EARL WATT

    • Leader & Times

Seward County Democratic Party chair Kay Burtzloff was shocked Tuesday night. Not because she won a seat on the Seward County Commission, and not because fellow Democrat Lizette Avalos-Morales won a seat on the Seward County Commission.

She was shocked because Seward County Democrats outvoted Republicans for every single statewide position in a county that has been dominated by Republicans for more than a century.

The Democratic victory was overwhelming across the nation, and wave elections have taken place from time to time.

Rarely in Kansas.

Never in Seward County.

Until Tuesday.

Burtzloff defeated Republican Clay Louderback 63 percent to 37 percent, almost two to one.

Avalos-Morales also defeated Republican opponent Jairo Vazquez 68 percent to 32 percent.

The Republicans avoided a sweep in contested races when Fred Bloom defeated Democrat Jose Lara, but by a narrow 52 percent to 47 percent margin.

Democratic candidates were also chosen by Seward County voters in the race for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Kansas Governor, Kansas Secretary of State, Kansas Attorney General, Kansas Insurance Commissioner and Kansas State Board of Education.

Kansas has not voted for a Democratic senator in more than 60 years, and Seward County has not supported a Democrat for the Senate in more than 100 years.

Even when Kansas did not support its own Republican candidate Alf Landon in his race against the popular Democratic president Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1936, Seward County still voted for Landon.

Seward County has voted for a Democratic Seward County Commissioner from time to time, including Jack Dufield, Joyce Hibler, Max Louderback and Toby Hale in the past 20 years, but winning two seats at the same time has rarely occurred, and Democrats were only 43 votes away from a complete sweep of all three county seats that were up for election.

The three new commissioners will join Republicans Steve Helm and Todd Stanton when they take their seats in January, 2027.