Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Chris Biggs
Chris Biggs (born October 14, 1959 in Kansas City, Missouri) was the Democratic Kansas Secretary of State, appointed to the statewide position on March 16, 2010, by Governor Mark Parkinson following the resignation of Republican Ron Thornburgh who had served in the office for sixteen years.[1][2][3]
Education
- Graduated from Manhattan Senior High School (1976)
- Bachelor's degree, Kansas State (1980)
- Juris Doctorate degree, University of Kansas School of Law (1983)
Professional experience
Upon receiving his law degree, Biggs served as Deputy Public Defender in felony criminal cases for the Eighth Judicial District of Kansas, remaining in the position for five years.
Political career
In 1988, Biggs was elected Geary County Prosecutor, litigating against many homicide, drug, public corruption, voter fraud and conspiracy cases in the county; he was subsequently re-elected to the office three times. Fourteen years later, he was appointed by Governor Kathleen Sebelius to head the Kansas Securities Commission in 2003 and remained in the statewide office until Governor Mark Parkinson appointed him Secretary of State in 2010.[3]
Elections
2010
- See also: Kansas Secretary of State election, 2010
| 2010 Race for Secretary of State - Democratic Primary[4] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Democratic Party |  Chris Biggs
|
60.3% | |
| Democratic Party | Chris Steineger | 39.7% | |
| Total Votes | 80,872 | ||
| 2010 Race for Secretary of State - General Election[5] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Republican Party | Kris Kobach
|
59.0% | |
| Democratic Party | Chris Biggs | 37.2% | |
| Libertarian Party | Phillip Horatio Lucas | 2.1% | |
| Reform Party | Derek Langseth | 1.7% | |
| Total Votes | 829,513 | ||
2002
- 2002 Race for Attorney General - Democratic Primary
- Chris Biggs ran unopposed in this contest
| 2002 Race for Attorney General - General Election[6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Republican Party | Phill Kline
|
50.3% | |
| Democratic Party | Chris Biggs | 49.7% | |
| Total Votes | 473,727 | ||
Campaign finance summary
Ballotpedia currently provides campaign finance data for all federal- and state-level candidates from 2020 and later. We are continuously working to expand our data to include prior elections. That information will be published here as we acquire it. If you would like to help us provide this data, please consider donating to Ballotpedia.
Noteworthy events
Independent expenditures
ProKanDo, the largest political action committee in Kansas and which was primarily funded by the late-abortion doctor George Tiller, spent at least $210,000 as a last-minute sign of support for Chris Biggs in the state attorney general contests against Republican Phil Kline.[7] These independent contributions were not made known to the general public until July 2003 when the Lawrence Journal-World reported on it.[8]
Office commercials
- In 2005, as Securities Commissioner, Biggs spent $400,000 from fines from security law violators to promote awareness of his office and securities fraud.[9]
- In 2010, as Secretary of State, Biggs spent $190,000 from federal Helping America Vote Act (HAVA) funds to promote advance voting. Republican opponent Kris Kobach called it "naked politicking," but the previous Secretary of State, Republican Ron Thornburgh, also paid to run a similar public service announcement video.[10][11]
See also
External links
- Chris Biggs's Facebook profile
- Chris Bigg's Twitter account
- Project Vote Smart - Chris Biggs biography
- Biggsforkansas.com 2010 Campaign website
The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine was used to recall this version of the website from August 19, 2010.
Footnotes
- ↑ Kansas City Star, "Kansas secretary of state resigns" 8 Feb. 2010
- ↑ The Wichita Eagle, "Parkinson names Biggs as secretary of state," March 17, 2010
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Topeka Capital-Journal, "Parkinson names Biggs SOS," March 16, 2010
- ↑ Associated Press - 2010 Kansas Primary Election Results
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State - 2010 General Election Results
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State - 2002 General Election Results
- ↑ Tiller's Attempt to "Buy" the 2002 Race for Kansas Attorney General
- ↑ Lawrence Journal-World, "Back-door cash boosted Biggs" 31 July, 2003
- ↑ Kansas Meadowlark, Kansas Securities Commissioner to spend $400,000 from fines to promote his office?
- ↑ Lawrence Journal-World, "Kobach, Biggs in dispute over advance voting ad" 14 Oct. 2010
- ↑ Kansas Watchdog, "Biggs’ ad controversies now and in 2005" 15 Oct. 2010
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ron Thornburgh |
Kansas Secretary of State 2010 |
Succeeded by Kris Kobach |
| |||||||||||||||||||
