Endorsements: Kansas Senate District 26; The second verse is the same as the first

Back in August we backed JC Moore over Chase Blasi in the Republican primary for the 26th Kansas Senate seat. Republican voters disagreed: Blazey defeated Moore.

Normally, that would be the end.

But this is no ordinary election year in many ways.

And Moore returned for another run against Blazey in the general election, this time representing the newly formed Kansas United Party. A Democrat, Raymond Shore Jr., is running, but he is conspicuously absent from the race: Shore did not respond to media requests for information and has no online presence.

This again leaves us with a choice between Blazy and Moore.

We see no reason to change our initial decision. Moore has our support.

Indeed, we think Moore is better suited for this race as a third-party candidate than as a Republican. His positions — in favor of expanding Medicaid and legalizing medical marijuana, as well as against abortion restrictions passed against the will of Kansas voters who rejected the “Value Them Both” amendment in 2022 — don’t sit well with the current version of the GOP.

But those same positions put Moore in line with the vast majority of Kansas voters, whose preferences have repeatedly thwarted the GOP supermajority in the Kansas Legislature.

Moore would give those voters a chance to push his agenda: He favors voter-initiated referendums in Kansas, the same tool Missouri voters used to pass Medicaid expansion and legalization of marijuana, despite opposition from Republican lawmakers in that state.

A system that allowed for citizen support votes on important issues would allow Kansans to “avoid roadblocks in the Legislature,” Moore says on his website. “I plan to pursue it.”

Both candidates have modest legislative experience. Moore was a member of the Kansas House in 2019 and 2020. Blazey was appointed last year to serve out Gene Suellentrop’s unexpired term in District 27. Blazey jumped districts in that election to run for the seat left open by the resignation of Dan Kershen. , a Garden Plain Republican.

So, in terms of experience, it’s a wash.

Back in August, we said: “Republican voters in District 26 — which includes Goddard, Cheney, Colwich, Andale, Garden Plain, Gaysville, Viola and Clearwater — have a stark choice between Blazey and Moore.”

At the time, we believed Moore was the better choice. We still do.