John Lowrance
John Lowrance (Republican Party) ran for election to the Kansas House of Representatives to represent District 11. He lost in the Republican primary on August 2, 2022.
Biography
Lowrance received a bachelor's degree in business administration in finance from Pittsburg State University in 2002, a master's degree in business administration from Wichita State University in 2004, and a master's degree in mathematics from Emporia State University in 2014.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: Kansas House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Kansas House of Representatives District 11
Ron Bryce defeated Gregory Wilkinson in the general election for Kansas House of Representatives District 11 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Ron Bryce (R) | 74.9 | 5,104 |
| Gregory Wilkinson (D) | 25.1 | 1,712 | ||
| Total votes: 6,816 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 11
Gregory Wilkinson advanced from the Democratic primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 11 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Gregory Wilkinson | 100.0 | 959 | |
| Total votes: 959 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 11
Ron Bryce defeated Josh Tucker and John Lowrance in the Republican primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 11 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ron Bryce | 50.3 | 2,025 |
 | Josh Tucker | 32.1 | 1,292 | |
 | John Lowrance | 17.7 | 712 | |
| Total votes: 4,029 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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2018
General election
Incumbent Jim Kelly won election in the general election for Kansas House of Representatives District 11 on November 6, 2018.
General election
General election for Kansas House of Representatives District 11
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jim Kelly (R) | 100.0 | 5,510 |
| Total votes: 5,510 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Republican primary election
Incumbent Jim Kelly defeated John Lowrance in the Republican primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 11 on August 7, 2018.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 11
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jim Kelly | 75.9 | 1,554 |
| John Lowrance | 24.1 | 493 | |
| Total votes: 2,047 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
John Lowrance did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
- See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
John Lowrance participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on August 5, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and John Lowrance's responses follow below.[2]
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
| “ | 1) Seek to achieve and maintain a balanced budget. The state has struggled with budget issues for years. Apparently, currently legislators such as Jim Kelly only seem to see raising taxes as solution. He voted in favor of increasing sales tax in 2015, then voted in favor of the largest income tax increase in state history in 2017. Enough is enough. The state needs to seek to reduce redundant and wasteful spending while also increasing revenues without raising existing taxes. This can happen and if I am elected, I will do everything I can to make certain that it does happen.
2) Improve the state’s overall economic outlook. As of the 1st quarter of 2018, the state of Kansas ranks 47th out of all the states in the nation in GDP growth. In the area of southeast Kansas (which includes District 11), expected job growth is only 0.1% and ranks last in the state. The state must do more to improve the economy. One method would be through education reform. Specifically, the state needs to do a better job of educating students to meet the needs of potential (or existing) employers. For example, did you realize that over 77% of the statewide job growth in Kansas are expected to require some college (no degree) or less? Why can't we be addressing the skills students actually need in school? I am not even necessarily talking about college. I am talking K-12. Why can't we emphasize employable skills earlier in the education process? The answer is of course: we can. What are some of the most available jobs in the state? According to the state's economic report: cashiers, retail sales, truck drivers, nursing assistants, food preparation, etc. Why can't we teach these skills in K-12? We can. We can have high school graduates ready for jobs immediately out of high school or shortly thereafter. We can have citizens happy with where they live and eager to open their own business in the area (local job growth). It can happen. If you were thinking of expanding your business to a new state, where would you go? To a state that has made a deliberate attempt to match its workforce to the needs of its employers or not? Of course you would go to a state that has a highly trained workforce (state and possibly local job growth). 3) Significantly increase state government transparency. The state has been called one of the most secretive in the nation. If it is a deceptive practice, it’s probably common in Topeka. We have bills that regularly get presented using a “gut and go” process. Through the 2017 session, we have roughly 90% of all bills which don’t even have a listed sponsor other than, “anonymous.” And we also have no required record of committee votes. Jim Kelly has been a part of this culture for over three terms. We need new leadership that will fight for the people’s right to be informed. This must stop now.[3][4] |
” |
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?
| “ | Generally speaking, I am passionate about all of the issues that are important to the state of Kansas. I have lived in the state my entire life. Kansas is my home and I care about the state and its prosperity. That is the reason that I decided to run for office. I believe that if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. Established politicians are part of the problem in the state, such as Jim Kelly. We need new leadership in order to expect positive change.
For starters, I feel strongly about the state’s need to achieve and maintain a balanced budget, improve the economy, and improve government transparency. All three of these are areas the state has struggled with for several years. It is time that constituents stand up and demand improvements. In addition, I am also passionate about preserving our 2nd Amendment rights. These rights are fundamental to ensuring our liberties and must be protected. Similarly, I believe that the state government should actively seek legislation that further supports our military personnel. This support should apply during times of service and after. Lastly, I am pro-life. I believe that human life is the most precious gift that we are given and begins at conception. Innocent life should not be taken with abortion.Cite error: Invalid |
” |
Ballotpedia also asked the candidate a series of optional questions. John Lowrance answered the following:
What qualities do you possess that would make you a successful officeholder?
| “ | Honesty – I believe honesty is key in communicating with peers and the public. Trust is an incredibly fragile thing. The public entrusts elected officials to protect their best interests. How can constituents even know if that is happening if they can’t get accurate information from their elected officials? I am an incredibly honest person and feel it is the best policy in all situations.
Transparency – As a public official, you answer to the public at large, they don’t answer to you. But, somewhat similar to the honesty listed previously, if information is deliberately withheld from the public, how would they be able to figure out what is fact and what is fiction? They wouldn’t, of course. In many respects, I consider a lack of transparency to be worse that just outright being dishonest. I am committed to being far more transparent than constituents have come to expect from their leaders in Topeka. Intelligence – Clearly, an individual has to be able to gather all of the appropriate information and be able to make sound decisions. For most, the notion of intelligence might be obvious. However, the most important component of an intelligent person is to understand that he or she definitely does not have all the answers. They must be willing and able to admit when they are wrong or simply do not know. I feel that my education background is evidence of my traditional intelligence, but I am certain that I do not know everything. Good Listener/Open Minded – I feel like these two go together. If a person is a good listener, then he or she not only listens to the messages of his or her constituents, but also gives them the respect and consideration that they deserve. In doing so, they are acknowledging that a potential solution may very well exist that the officeholder themselves did not come up with. If a person expects to solve the problems that exist at any level, they must be able to do this consistently. I believe that I am excellent in this area.[4] |
” |
| “ | My first job was working at Dairy Queen. I originally started on the counter and in the drive thru taking orders and making ice cream. Then, I worked in the kitchen making burgers, fries, etc. I worked at that job for a couple of years in high school, then another year in college.[4] | ” |
| “ | The biggest struggle for me is still an on-going one. I continuously feel as if I need to do more to make things better. In fact, that is part of the reason that I decided to run for office. I understand that I am only one person, but I feel that solutions have to start with someone. I feel I can be that someone. But, I have to remind myself that change can take time and I may fail. However, if I fail, at least I tried and that’s more than most can say.[4] | ” |
| “ | No. In fact, I think that is a major part of the issues facing Topeka right now. Too many legislators have an extensive political background. For example, Jim Kelly. He was (is) involved in local politics for several years before he became a representative. The problem with that is that you have many people that simply accept the status quo, accept prior practice (even when it’s wrong), and thus are resistant to change. For example, the previously mentioned “gut and go” process for bills. The average constituent in District 11 would think that was downright absurd. But, it happens all the time in Topeka. Why? Because so many legislatures accept it as “the way things are.” Huh? That’s not a good reason. But, that’s what happens when you have a bunch of like-minded individuals making decisions. If the state had more fresh perspectives from non-politicians, we would all be a lot better off.[4] | ” |
| “ | Yes. At the end of the day, we are all people. People who have different personalities and perspectives. But, being able to work in a professional, respectful manner is key in order to ensure that we are all collectively doing what is best for our constituents. As such, I believe that some relationships need to exist in order for us to accomplish this core goal as a group.[4] | ” |
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted on Ballotpedia’s biographical information submission form on August 3, 2018
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "John Lowrance's responses," August 5, 2018
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
