BY MATTHEW CLARK
GATEHOUSE NEWS SERVICE
TOPEKA — Tuesday’s primary election across Kansas saw incumbents with challengers prevail in their respective election races.
Democrat incumbent Secretary of State Chris Biggs defeated state Sen. Chris Steineger, of Kansas City, in the Democrat primary.
Biggs advanced to November’s general election where he will face Republican law professor Kris Kobach, who defeated challengers Elizabeth Ensley, Shawnee County Election Commissioner and J.R. Claeys, the former CEO of the National Association of Government Contractors.
Biggs, of Junction City, was appointed to the secretary of state office earlier this year by Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson after longtime Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh resigned to take a job in the private sector.
“I have been honored to serve as Kansas Secretary of State, and I am proud to have been nominated by Kansas Democrats to stand for election in November,” Biggs said. “I am looking forward to a vigorous discussion of the issues pertinent to the office and working towards victory in the general election.”
The first called race of the night declared U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback as the GOP nominee after he defeated Derby resident Joan Heffington in that party’s primary. Brownback will face state Sen. Tom Holland in the general election. Holland was unopposed in the Democrat primary.
Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger picked up a third term in office after winning the GOP primary for the office Tuesday.
The Lawrence resident defeated El Dorado insurance agent David Powell. There were no other candidates from other parties, meaning Praeger will be officially re-elected in November.
Praeger served as the Mayor of Lawrence and was in the Kansas House and Senate prior to being elected to her current post in 2002.
State Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, an Independence Republican, defeated Junction City prosecutor Ralph DeZago for the GOP nomination for Kansas attorney general.
Schmidt will face Democrat incumbent Steve Six, who was unopposed in Tuesday’s primary, in November’s general election.
Six was appointed Kansas attorney general in January 2008, after his predecessor resigned because of a sex scandal.
Across the state, elections seemingly ran smooth, with the exception of one hiccup.
KJCK-AM reported that a power outage at the Geary County Office Building in Junction City experienced a power outage just after 9 p.m. Geary County is one of the state’s more populous counties and County Clerk Rebecca Bossemeyer told the Associated Press that they moved counting into the county’s emergency management office. The AP reported that only advanced ballots had been counted prior to the power outage.
Matthew Clark can be reached at matthew.clark@morningsun.net or at 620-231-2600, Ext. 140
