Here are today’s headlines from the 2006 race:

Election ’06

(Wichita Eagle) Poll has Sebelius lead increasing: Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has a 20-point lead over her opponent, Republican Jim Barnett, according to a new poll. The poll, conducted by SurveyUSA for KWCH Channel 12 Eyewitness News and The Wichita Eagle, showed 58 percent of Kansas voters interviewed would vote for Sebelius while 38 percent would vote for Barnett.
Washburn University professor Bob Beatty’s take on the latest poll results: The first numbers from the AG race show incumbent Phill Kline leader challenger Paul Morrison 51 percent-48 percent, with 2 percent undecided (poll of 586 likely voters, +/- 4.1 margin of error). Essentially a tie. This poll is especially interesting because automated polls tend to have very low undecided numbers, so we are getting a snapshot of where people are at this moment. Looking inside the numbers, we see a few things. First is a big gender gap: Kline leads 55 percent-43 percent among men and Morrison leads 52 percent-46 percent among women; second is geographic: Kline is killing Morrison in western Kansas, 63 percent-39 percent and in Wichita, 59 percent-39 percent, while Morrision is beating Kline decisively in eastern Kansas, 56 percent-43 percent. Morrison is winning the urban areas by 13 points and the suburbs by 3 points while Kline leads by a whopping 20 points among rural likely voters. Third is party identification: Morrison gets the nod of 20 percent of republicans while Kline gets 78 percent; Morrison gets 61 percent of unaffiliated’s while Kline gets 37 percent.

Attorney General

(Free State Media commentary) The Dem Church Connection When the Democrats and liberals were soliciting funds in a church, the media yawned. But when Attorney General Phill Kline plans to have campaign events outside of a church–but with church members–the media takes notice.

(Mainstream Voice of Faith commentary) MVOF Response to the “Kline Memo”: We, the undersigned clergy persons and religious leaders, are incensed by the recent memorandum that was leaked from Attorney General Phill Kline’s office, the authenticity of which has been confirmed by his staff. It is evident that in his quest to garner contributions and votes from conservative, evangelical, and fundamentalist congregations, Kline has asked churches to walk dangerously close to the line drawn by the Internal Revenue Service that prohibits nonprofit organizations from supporting political candidates. In fact, Kline has asked them to cross that line.

2nd District Congress

(Kansas Public Radio audio) Democrat Nancy Boyda released internal polling numbers today showing her running neck-and-neck with Kansas Congressman Jim Ryun. We have more from statehouse reporter Peter Hancock.

Other election news

(AP) Candidates use television ads to bolster campaigns: A half century ago, Democrat Adlai Stevenson, en route to his second thumping as a presidential candidate, complained that merchandizing a candidate like breakfast cereal was the “ultimate indignity to the democratic process.” How times have changed. Here it is, another election year in Kansas and increasingly, political ads are sandwiched on television between those for everything from cars to cat litter. Most statewide candidates have or soon will have television ads for the Nov. 7 general election.