Karly Larson
Sugar Beet staff reporter
The month of November comes with the following: cold weather, hot drinks and most importantly, elections. Elections allow for the people of the city, county, state and nation to have their voice be heard. On Nov. 6, thousands of voters across the state cast their ballots in the midterm elections to have an input on the nation.
“This election is the most important election of our lives,” Katie Chandler, arts and communications senior, said. “This is the election that changes our lives.”
However, out of all of the elections that took place on Nov. 6, the one that caught the attention of most of the state was the race between Laura Kelly and Kris Kobach for governor.
Throughout history Kansas has always been thought of as a red state, so when news of Kelly’s win arose, the amount of response was unmeasurable – most likely due to the fact that Kansas is now a blue state rather than its red legacy. Kelly’s win wasn’t the only one that made history during the midterm elections on Tuesday.
Meet Sharice Davids, Kansas’ first LGBTQ member of Congress, and the first Native American Women elected to Congress, a title which she shares with New Mexico’s Deb Haaland. Over in Colorado, Jared Polis was elected as governor and became the first openly-gay governor elected in America. While up north, Rashida Tlaib from Michigan, and Ilhan Omar, from Minnesota, made history by being the first Muslim women elected to Congress.
Voter outcome was another pivotal point in this midterm election. It is estimated that 31 percent of eligible voters between the ages 18-29 participated in the election, which is a 10 percent increase than that of the 2014 midterm elections according to the Center of Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE). Despite the increase in voters, there is still room for improvement regarding voter turnout.
“Better representation might result in more voters,” James Beard, trade and health academy math teacher, said.
The next big turnout expected for elections is the presidential election in 2020, which will decide whether or not Trump will continue his presidency for a second term or not. It is expected to be a large turnout as majority of Generation Z will now be old enough to participate in the voting process.
“With any change, it is a slow start,” Rachel Lee, a public service history teacher, said. “But change will always be on the horizon.”
Karly Larson is a trade and health junior. You can contact her at larsonk1@student.gckschools.com.
Garden City High School 