TOPEKA — The Kansas secretary of state said Monday that spending in March's presidential primary was about $2 million less than the state legislature expected due to lack of competition between the major parties and low interest among the state's voters.
Secretary of State Scott Schwab said only 9% of registered Kansans participated in the presidential primary, which cost taxpayers $2.78 million. He said the 2023 Kansas Legislature has budgeted $4.7 million to hold the state's third presidential primary.
“At the time the estimates were made, it was anticipated that by the time Kansans headed to the polls, the number of candidates participating in the primary would be much higher,” Schwab said.
By the time Kansas held its post-Super Tuesday primary, the race for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations had been decided: There were four Republicans and four Democrats on the Kansas ballot, but only former presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden had active campaign tactics. Both Trump and Biden had already secured enough delegates to win the nomination.
Biden won 83.6% of the votes of registered Kansas Democrats, defeating Dean Phillips of Minnesota, Jason Palmer of Maryland and Marianne Williamson of California. No other candidate received more than 3.4% of the vote. More than 4,400 people, or 10.3% of those who participated, voted under other names.
Trump won the Kansas Republican primary with 75% of the vote, compared with former UN ambassador and South Carolina governor Nikki Haley who won 16%, Florida governor Ron DeSantis who won 2.6%, Texas governor Ryan Binkley who won 0.5%, and candidates not on the ballot who won 5.2%.
This will be the third time Kansas has held a presidential primary since 1980. In the past, the state has allowed the two major parties to hold caucuses to determine partisan orientation in the presidential election. The state will revert to a caucus format in 2028 unless the state legislature approves an alternative.
The legislative process leading up to the 2024 Kansas Presidential Primary was rocky. The Kansas Senate voted 28-12 to hold and fund a presidential primary. The Kansas House of Representatives voted 56-64 to reject the bill, citing the cost, which would be between $4 million and $5 million. The next day in April, the Republican-controlled House reversed course and passed the bill 86-32. Governor Laura Kelly signed the bill two weeks later.
Republican lawmakers were motivated to support the creation of a presidential primary by Trump's loss to Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas in the Kansas caucuses in 2016.
Instead of caucuses organized and funded by the state's two major parties, all Kansas taxpayers would foot the bill for the 2024 presidential primary, whether they voted or not.
“This is like handing taxpayer money over to Republicans and Democrats,” said Rep. Trevor Jacobs, a Fort Scott Republican who twice voted against the primary.
Schwab said the state Legislature's budget allows counties to be reimbursed for direct costs related to the presidential primary, and that the event was an opportunity for county officials to prepare for the Aug. 6 primary and Nov. 5 general election.
“The final costs for the primary election demonstrate that our trained county election professionals were able to run this election efficiently, on time and within budget,” he said.
