Primary differences?

If you are a registered Republican in Marion County, where GOP faithful outnumber Democrats 5 to 1, you can look forward to a particularly interesting primary election next Tuesday. Seven races will be contested on the ballot you receive?including five candidates running for state insurance commissioner and five candidates for state senator from the 35th District. Toss in an unusual county commission race in District 1 for write-ins only, and this primary brings a whole new meaning to having a ?political party.? It?s energizing.

That said, frankly it?s hard to discern significant differences between candidates in a lot of these races. On the one hand, that?s understandable in an intra-party competition where affiliation is based mostly on broadly shared values. But we wish candidates would have done more than blandly try to convince us they are ?the real conservative.? Political conservatism in Kansas is more like ?Fifty Shades of Grey? than ?one size fits all.? Voters would have benefited from being informed of specific positions on key issues?such as the funding future of public education in Kansas, which has been identified as the top issue of interest among voters in the Sunflower State.
That said, we urge both registered Demo?crats and Republicans to exercise their right to vote Aug. 5. Democracy is a flawed process, but it?s still the best process out there.

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