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Greg Smith (Kansas)
Greg Smith (b. October 8, 1959) is a former Republican member of the Kansas State Senate, representing District 21 from 2013 to 2017. He previously served in the Kansas House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013.
Biography
Smith earned his B.A. in history and his M.A. in education from Avila University in 2006 and 2010, respectively. His professional experience includes working in law enforcement. He served in the United States Navy Submarine Service from 1980 to 1989.[1]
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:
| Kansas committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Corrections and Juvenile Justice, Chair |
| • Judiciary, Vice Chair |
| • Natural Resources |
| • Utilities |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:
| Kansas committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Judiciary, Vice chair |
| • Natural Resources |
| • Ethics, Elections and Local Government |
| • Utilities |
2011-2012
Smith served on the following committees in the 2011-2012 legislative session:
| Kansas committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Corrections and Juvenile Justice |
| • Energy and Utilities |
| • Judiciary |
| • Special Claims Against the State |
| • Veterans, Military and Homeland Security |
Campaign themes
2016
Smith's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[2]
| “ |
SAFE: Public Safety means quality of life. Without public safety it doesn’t matter how good public schools or universities are or how good the roads are if you can’t use them. Public Safety is the core duty of government and Greg has worked hard to enhance the public safety of all Kansans. STRONG: In just one term in the Kansas Senate, Greg has become a strong leader. He chairs the Senate Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee, is the vice chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is Chair of the Joint Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee, and is Chair of the Joint Kansas Security Committee. His unwavering conviction to protect your constitutional rights make him a powerful voice for the citizens of Kansas Senate District 21. STEADY: Greg has been a steady force in the Kansas Legislature. He has consistently worked to enhance “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” while reducing the footprint of state government on our lives. He is ever watchful that the legislative intent of the laws passed by the Kansas Legislature are not usurped by the other two branches of government. Greg also is vigilant that the Legislature does not cede its constitutional duties to the other branches. Maintaining the “walls of separation” between the branches is the best way to maintain liberty for the people of Kansas.[3] |
” |
2012
Smith's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[1]
On the side of Johnson County Schools
- Excerpt: "Money allocated to schools is not being spent in our students best interest. Greg's experience in the classroom allows him to work for our kids, not special interest groups."
On the side of Johnson County taxpayers
- Excerpt: "Greg voted to pass a tax cut that will jump start the business community by eliminating income tax on small business owners. Families will receive an instant pay raise."
On the side of Johnson County families
- Excerpt: "Greg has been a leader by working to keep our streets safe, equipping our police with the tools they need to do their job, and by keeping violent criminals behind bars."
On the side of Leadership
- Excerpt: "Greg has sponsored or co-sponsored legislation that benefits all Kansans."
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2016
- See also: Kansas State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the Kansas State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election was held on August 2, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 1, 2016.
Dinah Sykes defeated Logan Heley and Michael Kerner in the Kansas State Senate District 21 general election.[4][5]
| Kansas State Senate, District 21 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Dinah Sykes |
50.34% | 18,149 | |
| Democratic | Logan Heley | 42.40% | 15,287 | |
| Libertarian | Michael Kerner | 7.26% | 2,617 | |
| Total Votes | 36,053 | |||
| Source: Kansas Secretary of State | ||||
Logan Heley defeated Michael Czerniewski in the Kansas State Senate District 21 Democratic primary.[6][7]
| Kansas State Senate, District 21 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Logan Heley |
81.68% | 2,956 | |
| Democratic | Michael Czerniewski | 18.32% | 663 | |
| Total Votes | 3,619 | |||
Dinah Sykes defeated incumbent Greg Smith in the Kansas State Senate District 21 Republican primary.[6][7]
| Kansas State Senate, District 21 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Dinah Sykes |
57.93% | 4,442 | |
| Republican | Greg Smith Incumbent | 42.07% | 3,226 | |
| Total Votes | 7,668 | |||
Primary election
In the primary elections held on August 2, 2016, six incumbents were defeated in the state Senate, while nine incumbents were defeated in the state House. Outside of the one incumbent Democrat who was defeated in the House, moderates defeated 14 conservative Republican incumbents in the primary. Before the 2016 primary, moderate Republicans had been losing ground in the state legislature since the 2010 election of Gov. Sam Brownback (R), shifting from a more moderate Republican-controlled state legislature to a more conservative one after the 2012 elections. Eighteen Republican incumbents were defeated in the conservative wave in 2012. Greg Smith was one of 14 Republican incumbents who were defeated in the 2016 primary.
2012
- See also: Kansas State Senate elections, 2012
Smith won election in the 2012 election for Kansas State Senate District 21. Smith defeated Joe Beveridge in the August 7 Republican primary and defeated Juanita Roy (D) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[8][9]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Greg Smith |
53.2% | 17,527 | |
| Democratic | Juanita Roy | 46.8% | 15,441 | |
| Total Votes | 32,968 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Greg Smith |
52.1% | 3,581 |
| Joe Beveridge | 47.9% | 3,290 |
| Total Votes | 6,871 | |
2010
Smith defeated incumbent Lisa Benlon (D) in the November 2 general election.[10]
| Kansas House of Representatives, District 22 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Greg Smith (R)
|
2,955 | |||
| Lisa Benlon (D) | 2,844 | |||
Endorsements
2016
In 2016, Smith's endorsements included the following:[11]
- Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach
- Kansans for Life PAC
- Armand Vaquer, Member of California Reagan Delegations of 1976, 1980 and 1984 and author
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
Kansas Freedom Index
The Kansas Policy Institute, Kansas’s "first free market think tank," releases its legislator scorecard as a part of its Kansas Freedom Index for Kansas state representatives and senators once a year. The Score Card gives each legislator a score from 1%-100% based on how they voted in the prior legislative term on specific issues which the Kansas Policy Institute thought were pro-limited government policies.[12]
2013
Greg Smith received a score of 69.0% in the 2013 index.[13]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Smith and his wife, Melissa, have four children.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Greg + Smith + Kansas + Legislature
See also
- Kansas State Senate
- Senate Committees
- Joint Committees
- Kansas state legislative districts
- Kansas State Legislature
External links
- Kansas Legislature - Senator Greg Smith
- Official campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions: 2012, 2010
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Greg Smith for Kansas Senate, "Greg Smith," accessed March 29, 2014
- ↑ Greg Smith for Kansas, "Issues," accessed June 15, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "Candidate list," accessed August 23, 2016
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2016 General Election official results," accessed December 19, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Kansas Secretary of State, "Candidate list," accessed June 3, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Kansas Secretary of State, "2016 Official Kansas Primary Election Results," accessed September 12, 2016
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2012 Primary Election - Official Vote Totals," accessed March 29, 2014
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2012 General Election - Official Vote Totals," accessed March 29, 2014
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2010 General Election - Official Vote Totals," accessed March 29, 2014
- ↑ Greg Smith for Kansas, "Endorsements," accessed June 15, 2016
- ↑ Kansas Policy Institute, "Freedom Index," accessed March 31, 2014
- ↑ Ballotpedia, "2013 Kansas Policy Index," accessed March 10, 2015
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mark Taddiken (R) |
Kansas State Senate District 21 2013–2017 |
Succeeded by Dinah Sykes (R) |
| Preceded by Lisa Benlon (D) |
Kansas House of Representatives District 22 2011–2013 |
Succeeded by Nancy Lusk (D) |
