Sebelius is maintaining her big lead [KS Governor]

The Wichita Eagle ^ | 10/8/02 | Steve Painter

[BlackRazor]

Sebelius is maintaining her big lead

The Democrat is 18 points ahead of Republican Tim Shallenburger in the race for governor, a poll finds.

BY STEVE PAINTER

Eagle Topeka bureau

TOPEKA - Democrat Kathleen Sebelius continues to maintain her lead over Republican Tim Shallenburger in their race to become the state's next governor, according to a poll released Monday.

Sebelius held an 18-point lead, 55 percent to 37 percent, in the poll of 546 likely voters taken Friday through Sunday.

Her lead is down 2 points from a week ago but up 1 point from three weeks ago in the SurveyUSA poll, commissioned by KWCH 12 Eyewitness News and The Wichita Eagle.

The changes in Sebelius' lead are all within the automated poll's margin of error, which was 4.3 points in the latest sampling.

The most significant finding in the poll is that Shallenburger has not been able to shore up Republican support with only a month left in the campaign, said Joe Shipman, director of election polling for SurveyUSA.

Only 59 percent of Republicans polled chose Shallenburger, while 36 percent chose Sebelius. However, Sebelius was favored by 85 percent of Democrats, compared with 10 percent who named Shallenburger.

Typically, Shipman said, a major party candidate will get about 80 percent of his party's voters in the general election.

"He hasn't completely sold them on himself yet," Shipman said.

Shallenburger, the state treasurer, had primary opposition from Wichita Mayor Bob Knight and state Senate President Dave Kerr. Sebelius, state insurance commissioner, had no opposition for the Democratic nomination.

A spokeswoman for the Sebelius campaign said the Republican support was no surprise.

"Kathleen's been elected twice statewide as insurance commissioner, both times with Republican support," Nicole Corcoran-Basso said.

Calls to two Shallenburger campaign officials Monday were not returned. At a campaign appearance Friday, Shallenburger said he thought Sebelius' lead was about 10 percentage points.

Republicans, who have a significant edge over Democrats in party registration, led all other statewide races in the survey, although the gap in the state treasurer's race narrowed to within the poll's margin of error.

Republican Lynn Jenkins, a Topeka state senator, had a 4-point lead over Democrat Sally Finney of Olathe, daughter of the late Gov. Joan Finney. Last week's poll showed Jenkins with a 14-point lead.

Republican Phill Kline's 13-point lead over Democrat Chris Biggs in the attorney general's race was down by 1 point.

Republican Sandy Praeger's lead over Democrat Jim Garner narrowed to 16 points from 19 points a week ago.

[BlackRazor]

Poll Ping!

Another poll confirming Sebelius' big lead in Kansas. This race has barely moved over the past month. In 3 polls, Sebelius has had leads of 17, 20 and now 18 points.

If you want on or off my poll ping list, let me know!

[terilyn]

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[RAT Patrol]

1. The sore loser moderates won't support Shallenburger.
2. Sebelius has run for statewide office; Shallenburger has not.
3. Sebelius has a boat load of money and has out advertised Shallenburger in a big way--running as a conservative and the media lets her get by with it.
Shallenburger's only new commercial I've seen looks like he copied Sebelius, only a poor copy, and hers has been out there for a month or more.

He had better get busy or he's gonna lose. The voters think they are electing a conservative democrat. Big fat lie. The moderates have had the top jobs so long that they are throwing a big baby fit about not having a horse in the race. They want to use this as a lesson that conservatives can't win. I will never vote for a moderate again if Shallenburger loses. That's a promise.

[RAT Patrol]

LOL. You're right.

[RAT Patrol]

But I think the part about the mods being sore losers is right on the money.

[KQQL]

Shallenberger will lose by atleast 15%.
He is going down like Fisher .

[KQQL]

GOV Races for 2002.
Leaning/Likely RAT Take over from GOP/IND:
KS,PA,MI,WI,IL,ME,RI,NM

Toss up: AZ,MA,SC,MD,TN,VT

Leaning/Likely GOP Take over from RATS:
NH,HI,AK,Al
*MN will likely stay IND

[KQQL]

Shallenberger will lose by atleast 15%.
He is going down like Fisher..

The good news in PA is that Fisher will close the gap to about 5-7%..but still lose....BUT KS is hopeless.

[Torie]

Just why one would care who won the governor's race in Kansas ever (unless one was unfortunate enough to have to live there), is one of life's great mysteries.

[axel f]

Hey, I love my state.

I'm calling the Shallenburger for Governor campaign tomorrow and asking why they haven't been telling the truth about Sebelius. I don't care if it is negative campaigning. The truth hurts.

There's a debate tomorrow on a local radio talk show here between Phill Kline and Chris Biggs. Can't wait to hear that.

[KQQL]

Bob Dole cares....or does he?
I guess he is now in love with NC

[BlackRazor]

Just why one would care who won the governor's race in Kansas ever (unless one was unfortunate enough to have to live there), is one of life's great mysteries.

Senator Pat Roberts will be 67 in April. Not terribly old, but then again, neither was Paul Coverdell.

[rwfromkansas]

He's dead in the water unfortunately. It is over.

[rwfromkansas]

Screw you also.

[rwfromkansas]

Actually, he came back to campaign for Shallenburger. Dole did not help much though.

[axel f]

OK, let's pull it together here. I know I sound pathetic, but he does have a chance. Let's try to be as upbeat and positive as we can.

I called Shallenburger for Governor's headquarters and asked what they were doing to get the truth out about Sebelius. They told me they were sending letters to the editor and sending out mailings. They also said they were trying to get the media's attention to Sebelius's record. However, they didn't want to do negative TV commercials.

I think the more Sebelius talks the further she sinks. Yesterday in Shawnee she said she wanted to add $1000 more per pupil in public education spending, which would cost hundreds of millions of dollars extra. She wouldn't say how she would fund that. People were talking about that around here today.

[axel f]

Here's a letter to the editor that appeared in today's Capital-Urinal

Where's support for children?

Kathleen Sebelius says that her anti-crime program includes protecting Kansas's children against sexual predators and cracking down on drugs. She says, "As governor, I'll be committed to making Kansas a safer place to live, work and raise a family."

The facts on Kathleen Sebelius:
She voted against keeping sexually violent predators confined.
She voted against adding first-time molesters to the sexual predator registration list.
She voted against making the sexual predators list public.
She voted against cracking down on establishments that make pornography available to minors.
She voted against the establishment of Drug Free School zones.

Is this how Ms. Sebelius "puts Kansans first" and "makes Kansas safer"? As a former corporate businesswoman, I won't stick my neck out unless I have done my research. The above bills and amendments stood alone and contained no "fat."

I have contacted the Sebelius camp and have not received any clarification of her position on these issues. I think it is safe to say that she has no reasonable explanation.

Please do not be fooled by flashy commercials and public relations stunts (i.e. BCBS/Anthem) that paint a fictional picture of Kathleen Sebelius. Fellow Kansans, if you want a liberal, left-wing governor, Kathleen Sebelius is the candidate for you.

Her voting record shows how she will implement her "Vision for Kansas." Yes, education is important, but the safety of Kansas's children should come first. If you care about kids, this voting record should frighten you. I challenge all Kansas voters to dig deeper to know the truth before election day. As a mother of two small children, I will feel much safter after putting my children to bed if TIm Shallenburger is elected governor.
-Kim Borchers, Topeka