Political organizations brace for a new president
Staff writer
As the hours tick away until Election Day, both Republicans and Democrats in the county are working to get the vote out.
The county’s Patriots for Liberty group, led by Rose Davidson, met Sunday at the county lake hall.
The Patriots are not officially tied to any party — county commissioner Kent Becker described the group as “an independent group of Bible-believing, family-loving constitutionalists.”
“They’re not affiliated with any, any organization,” he added.
However, Davidson also leads the Republican Party of Marion County, and Patriots for Liberty meetings consistently deal with political issues.
Sunday’s meeting focused on the upcoming election.
“I hope everybody’s voting for Trump,” Davidson began.
Davidson recommended voting for Michelle Brown over David Graham as write-ins for county attorney.
“I don’t know anything about Michelle Brown. I just know the other guy’s bad,” Davidson said.
She referred to Graham, a former Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate, as “very liberal, very lenient, and very soft on crime.”
“He thinks that it’s OK to use drugs,” she added.
Guest speakers at the meeting were Daryl Enos and William Ward.
“Do you realize voting is a spiritual act?” Enos said during his remarks, which centered around the Bible.
Ward spoke about the dangers of genetically modified foods, vaccines, and “15-minute cities,” an urban planning concept where daily necessities can be reached through a 15-minute walk or bike ride.
He referred to such cities as dystopian “15-minute prisons,” where certain colors of clothing are banned and residents are assigned mandatory jobs by the government.
“I’m from Washington [state], so vote often,” Ward joked after his presentation. “Absentee ballot, in-person ballot.”
“Vote early, and vote smart,” Davidson said after the speakers had finished. “Research the people that you’re voting for so you know what you’re voting for. Think about what you want this world to look like on Jan. 6 — Jan. 5,” she corrected herself.
The meeting concluded with the auctioning off of a large Trump flag, which State Representative Scott Hill bought for $47.
On the other side of the political divide, Eileen Sieger, who leads the Marion County Democrats, spoke last week about her party’s own efforts to get out the vote.
“I’ve really been heartened by the energy and enthusiasm by Democrats,” she said. “We obviously are in the minority in this county and in this state as far as registered [voters], but we’re still not going to just roll over.”
Marion County Democrats meet each month, rotating between Goessel, Florence, Marion, Peabody, and Hillsboro. According to Sieger, the meetings average 20 people.
The group has sent out 500 postcards encouraging registered Democrats to vote. Volunteers inscribed each card with a personal message.
Marion County Democrats also hands out lawn signs, sometimes for free but most often with a donation.
County Democrats are backing Kamala Harris in the race for president, Nancy Boyda for Congress, and Jenna Ratzlaff for Kansas House District 74, which includes the southwest part of Marion County. Volunteers are offering voters rides to the polls.
The organization is not allowed to donate to federal campaigns like those of Harris and Boyda.
“We keep that really, really defined,” Sieger said.
However, they gave “quite a bit” to Ratzlaff’s state campaign.
“She’s actually from North Newton,” Sieger said. “We’ve been very supportive of her. She came to our meeting and spoke, we’ve sent her money; we’ve had signs.”
Sieger plans to elect a new leader of the county party during the Democrats’ reorganization meeting on Nov. 16.
She has led the group for 14 years. “It’s time for somebody younger to step up, maybe,” Sieger said.
The Republican Party of Marion County reorganized last Thursday, with Davidson remaining as leader.
Patriots of Liberty is not subject to reorganization laws.
Before she can step down, a new president will be elected.
Sieger said she was “hopeful” for Harris but anxious for Election Day.
“I’m going to be so nervous,” she said.