November 3, 2010

Kansas Republicans are celebrating their victories after Tuesday night's clean sweep. Now, the new leadership says the elections may be over, but the work is just starting.

Wednesday morning, Governor-Elect Sam Brownback stopped by the Republican Party Headquarters in Topeka to meet one-on-one with staff members, to say 'thank you.' But that wasn't the only message he was spreading the day after elections.

"Put the work clothes on today. It begins now, as we deal with these significant problems," said Brownback.

And his campaign team is listening to that message as they prepare for their candidate to take office.

"We don't stop working the next day. We are not taking a break. Now it's time to govern, and I think all these candidates take that very seriously," said Kansas Republican Party Executive Director Ashley McMillan.

The man Brownback will replace says he's hopeful for the new leadership, even though he may stand on the opposite side of the party line.

Governor Mark Parkinson released a statement to KAKE News saying, "I want to congratulate all of the candidates who won yesterday. Kansas is at a critical juncture in our economic recovery and I am hopeful that all of our state leaders can work together to continue to foster the positive growth we’ve seen over the last few months. My administration will work proactively with Governor-elect Sam Brownback and all of the newly elected office holders to ensure a smooth transition."

Browback says he's also confident in the new Republican lawmakers. But he says he knows economic recovery won't come easily.

"We've got significant budget problems, we still don't have growth taking place in a private sector job market, we've got some big issues to deal with," said Brownback.

Brownback and Parkinson met Wednesday afternoon as they both say the expect a smooth transition into new leadership.