Kansas: In any successful election, part of the challenge is swaying persuadable voters. But also key is to drive turnout where you need it most. And that most definitely happened for pro-choice forces tonight.
Consider three of the bluest counties in the state. Wyandotte (Kansas City) saw their primary turnout come in at 73% of the 2018 general election turnout. But that isn’t as impressive as what we saw in Douglas County (Lawrence), the bluest county in the state. There, the turnout was 79% of the 2018 general election turnout. But the champion tonight is populous Johnson County, once suburban and Republican but rapidly turning blue over the past generation. Johnson County tonight turned out at just a shade under 90% of their 2018 general election turnout. Johnson County, for what it is worth, voted against the initiative by a 68-32 margin. By way of comparison, Joe Biden carried Johnson County by eight points in 2020.