PARTY PURITY

Kansas Republican Says She Was Barred From Party Vote for Offering Congrats to a Democrat

Cindy Miles offered her congratulations to a candidate that beat her in a primary election, and then the county GOP chair allegedly told her she couldn’t vote.

A Kansas Republican accused one of her party’s leaders of barring her from an official vote after she congratulated a Democrat who beat her in a primary election. Sedgwick County Precinct Committeewoman Cindy Miles alleged that the county Republican Party Chair David Thorne withheld her voting credentials for an election on a new state representative, which would have been a violation of state law. Miles came third in a Wichita City Council election Tuesday night after a Democrat and a Republican. On Facebook, she wrote to the Democrat, Mike Hoheisel, who came first, “Congratulations Mike Hoheisel, I expect that we’ll see you as the next D-3 (District 3) city councilperson.” She said since Hoheisel received the most votes in the primary, it seemed likely he would win. Miles is planning to file complaints with the Kansas secretary of state. Thorne has denied her allegation, though he did say he had told Miles her comment was “inappropriate.”