John Whitmer
John Whitmer (Republican Party) was a member of the Kansas House of Representatives, representing District 93. Whitmer assumed office on January 12, 2015. Whitmer left office on January 13, 2019.
Whitmer (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Kansas House of Representatives to represent District 93. Whitmer lost in the Republican primary on August 7, 2018.
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Kansas committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Corrections and Juvenile Justice, Vice chair |
| • Federal and State Affairs |
| • Judiciary |
| • Special Claims Against the State |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Whitmer served on the following committees:
| Kansas committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Local Government |
| • Judiciary |
| • Elections |
| • Energy and Environment |
Issues
Presidential endorsements
2016 presidential endorsement
✓ Whitmer endorsed Marco Rubio for the Republican primary in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.[1]
- See also: Endorsements for Marco Rubio
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
2018
See also: Kansas House of Representatives elections, 2018
General election
General election for Kansas House of Representatives District 93
J.C. Moore defeated Clifton Beck in the general election for Kansas House of Representatives District 93 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | J.C. Moore (R) | 70.5 | 5,781 |
 | Clifton Beck (D) | 29.5 | 2,417 | |
| Total votes: 8,198 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 93
Clifton Beck advanced from the Democratic primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 93 on August 7, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Clifton Beck | 100.0 | 687 |
| Total votes: 687 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 93
J.C. Moore defeated incumbent John Whitmer in the Republican primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 93 on August 7, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | J.C. Moore | 51.3 | 1,160 |
 | John Whitmer | 48.7 | 1,100 | |
| Total votes: 2,260 | |||
| = 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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2016
Elections for the Kansas House of Representatives were held 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 John Whitmer defeated Deb Shepard in the Kansas House of Representatives District 93 general election.[2][3]
| Kansas House of Representatives, District 93 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  John Whitmer Incumbent |
62.43% | 5,958 | |
| Democratic | Deb Shepard | 37.57% | 3,585 | |
| Total Votes | 9,543 | |||
| Source: Kansas Secretary of State | ||||
Deb Shepard ran unopposed in the Kansas House of Representatives District 93 Democratic primary.[4][5]
| Kansas House of Representatives, District 93 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Deb Shepard (unopposed) | |
Incumbent John Whitmer ran unopposed in the Kansas House of Representatives District 93 Republican primary.[4][5]
| Kansas House of Representatives, District 93 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | John Whitmer Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
Elections for the Kansas House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election was held on August 5, 2014, and a general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 2, 2014. Sammy Flaharty was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Incumbent Joe Edwards was defeated by John Whitmer in the Republican primary. Flaharty was defeated by Whitmer in the general election.[6][7]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Whitmer |
68.8% | 4,758 | |
| Democratic | Sammy Flaharty | 31.2% | 2,158 | |
| Total Votes | 6,916 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
John Whitmer |
54.6% | 1,124 |
| Joe Edwards Incumbent | 45.4% | 935 |
| Total Votes | 2,059 | |
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
Elections for the Kansas House of Representatives were held 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 John Whitmer defeated Deb Shepard in the Kansas House of Representatives District 93 general election.[2][3]
| Kansas House of Representatives, District 93 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | John Whitmer Incumbent |
62.43% | 5,958 | |
| Democratic | Deb Shepard | 37.57% | 3,585 | |
| Total Votes | 9,543 | |||
| Source: Kansas Secretary of State | ||||
Deb Shepard ran unopposed in the Kansas House of Representatives District 93 Democratic primary.[4][5]
| Kansas House of Representatives, District 93 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Deb Shepard (unopposed) | |
Incumbent John Whitmer ran unopposed in the Kansas House of Representatives District 93 Republican primary.[4][5]
| Kansas House of Representatives, District 93 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | John Whitmer Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
Elections for the Kansas House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election was held on August 5, 2014, and a general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 2, 2014. Sammy Flaharty was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Incumbent Joe Edwards was defeated by John Whitmer in the Republican primary. Flaharty was defeated by Whitmer in the general election.[8][9]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Whitmer |
68.8% | 4,758 | |
| Democratic | Sammy Flaharty | 31.2% | 2,158 | |
| Total Votes | 6,916 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
John Whitmer |
54.6% | 1,124 |
| Joe Edwards Incumbent | 45.4% | 935 |
| Total Votes | 2,059 | |
Campaign themes
2014
Whitmer's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[10]
- 2nd Amendment
- "John believes strongly in the U.S. Constitution and the right to keep and bear arms and will oppose any attempts to restrict our 2nd amendment rights. He is a proud member of the NRA and the KSRA."
- Budget Reform
- "Kansas needs innovative budgeting strategies to address today’s economic challenges, without resorting to economically damaging tax increases. Priority-based budgeting has to be the model for our state’s long-term financial stability. Kansas taxpayers deserve to see where their money is going and Topeka should maintain a citizen-focused perspective."
- Crime
- "As chairman of the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards & Training and a member of the Wichita Crime Commission, John knows first-hand what it takes to keep our neighborhoods safe. He will advocate strongly for tough laws that keep dangerous criminals off our streets."
- Education
- "All of our children deserve a quality education and Kansas invests half of our state general fund each year in our schools to make this possible. At the same time it is irresponsible to merely focus on funding levels without any discussion of how funds are spent or student outcomes achieved.
- "John’s goal in Topeka will be to ensure more of those education dollars are spent in the classroom – reducing waste and improving results for our children. As a parent whose daughter attended Wichita public schools, John knows we must re-establish the control of our education system at the local level – with parents, teachers and administrators working together to provide the best solutions for our communities.
- "Kansas is too diverse to implement a one-size-fits-all approach and the solution is to put the control back into the hands of parents and local school boards."
- Illegal Immigration
- "Taxpayer dollars should not be spent on illegal immigrants, but instead on the hard-working families and children who are in Kansas legally. The first step to immigration reform is for the federal government to secure our borders and ports of entry. He is adamantly against any taxpayer subsidies for those who break our nation’s laws, including in-state tuition for illegals, and John strongly opposes blanket amnesty."
- Infrastructure & Resources
- "Having served for years on advisory boards where flooding and water resources have been a primary concern, John understands the complexities relating to the water needs of our state. John will fight for funding for the long-term water supply our state needs to remain a dominant economy throughout the 21st century, as well as the transportation infrastructure necessary to transport people and goods in a vibrant growing economy.
- "A long-term vision must include increased access to technology and crop varieties that improve water efficiency and conservation, the extension of the Ogallala Aquifer and tools and incentives to encourage reduced water consumption.In addition, we should look at new sources of supply and focus on technology that makes the best use of water resources."
- Job Growth
- "Government is getting bigger and more burdensome by the minute – making it harder for employers to keep people on the job. In order to help grow our economy we must decrease over-reaching regulations and mandates and push tax rates lower. John knows small businesses create jobs, not government. Small businesses employ over half of all private sector workers and are responsible for 44% of private sector payrolls in Kansas. They have also created 64% of the private sector jobs over the past 15 years. John will work to support and promote new and growing businesses."
- KPERS
- "Having spent the last few years caring for his own parents, John knows we must promote senior independence by keeping our promises to those who’ve served our state by securing the KPERS retirement system. Because the current format is not fiscally sustainable for future employees however, John believes one option we should consider isreplacing our defined-benefit pension plan with a 401(k)-style defined-contribution plan for new employees. This would empower new employees with secure and portable retirement assets and keep the state from increasing the unfunded pension liability facing our children."
- Preserve Traditional Marriage
- "The institution of marriage is under attack and John believes we must actively work to protect and preserve it. He will fight any legislation that would change our constitutional definition of traditional marriage as between one man and one woman."
- Protecting the Sanctity of Life
- "John believes life is precious and will defend the vulnerable with action, not just words. Every life is created for a purpose and as such, Kansas should be known not just as a state that protects life, but one that actively promotes a culture of life."
- Upholding the Tenth Amendment
- "The federal government is expanding and intruding on our constitutionally-guaranteed states’ rights at an alarming rate and John is passionate about fighting further efforts to erode the rights granted to the states under the Tenth Amendment."
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
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.
2018
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.
- 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 conservative issues.
- 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.
|
2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2016, the Kansas State Legislature was in session from January 11 through June 1. A special session was held from June 23 to June 24 over education funding.
|
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2015, the Kansas State Legislature was in session from January 12 through June 12.
|
Endorsements
2014
In 2014, Whitmer's endorsements included the following:
- Wichita Eagle
2016 Republican National Convention
- See also: Republican National Convention, 2016
Whitmer was an at-large delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from Kansas.[11] Whitmer was one of nine delegates from Kansas bound by state party rules to support Donald Trump at the convention. As of July 13, 2016, Trump had approximately 1,542 delegates. The winner of the Republican nomination needed the support of 1,237 delegates. Trump formally won the nomination on July 19, 2016.
Delegate rules
Kansas district-level delegates were elected at district conventions, while the Kansas Republican State Committee elected at-large delegates at a state convention. All delegates from Kansas to the 2016 Republican National Convention were bound to vote at the convention for the candidate to whom they were allocated and bound unless released by their candidate.
Kansas caucus results
- See also: Presidential election in Kansas, 2016
| Kansas Republican Caucus, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
|
Ted Cruz |
48.2% | 35,207 | 24 | |
| Donald Trump | 23.3% | 17,062 | 9 | |
| Marco Rubio | 16.7% | 12,189 | 6 | |
| John Kasich | 10.7% | 7,795 | 1 | |
| Other | 1.2% | 863 | 0 | |
| Totals | 73,116 | 40 | ||
| Source: The New York Times and CNN | ||||
Delegate allocation
Kansas had 40 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, 12 were district-level delegates (three for each of the state's four congressional districts). District-level delegates were allocated proportionally; a candidate had to win at least 10 percent of the district caucus vote in order to be eligible to receive any of the district's delegates.[12][13]
Of the remaining 28 delegates, 25 served at large. At-large delegates were allocated on a proportional basis; a candidate had to win at least 10 percent of the statewide caucus vote in order to be eligible to receive any at-large delegates. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention.[12][13]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "John + Whitmer + Kansas + House"
See also
- Kansas House of Representatives
- House Committees
- Joint Committees
- Kansas state legislative districts
- Kansas State Legislature
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Profile from Open States
- Official campaign website
- John Whitmer on Facebook
Footnotes
- ↑ Topeka Capital-Journal, "Kansas Revenue Secretary Nick Jordan, 18 state legislators endorse Marco Rubio," March 2, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kansas Secretary of State, "Candidate list," accessed August 23, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kansas Secretary of State, "2016 General Election official results," accessed December 19, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Kansas Secretary of State, "Candidate list," accessed June 3, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Kansas Secretary of State, "2016 Official Kansas Primary Election Results," accessed September 12, 2016
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2014 Primary Election - Official Vote Totals," accessed September 15, 2014
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2014 General Election - Official Vote Totals," accessed April 17, 2015
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2014 Primary Election - Official Vote Totals," accessed September 15, 2014
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2014 General Election - Official Vote Totals," accessed April 17, 2015
- ↑ Official campaign website, "Issues," accessed August 1, 2014
- ↑ Kansas GOP, "State convention elects national convention delegates," accessed June 30, 2016
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Republican National Committee, "2016 Presidential Nominating Process," accessed October 6, 2015
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 CNN.com, "Republican National Convention roll call vote," accessed July 20, 2016
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Joe Edwards (R) |
Kansas House of Representatives District 93 2015-2019 |
Succeeded by J.C. Moore (R) |
