Chuck Schmidt

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Chuck Schmidt
Image of Chuck Schmidt

Democratic Party

Prior offices
Kansas House of Representatives District 88
Successor: Sandy Pickert
Elections and appointments
Last election

August 6, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

University of Kansas, 1972

Graduate

Fort Hays State University, 2000

Other

Emporia State University, 2001

Personal
Birthplace
Hays, Kan.
Religion
Catholic
Profession
Retired teacher
Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Chuck Schmidt (Democratic Party) was a member of the Kansas House of Representatives, representing District 88. He assumed office on July 14, 2021. He left office on January 9, 2023.

Schmidt (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Kansas House of Representatives to represent District 88. He lost in the Democratic primary on August 6, 2024.

Schmidt completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Chuck Schmidt was born in Hays, Kansas. Schmidt's career experience includes working as a teacher. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Kansas in 1972, a graduate degree from Fort Hays State University in 1990, and a degree from Emporia State University in 2001. Schmidt has been affiliated with Silver Haired Legislature and Kansas Association of Retired School Personnel.[1]

Biography

Schmidt received a bachelor's degree in secondary education from the University of Kansas. He received a master's degree in educational administration from Fort Hays State University. His career experience includes working as superintendent of schools for Independence Unified School District 446 and as high school principal of Mission Valley USD 330.[2]

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

2024

See also: Kansas House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Kansas House of Representatives District 88

Incumbent Sandy Pickert defeated Veronica Gillette in the general election for Kansas House of Representatives District 88 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Sandy Pickert
Sandy Pickert (R) Candidate Connection
 
51.1
 
4,524
Image of Veronica Gillette
Veronica Gillette (D) Candidate Connection
 
48.9
 
4,337

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 8,861
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 88

Veronica Gillette defeated Chuck Schmidt in the Democratic primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 88 on August 6, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Veronica Gillette
Veronica Gillette Candidate Connection
 
55.3
 
319
Image of Chuck Schmidt
Chuck Schmidt Candidate Connection
 
44.7
 
258

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 577
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 88

Incumbent Sandy Pickert advanced from the Republican primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 88 on August 6, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Sandy Pickert
Sandy Pickert Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
514

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 514
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Schmidt in this election.

2022

See also: Kansas House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Kansas House of Representatives District 88

Sandy Pickert defeated incumbent Chuck Schmidt in the general election for Kansas House of Representatives District 88 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Sandy Pickert
Sandy Pickert (R)
 
51.0
 
3,022
Image of Chuck Schmidt
Chuck Schmidt (D)
 
49.0
 
2,908

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 5,930
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 88

Incumbent Chuck Schmidt advanced from the Democratic primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 88 on August 2, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Chuck Schmidt
Chuck Schmidt
 
100.0
 
1,789

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 1,789
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 88

Sandy Pickert advanced from the Republican primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 88 on August 2, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Sandy Pickert
Sandy Pickert
 
100.0
 
2,054

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 2,054
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

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. Incumbent Jeff King (R) did not seek re-election.

Dan Goddard defeated Chuck Schmidt in the Kansas State Senate District 15 general election.[3][4]

Kansas State Senate, District 15 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Dan Goddard 60.89% 15,511
     Democratic Chuck Schmidt 39.11% 9,963
Total Votes 25,474
Source: Kansas Secretary of State


Chuck Schmidt ran unopposed in the Kansas State Senate District 15 Democratic primary.[5][6]

Kansas State Senate, District 15 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Chuck Schmidt  (unopposed)


Dan Goddard defeated Virgil Peck, Jr. in the Kansas State Senate District 15 Republican primary.[5][6]

Kansas State Senate, District 15 Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Dan Goddard 51.23% 3,549
     Republican Virgil Peck, Jr. 48.77% 3,378
Total Votes 6,927


Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Chuck Schmidt completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Schmidt's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

I am a retired educator who has served as a teacher/coach, principal, superintendent and after retirement, back to teacher. I have served 1 term in the Kansas House of Representatives and was defeated in 2022 in the second closest election in the state. I am running again to protect women's reproductive rights, support our public schools, pass Medicaid expansion and legalize medical cannabis. I have 5 children and 7 grandchildren and I am running for office to get this state to start passing progressive legislation that will attract our young people to stay and or come back to our state.
  • The government should not be regulating women's reproductive healthcare decisions. Kansas voters spoke clearly in 2022 when they defeated the amendment. Legislators need to stop trying to pass legislation that goes against the wishes of 65% of voters in the 88th District. My election and Democrats breaking the super majority in the legislature will assure that Governor Kelly's vetoes of this type of legislation will not be overridden.
  • We must pass Medicaid expansion to help over 150,000 Kansans to receive healthcare insurance. It is immoral that our legislative leadership will not even allow a vote on this issue. Medicaid expansion would help Kansas in so many ways at very little cost to the state. It would help people with mental health issues to receive regular therapy and if needed, medication. It would create many well-paying healthcare jobs. It would allow low income workers to receive regular healthcare when needed rather than relying on emergency rooms. It would help to keep our rural hospitals operating.
  • We need to fully fund education and that includes special education. When I was in the legislature we originally passed a bill to fully fund special education, but the leadership voted to reconsider and then twisted arms to get the bill defeated. We also need to stop attacking our teachers and administrators. This is demoralizing and is causing many to leave the field. Our teachers need to be better paid to reflect the importance of their work and educational requirements. Education is the most important obligation of state government and teacher pay should reflect that value.
I am passionate about supporting our schools. The most important job of state government is education. We need to support our teachers and fully fund our schools. Another area I am passionate about is government helping the people who need it the most. This could be done through Medicaid expansion and tax reform. Republicans continue to push for a flat tax that would primarily help the most wealthy. We need a progressive income tax in which people are taxed according to their ability to pay. And we need better property tax relief to help those who are finding it more and more difficult to afford their homes.
I look up to President Kennedy. He was a great communicator and cared about his country. He was not a perfect individual; no one is, but he epitomizes what I think a public official should be.
The Book "What's the Matter With Kansas" by Thomas Frank, is a good example of my philosophy. Our legislature and voters continue to pass legislation that prevents our state from moving forward and works against our own best interests. Another book with a similar theme is "Our Own Worst Enemy" by Tom Nichols.
An elected official must be willing to connect with constituents to understand their needs. We are elected to represent these people and we must listen to what they want from their government.
I am very knowledgeable about history and government. These were my majors in college and I taught these subjects for years. In addition I have been an avid ready of history and biographies throughout my lifetime. This helps me to understand what policies have worked and how our country has progressed and regressed in some ways. I also have an ability to communicate with anyone. I can carry on a conversation with people who may have very different experiences or beliefs because I care about learning from them.
A person in this office must be honest and transparent. He or she must be accessible to constituents and have the ability to work collaboratively with other legislators of similar and opposing views.
I would like my legacy to be that I made a difference in the lives of Kansans because of the policies for which I have advocated.
I remember so clearly the assassination of President Kennedy. I was 13 years old and was shocked and depressed. That has been the most traumatic historical incident in my life.
I grew up on a dairy farm in Western Kansas and worked on the farm from the time I was old enough to walk. After college I came back and farmed for 10 years in partnership with my parents.
I am an avid reader. I can't go to sleep without reading and there is always a book at my bedside. I have a lot of favorites but a recent book I just read was "Killers of the Flower Moon." I also enjoyed reading a biography of JFK and some of Tom Nichols books such as: "The Death of Expertise" and "Our Own Worst Enemy."
I would be Captain America. He fights injustice.
"Rhythm of My Life" by Rod Stewart. The refrain says: "The rhythm of my heart is beating like a drum, with the words I love you rolling off my tongue. Never will I roam, for I know my precious home. Where the ocean meets they sky, I'll be sailing."
I feel moved to make a difference by bringing love and caring to everyone with whom I have contact. This is most important with my family of a wife, 5 children and 7 grandchildren, but it also applies to my public life.
I have always struggled with balancing public service and personal life. I am a strong advocate of family life and I adore my 7 grandchildren. Even after retiring I have stayed so busy with community involvement that it sometimes interferes with my ability to spend time with family. I tell myself that I am doing the public service to make life better for my grandchildren. That is true but sometimes I just have to take time to spend with my loved ones.
The ideal relationship between these two would be when they work collaboratively to develop legislation. Rather than each side proposing its own ideas, they should set down together and negotiate what they believe is best for Kansas.
We must pass Medicaid expansion to ensure healthcare for our most needy workers. We must also get back to supporting our schools and help them progress to being among the best schools in the country.
It is beneficial but not necessary. Many who come from business or other areas of the public sector can do just as well as those with previous experience.
It is not only beneficial but it is absolutely necessary. Negotiation on political issues requires having workable relationships with those you agree with as well as those with whom you may disagree. I have always been able to get along with people with different viewpoints. This comes from my experience in education in dealing with parents from all across the political spectrum. We can always find some common interest in which we can work together.
Former Governor John Carlin was a successful Governor who worked with both parties to pass effective legislation and move Kansas forward. I think he is a good role model in that regard.
I am not interested in any other political offices.
I have heard so many stories about working people who could not get necessary healthcare because they did not have insurance. This is so sad and makes me angry that we don't pass Medicaid expansion. Another case was a father who told me his daughter had lived in Texas and had terminal cancer. She used medical cannabis to relieve the pain. Then she moved to Kansas to be near family. However, because of our failure to legalize medical cannabis, she suffered unnecessary pain until she finally passed away.
Emergency powers should be used only in the most extreme circumstances. I can't imagine why we would need it unless there was some huge natural catastrophe.
I would sign on to bills that have already been introduced for Medicaid expansion and legalizing medical cannabis. The first bill I would introduce would be to fully fund special education.
Former Governor John Carlin, former 4th District Congressional Candidate James Thompson, Wichita political activist Jan Manlove, first African-American architect in Wichita, Charles McAfee
As a Representative I served on the Education, Water and Tax Committees. I would be interested in the same committees.
Government is accountable to the voters. This means our business must be conducted in a transparent manner. We should not be passing legislation in the early morning hours without properly vetting the arguments on all sides. This happens way too often in our legislature.
I think a ballot initiative would be good for our state. With such an initiative Kansas citizens could petition for Medicaid expansion as some other Red states have done.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2022

Chuck Schmidt did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.


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.

Chuck Schmidt campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* Kansas House of Representatives District 88Lost primary$27,332 $0
2022Kansas House of Representatives District 88Lost general$58,210 $0
Grand total$85,542 $0
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Kansas

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Kansas scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.




2022

In 2022, the Kansas State Legislature was in session from January 10 to May 23.

Legislators are scored on their votes on a variety of issues of interest to the organization.
Legislators are scored on their support for bills that the organization lists as promoting "individual liberty, limited government, free markets and student-focused education."
Legislators are scored by the MainStream Coalition on whether they voted with the moderate position on selected bills.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.


2021








See also

2024 Elections

Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
What's on the ballot?
U.S. President
U.S. Congress
U.S. Congress special elections
State executives
State legislatures
State courts
Ballot measures
Municipal government
School boards
Election analysis hub

Government

Seal of Kansas.png
Who represents me?
U.S. Congress
State executives
State legislators
State courts
Ballot measures
Municipal government
School boards

Newsletters

Ballotpedia RSS.jpg
The Daily Brew
The Weekly Brew
The Ballot Bulletin
Checks and Balances
Economy and Society
Hall Pass
Number of the Day
Robe & Gavel


External links

Candidate

Kansas House of Representatives District 88
  • Website
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
    		•

    Personal

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
    		•

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 6, 2024
    2. ↑ LinkedIn, "Chuck Schmidt," accessed August 30, 2021
    3. ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "Candidate list," accessed August 23, 2016
    4. ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2016 General Election official results," accessed December 19, 2016
    5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Kansas Secretary of State, "Candidate list," accessed June 3, 2016
    6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Kansas Secretary of State, "2016 Official Kansas Primary Election Results," accessed September 12, 2016

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    -     		Kansas House of Representatives District 88
    2021-2023    		 Succeeded by
    Sandy Pickert (R)


    Current members of the Kansas House of Representatives
    Leadership
    Speaker of the House:Daniel Hawkins
    Majority Leader:Chris Croft
    Minority Leader:Brandon Woodard
    Representatives
    District 1
    District 2
    District 3
    District 4
    District 5
    District 6
    District 7
    District 8
    District 9
    District 10
    District 11
    Ron Bryce (R)
    District 12
    Doug Blex (R)
    District 13
    District 14
    District 15
    District 16
    District 17
    District 18
    District 19
    District 20
    District 21
    District 22
    District 23
    District 24
    District 25
    Rui Xu (D)
    District 26
    District 27
    District 28
    District 29
    District 30
    District 31
    District 32
    District 33
    District 34
    District 35
    District 36
    District 37
    District 38
    District 39
    District 40
    District 41
    District 42
    District 43
    District 44
    District 45
    Mike Amyx (D)
    District 46
    District 47
    District 48
    Dan Osman (D)
    District 49
    District 50
    District 51
    District 52
    District 53
    District 54
    District 55
    District 56
    District 57
    District 58
    District 59
    District 60
    District 61
    District 62
    District 63
    District 64
    District 65
    District 66
    District 67
    District 68
    District 69
    District 70
    District 71
    District 72
    District 73
    District 74
    Mike King (R)
    District 75
    District 76
    District 77
    District 78
    District 79
    District 80
    District 81
    District 82
    District 83
    District 84
    Ford Carr (D)
    District 85
    District 86
    District 87
    District 88
    District 89
    District 90
    District 91
    District 92
    District 93
    District 94
    District 95
    District 96
    District 97
    District 98
    District 99
    District 100
    District 101
    District 102
    District 103
    District 104
    District 105
    Jill Ward (R)
    District 106
    District 107
    Dawn Wolf (R)
    District 108
    District 109
    District 110
    District 111
    District 112
    District 113
    District 114
    District 115
    District 116
    District 117
    Adam Turk (R)
    District 118
    District 119
    District 120
    District 121
    District 122
    District 123
    Bob Lewis (R)
    District 124
    District 125
    Republican Party (88)
    Democratic Party (37)


    Flag of Kansas
    v • e
    State of Kansas
    Topeka (capital)
    Elections

    What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

    Government

    Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy







    Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Chuck_Schmidt&oldid=9705227"