Dinah Sykes

Dinah Sykes

Democratic Party

Candidate, Kansas Commissioner of Insurance

Kansas State Senate District 21

Tenure

2017 - Present

Term ends

2029

Years in position

9

Compensation

Base salary

$43,000/year

Per diem

$178/day

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Next election

August 4, 2026

Contact

Official website

Personal Facebook

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Dinah Sykes (Democratic Party) is a member of the Kansas State Senate, representing District 21. She assumed office on January 9, 2017. Her current term ends on January 8, 2029.

Sykes (Democratic Party) is running for election for Kansas Commissioner of Insurance. She declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on August 4, 2026.^[source]

On December 19, 2018, Sykes announced she switched her party affiliation from Republican to Democratic. Sykes said, "I ran for the Kansas Senate to protect the Kansas quality of life and to bring common sense to Topeka. At this time, I feel like I can either fight to change the Republican Party or fight for the state I love and the people I serve. I think I can better serve my state and constituents as a member of the Democratic Party."

In 2020, Sykes was elected state Senate minority leader.

Biography

Dinah Sykes, as of February 2020, lived in Lenexa, Kansas. She earned a bachelor of arts in business administration from Trevecca Nazarene University in 1999. Sykes has been a member of the Lenexa Chamber of Commerce.

Committee assignments

2025-2026

Sykes was assigned to the following committees:

• Confirmation Oversight Committee, Vice Chair
• Senate Education Committee, Ranking Minority Member
• Legislative Coordinating Council Committee

2023-2024

Sykes was assigned to the following committees:

• Confirmation Oversight Committee, Vice Chair
• Senate Education Committee
• Legislative Coordinating Council Committee

2021-2022

Sykes was assigned to the following committees:

• Legislative Coordinating Council Committee
• Confirmation Oversight Committee, Vice chair
• Senate Education Committee, Ranking minority member

2019-2020

Sykes was assigned to the following committees:

• Information Technology Committee
• Legislative Post Audit Committee
• Commerce Committee
• Senate Education Committee, Ranking minority member
• Ethics, Elections, and Local Government Committee
• Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Kansas committee assignments, 2017
• Commerce
• Education
• Ethics, Elections, and Local Government
• Information Technology

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

2026

See also: Kansas Insurance Commissioner election, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on August 4, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for Kansas Commissioner of Insurance

Dinah Sykes (D) is running in the Democratic primary for Kansas Commissioner of Insurance on August 4, 2026.

		Candidate
		Dinah Sykes

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= 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

Republican primary for Kansas Commissioner of Insurance

Daniel Hawkins (R) is running in the Republican primary for Kansas Commissioner of Insurance on August 4, 2026.

		Candidate
		Daniel Hawkins

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= 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 is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2024

See also: Kansas State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for Kansas State Senate District 21

Incumbent Dinah Sykes won election in the general election for Kansas State Senate District 21 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dinah Sykes (D)	100.0	25,979

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 25,979
= 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 State Senate District 21

Incumbent Dinah Sykes advanced from the Democratic primary for Kansas State Senate District 21 on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dinah Sykes	100.0	4,483

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,483
= 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 Sykes in this election.

2020

See also: Kansas State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Kansas State Senate District 21

Incumbent Dinah Sykes defeated Tom Bickimer in the general election for Kansas State Senate District 21 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dinah Sykes (D)	54.8	24,203
	Submit photo	Tom Bickimer (R)	45.2	19,970

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 44,173
= 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 State Senate District 21

Incumbent Dinah Sykes advanced from the Democratic primary for Kansas State Senate District 21 on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dinah Sykes	100.0	8,040

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 8,040
= 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 State Senate District 21

Tom Bickimer advanced from the Republican primary for Kansas State Senate District 21 on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Tom Bickimer	100.0	9,301

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 9,301
= 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.

Dinah Sykes defeated Logan Heley and Michael Kerner in the Kansas State Senate District 21 general election.

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.

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.

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.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Dinah Sykes has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Dinah Sykes, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for.  More than 24,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.

Help improve Ballotpedia - send us candidate contact info.

2024

Dinah Sykes did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Dinah Sykes did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 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.

---

Dinah Sykes campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024	Kansas State Senate District 21	Won general	$246,278	$0
2020	Kansas State Senate District 21	Won general	$193,455	N/A**
2016	Kansas State Senate, District 21	Won	$92,733	N/A**
Grand total			$532,466	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

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.

2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].

In 2024, the Kansas State Legislature was in session from January 8 to April 30. Americans for Prosperity-Kansas Legislators are scored on their stances on conservative fiscal policy. Kansas Family Voice Legislators are scored on their votes on a variety of issues of interest to the organization. Kansas Policy Institute Legislators are scored on their support for bills that the organization lists as promoting "individual liberty, limited government, free markets and student-focused education." National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Wichita Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].

In 2023, the Kansas State Legislature was in session from January 9 to April 28. Kansas Family Voice Legislators are scored on their votes on a variety of issues of interest to the organization. Kansas Policy Institute Legislators are scored on their support for bills that the organization lists as promoting "individual liberty, limited government, free markets and student-focused education." Wichita Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

2022

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].

In 2022, the Kansas State Legislature was in session from January 10 to May 23. Kansas Family Voice Legislators are scored on their votes on a variety of issues of interest to the organization. Kansas Policy Institute Legislators are scored on their support for bills that the organization lists as promoting "individual liberty, limited government, free markets and student-focused education." MainStream Coalition Legislators are scored by the MainStream Coalition on whether they voted with the moderate position on selected bills. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Wichita Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the Kansas State Legislature was in session from January 11 to May 26. Americans for Prosperity-Kansas Legislators are scored on their stances on conservative fiscal policy. Kansas Policy Institute Legislators are scored on their support for bills that the organization lists as promoting "individual liberty, limited government, free markets and student-focused education." MainStream Coalition Legislators are scored by the MainStream Coalition on whether they voted with the moderate position on selected bills. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. Wichita Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].

In 2020, the Kansas State Legislature was in session from January 13 to May 21. A special session convened from June 3 to June 4. Kansas AFL-CIO: House Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to labor issues. Kansas Policy Institute Legislators are scored on their support for bills that the organization lists as promoting "individual liberty, limited government, free markets and student-focused education." MainStream Coalition Legislators are scored by the MainStream Coalition on whether they voted with the moderate position on selected bills. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. Wichita Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

2019

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show].

In 2019, the Kansas State Legislature was in session from January 14 through May 29. Kansas AFL-CIO: House Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to labor issues. Kansas Policy Institute Legislators are scored on their support for bills that the organization lists as promoting "individual liberty, limited government, free markets and student-focused education." MainStream Coalition Legislators are scored by the MainStream Coalition on whether they voted with the moderate position on selected bills. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2018

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show].

In 2018, the Kansas State Legislature was in session from January 8 through April 7. Kansas AFL-CIO: House Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to labor issues. Kansas Policy Institute Legislators are scored on their support for bills that the organization lists as promoting "individual liberty, limited government, free markets and student-focused education." MainStream Coalition Legislators are scored by the MainStream Coalition on whether they voted with the moderate position on selected bills. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. Wichita Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

2017

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show].

In 2017, the Kansas State Legislature was in session from January 9 through June 26. Kansas AFL-CIO: Senate and House Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to labor issues. Kansas Policy Institute Legislators are scored on their support for bills that the organization lists as promoting "individual liberty, limited government, free markets and student-focused education." MainStream Coalition Legislators are scored by the MainStream Coalition on whether they voted with the moderate position on selected bills. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. Wichita Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

See also

2026 Elections

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

Government

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

Newsletters

The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Officeholder

Kansas State Senate District 21

Website

Personal

Facebook

Instagram

LinkedIn

Footnotes

2026 state executive official elections

Governor

Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Florida • Georgia • Guam • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Iowa • Kansas • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Mexico • New York • Northern Mariana Islands • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • U.S. Virgin Islands • Vermont • Wisconsin • Wyoming

Lieutenant Governor

Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Florida • Georgia • Guam • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Iowa • Kansas • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Nebraska • Nevada • New Mexico • New York • Northern Mariana Islands • Ohio • Oklahoma • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Texas • U.S. Virgin Islands • Vermont • Wisconsin

Attorney General

Alabama • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Guam • Idaho • Illinois • Iowa • Kansas • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Nebraska • Nevada • New Mexico • New York • North Dakota • Northern Mariana Islands • Ohio • Oklahoma • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Texas • Vermont • Wisconsin

Secretary of State

Alabama • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Georgia • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Nebraska • Nevada • New Mexico • North Dakota • Ohio • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Vermont • Wisconsin • Wyoming

Treasurer

Alabama • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Massachusetts • Nebraska • Nevada • New Mexico • Ohio • Oklahoma • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Vermont • Wisconsin • Wyoming

Auditor

Alabama • Arkansas • Delaware • Iowa • Massachusetts • Minnesota • Missouri • Nebraska • New Mexico • Ohio • Oklahoma • South Dakota • Vermont • Wyoming

Comptroller

California • Connecticut • Idaho • Illinois • Maryland • Nevada • New York • South Carolina • Texas

Education officials

Alabama (board of education) • Arizona (superintendent) • California (superintendent) • Colorado (board of education) • Colorado (board of regent) • District of Columbia (board of education) • Georgia (superintendent) • Guam (education board) • Idaho (superintendent) • Kansas (board of education) • Louisiana (board of education) • Michigan (board of education) • Michigan (board of regent) • Michigan (board of trustees) • Michigan (board of governors) • Nebraska (board of education) • Nebraska (board of regents) • Nevada (board of regents) • New Mexico (board of education) • North Dakota (superintendent) • Northern Mariana Islands (board of education) • Ohio (board of education) • Oklahoma (superintendent) • South Carolina (superintendent) • Texas (board of education) • U.S. Virgin Islands (board of education) • Utah (board of education) • Wyoming (superintendent)

Commissioners

Alabama (agriculture) • Alabama (public service) • Arizona (corporation) • Arizona (mine inspector) • Arkansas (public lands) • California (board of equalization) • California (insurance) • Florida (agriculture) • Georgia (agriculture) • Georgia (labor) • Georgia (insurance) • Georgia (public service) • Guam (utilities) • Hawaii (Hawaiian affairs) • Iowa (agriculture) • Kansas (insurance) • Louisiana (public service) • Massachusetts (governor's council) • Montana (public service) • Nebraska (public service) • New Hampshire (executive council) • New Mexico (public lands) • North Dakota (agriculture) • North Dakota (public service) • North Dakota (tax) • Oklahoma (corporation) • Oklahoma (insurance) • Oklahoma (labor) • Oregon (labor) • South Carolina (agriculture) • South Dakota (public lands) • South Dakota (public utilities) • Texas (agriculture) • Texas (public lands) • Texas (railroad) • U.S. Virgin Islands (board of elections)