(Syndicated to Kansas newspapers Nov. 7, 2016)
Within minutes of the last election being called on Tuesday night, or probably early Wednesday, the real action starts in the Statehouse, as the Senate—but more interestingly, the House—starts to organize to become your Legislature.
It’s not going to be easy, it’s not going to be quick and it’s not going to be politically pretty.
For most Kansans, Election Day means it’s time to start thinking about where the good china is and when to start thawing the turkey for Thanksgiving.
But for Statehouse habitues, it means watching every move, every gesture, who’s talking to whom, and trying to figure out where the real power is going to be in the upcoming two years of Kansas government and how it is going to effect what happens to them and to their clients, whether they be welfare recipients, highway contractors, schoolteachers or payday loan companies.
So, for insiders, things just start when the voting ends.