature. Smith said he is a fiscally conservative independent voter and has never voted for Trump. Smith said Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are a “better fit.”

Project 2025 and Trump

The presidential election also took center stage in Johnson County, with issues such as abortion, border security and democracy itself on voters' minds.

Brittany Nicholson, 38, voted for the first time with her son Darrius Comeaux, 20. Nicholson persuaded Comeaux to pose for a photo as they left the Roeland Park Community Center after both voted for Harris for president.

“Democracy,” Nicholson said. “That was really the most pressing issue for me.”

Nicholson said she was also concerned about Project 2025, a wide-ranging policy document published by a conservative think tank. While Trump has denied involvement in the creation of the document, many former Trump employees contributed to it. Nicholson said she likes that Harris has suggested helping first-time home buyers with a down payment of up to $25,000.

Calley Saye, 47, said she voted straight for Democrats. She said she “can’t stand Donald Trump.”

“I think he's the worst thing that's ever happened to our country,” Saye said, “and I'd really like to see someone decent in office. “And I'm happy to have a female president.”

Saye said that although the presidential race is her biggest concern, she looks forward to casting her vote for Democrats who did not vote, including U.S. Rep. Davids. Saye said she strongly believes women should have the right to have an abortion.

“It’s kind of sad that we’re going back in time,” Saye said.

In August 2022, Kansas voters unexpectedly overwhelmingly rejected a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution that would have struck down a Kansas Supreme Court decision that established a fundamental right in the state's Bill of Rights that gave women the right to to terminate a pregnancy. This constitutional right remained in effect in Kansas after the U.S. Supreme Court adopted the landmark Roe v. Wade, which granted abortion rights nationally, had repealed.

In Lawrence, Adela Solis took a break from work to explain why it was important for Kansans to have their say at the ballot box. She used the opportunity to vote on local ballot questions to reform the size and administrative structure of the city commissioner. She voted for a measure that would allocate tax dollars to housing issues.

But it was restrictions on abortion rights in the United States that served as a key motivator.

“The fact that women are regressing,” Solis said. “And that there are some men out there who think it’s okay. It's so incredibly terrible. I thought Puritanism was over.”

Skepticism about Harris

Abortion was also top of mind for voters who elected Trump president.

Hannah Lackamp, ​​22, voted for Trump in Lenexa, with abortion on her list of concerns. She voted for him four years ago in the first presidential election after turning 18.

“I don’t want to kill babies,” Lackamp said. “That’s like my biggest thing.”

Tiffany and Noah Strain, both 30, went to the polls in Roeland Park with their four children and voted for Trump and the Republicans who rejected their votes, driven largely by their opposition to abortion.

“We value life,” Noah Strain said. “…If you don’t value that kind of life on that level, then nothing else just doesn’t matter.”

Additionally, the former president was better for the economy, they said. Tiffany Strain said it's difficult to know what Harris' policies are other than opposing Trump.

“Some things that really bother me about (Harris),” she said, “is that she's really interested in pathos arguments.” It's all about feelings. It’s all about how she sounds, not the actual things she’s talking about.”

The couple said they voted for Evan McMullin, who ran a write-in campaign, in 2016 because they were skeptical of Trump. But Trump's four years in office convinced them to vote for him in his first re-election in 2020.

After Sandy and Keith Carnes cast their votes in the White Auditorium, Keith Carnes in Emporia said he voted “all Republican.”

“I did it because I don’t want another four years like this,” Carnes said. “We need a change.”

Sandy Carnes said there were no disagreements about politics in her household and that she also voted for Trump. But she said she would accept the voters' choice no matter who won.

“Whatever the results, I will support them as best I can,” she said.

Atmosphere in Leavenworth County

In Tonganoxie, voters left the voting booths at Sacred Heart Catholic Church proud of their civic duty. There were expressions of concern and optimism about the results on election day.

Rezty Felty, 58, said this election feels particularly important. A regular voter and resident of Tonganoxie for nearly 30 years, Felty sported a set of Kamala Harris-themed nails for the occasion.

“Because we had one side that seemed to be winning over the whole country and another side that seemed to be dragging us into fascism,” Felty said.

Sue Hicks, 60, expects to retire soon and is worried about an economic downturn. She said she voted for Trump “because I'm no better off than I was four years ago.” She said high property taxes and an income that isn't as high as it once was were factors in her decision to run for president but welcome a sense of hope in American politics.

Nicole Martin, 51, felt the same way. She said the rising cost of living and illegal immigration influenced her votes.

“I need my stocks to go up,” she said. “I need my food to wind down. I need my gas to go down.”

Loren Harrell, 28, said reproductive rights and rights for other members of the LGBTQ+ community were top priorities in the presidential election.

“Those were big things for me, but I know I’m kind of an underdog in this area,” Harrell said.

Some voters in the Leavenworth County community of about 6,000 people said they voted to represent their conservative values, while others voted to keep certain candidates out of office.

Sarah Dunkle, 21, is a first-time voter. She went to the polls with her mother, 63-year-old Robin Thompson, and said she was proud to represent a younger generation.

Thompson was most interested in the presidential election, but Dunkle said she was also paying attention to local races.

“For me, it’s important who runs the country,” Thompson said.