By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Barb Wasinger is looking forward to getting more sleep. Ed Hammond plans to get back on the links and the ski slopes of Colorado. Both local political candidates are glad their campaign season is over.
It was a contest between two well-known public servants and the only contested race decided in Ellis County.
Still, Tuesday night's polling results for the Kansas House 111th District - which includes Hays and Victoria - were not as close as many people expected.
Incumbent state Rep. Barb Wasinger, R-Hays, came out well ahead of challenger Ed Hammond, D-Hays, by a 4,983 to 3,234 vote margin, and will serve her third two-year term in the state legislature beginning in January.
"I'm so honored to be re-elected and I appreciate all the support," Wasinger said in an interview after results were released at the Ellis County Administrative Center in Hays.
"I'm thrilled and very honored to serve Ellis County for another term."
Once the legislative session starts in Topeka, Wasinger plans to tackle a couple top concerns of her Ellis County constituents, which are mirrored across Kansas.
"We have to attack our work force problems, our day care problems. We are in serious need of daycare providers and help," Wasinger stressed.
"In meetings I've had this week about day care, it's heartbreaking. There's 650 openings that we need for daycare that we need within Ellis County, and that alone would help with the workforce problem."
Wasinger also wants the state to make sure abortion clinics are "inspected medically. I think that's important to protect our women no matter what their decisions are." Streamlining state regulations is also another priority. "That in itself is a really big job," she smiled.
Ed Hammond called to congratulate Wasinger immediately after the results were released. He stayed with his supporters at Defiance Brewing Co. as the votes were tallied.
Hammond was disappointed he didn't receive at least 4,000 votes.
"I think they were able to motivate their base and connect me to (Democratic President Joe) Biden and (Democratic House Speaker Nancy) Pelosi, whom I've never met," Hammond said. ... "I refused to run that kind of negative campaign."
Hammond is, however, encouraged by some positives that he believes came out of the campaign in three areas he focused on.
"During the campaign, Barb came around. She said she wasn't opposed to Medicaid (also known as KanCare) expansion [if] some things are taken care of. Well, she'll be able to do that. So I'm hopeful that will happen," Hammond said in an interview after giving his concession speech to his supporters.
"She said she believes in full funding for K-12 (education) so she'll have the opportunity to do that... And she said she'd be a real good advocate for the (Fort Hays State) university.
"I take her at her word and we'll see if those things transpire.
"I'd be happy to lose if we could get those three things in the community because those are really needed in our community," Hammond added.
Voter turnout in Ellis County was 53.67 percent.
The results remain unofficial until canvassed by the board of Ellis County commissioners.
According to Bobbi Dreiling, Ellis County election officer/clerk, there are still 90 provisional votes for the board to examine and advance mail-in ballots still to come, which are postmarked on or before election day. Dreiling said Tuesday night there is also a "handful of ballots" that would not run through the tabulator which must be counted by hand.
The remaining uncounted ballots are not enough to make a difference in the race outcome.