More post-election commentary from Neal Allen More post-election commentary from Neal Allen

The 2016 election can be understood as a "change" election, with voters reacting against elected officials and political parties that they perceive as controlling government. On the national level, this anger was directed at the Democratic Party and the campaign of Hillary Clinton, to continue the policies of the Obama administration. While Democrats gained seats in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House, they only recovered slightly from the historic lows of the 2014 election.

Since Democrats in Kansas have had functionally no power over state policy since their 2010 losses in state legislative races, voter anger seems to have been directed at Gov. Brownback and his conservative allies in the State House and Senate. While all five State Supreme Court Justices were retained, the fact that four of them garnered less than 60 percent of the vote is a sign of significant voter concern over the decisions of the Kansas courts.

Kansans can expect some policy change fairly soon from their state government, since the requirement to balance the state budget will force difficult choices on taxing and spending. Change will likely come slower from Washington, particularly because it is unclear how much congressional Republicans support the agenda of incoming President Donald Trump. Also Trump's campaign pledges on immigration, trade and health care, which were crucial to his nomination and general election victories, will be difficult to convert into immediate policy changes.