Chat with Martin Hawver, a non-partisan political analyst, about Tuesday's election results
November 8, 2006
Martin Hawver is the editor and publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report, the respected, non-partisan newsletter that reports on Kansas government and politics.
He's a Washburn University alumni and has worked for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He covers the Kansas Statehouse for his own publication, Hawver’s Capitol Report.
Martin will chat with 49 News Web users at 7:30 Nov. 8. Submit your question early.
Moderator: Hi, I'm Lisa Coble-Krings, and I'll be the moderator for this chat. 49abcnews.com brings you Martin Hawver, a political analyst, on this morning after election night. Hawver is here to chat about Kansas government and politics and what last night's results mean to the state. Martin, were you surprised by any of the statewide results?
Martin Hawver: not the results, but the size of the Democratic wins in statewide races. Relatively stunning.
Moderator: Does this mean Kansas is no longer a so-called “red state?" What determines that?
Martin Hawver: Probably not "red" at the top, but still pretty red down below, especially in legislative races where things aren't "blueing up" very quickly.
Moderator: So in staying with the topic, the win of Democrat Nancy Boyda most likely took some in Congress and around the country by surprise. What made her run for office this time more successful than four years ago?
Martin Hawver: She ran two years ago, and the real difference probably was that U.S. Rep. Jim Ryun was a little out-of-character as residents of the 2nd District have known him for the past 10 years. He was sharper-edged, not as friendly as we've become accustomed to, and sort of lost the nice-guy, Olympic athlete, tall, all his hair and teeth persona we've known. Boyda's win was remarkable, of course, but it is probably as much as Ryun loss as a Boyda win, but the, there aren't any asterisks in politics, and she won and now Ryun just leaves office...probably relatively quietly.
Moderator: How do you think the public's impression of the situation in Iraq played into their political decisions?
Martin Hawver: At some level on national offices, like Congress, but not much in statewide offices. There has already been a pretty good bunch of stuff that the staste has done for the military and veterans, and on that level, Kansans probably think we're about out of nice things to do for veterans and active duty servicemen. (There's always the possibility, I guess, of allowing the military to go to .09% blood alcohol content on DUIs, up from civilian .08%, but that's probably relatively tasteless. But the state has actually done pretty well by veterans.)
Moderator: What's next for ousted Attorney General Phill Kline?
Martin Hawver: Before Jan. 8 (inauguration day) his prime job will probably be to get some of the cases filed from the medical records he has subpoenaed. Once they're filed, they become a political and public relations problem for AG-elect Paul Morrison.
Moderator: That's all the time we have for today. Martin was very generous in being on Good Morning Kansas this morning at 6 a.m. So, if you want more from Martin, stick around. We'll be posting video from an in-studio interview with Martin very shortly.
Post a comment
(Requires free registration.)