Post-primary poll shows Huelskamp with a 42 point lead

The latest Survey USA/KWCH poll shows state Sen. Tim Huelskamp with a commanding lead in the race for the Big First District.

Data collected from Aug. 5 to Aug. 8 shows voters favor Huelskamp by 42 points compared to Democrat Alan Jilka. An amazing 5% of voters say they are still undecided, a very low number considering the primary election was held just days before this poll was conducted. That's a tough environment for Jilka. He can't even come close to Huelskamp's commanding lead, even if he's given the benefit of lots of poll error, all the 5 points for undecideds and a lot of luck.

Huelskamp leads in all groups polled except for a notable few. Jilka wins with self described liberals, Democrats and voters who have an unfavorable view of the Tea Party. That's three groups I'm glad Jilka's winning. It just goes to show what kind of a candidate he is and where his priorities would be if he's elected.

Huelskamp leads self describes moderates by 13 points and Independents by 14 points. This goes to show that Jilka is going to have a hard time remaking himself into the election year "moderate" so many Democrats in Kansas like to call themselves. It never ceases to amaze me that of all the Democrats who are seeking office or have held office in Kansas, the media has yet to meet one of them that is a liberal. They are all, some how, some way, "moderate."

That little lie is a bit harder to pull off in the Big First, and nearly impossible with a candidate like Tim Huelskamp.

Huelskamp comments on win

From the Tim Huelskamp campaign:

“This was a hard-fought race, and I had some very worthy opponents. My focus going forward is going to be advancing the conservative principles that I’ve campaigned on.”

“I look forward to a spirited debate on the issues with Mr. Jilka. The voters will have a clear choice in November between a candidate who supports bigger government and Obamacare and one who will lead the fight against the liberal policies of Pelosi and Obama. I look forward to that debate.”

Huelskamp wins

The AP has called the first district race for Tim Huelskamp early this morning. With nearly all precincts reporting Huelskamp had gained 35% of the vote compared to second place finisher Jim Barnett at 25%. Nearly 10,000 votes distanced Huelskamp from Barnett, according to the Secretary of State's website as of 12:39am Wednesday morning.

Considering the polls in this race we're literally tied up in a three way race just two days ago, this is a landslide victory for Huelskamp.

The campaign has been hard fought. Some conservatives we're afraid that some of the vote may have been split at the last few days between Huelskamp and Wasinger, but it looks as if the Huelskamp campaign had quite a few tricks up their sleeve to come out nearly 10,000 votes on top in a race that some thought would be separated by just a few hundred votes.

The race was also plagued with rumors the last few days, some true, others not. It's still up in the air if the last minute money drop by two of the candidates in the race actually hurt them more than it helped.

The winner of the primary is considered a lock for the general election. Alan Jilka of Salina is the only Democrat running and is plagued by his own problems, most recently his settlement of a sexual harassment lawsuit by a former Salina city employee.