Kansas' 1st Congressional District election, 2024

	2026 → ← 2022
Kansas' 1st Congressional District
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election
Election details
	Filing deadline: June 3, 2024
	Primary: August 6, 2024; General: November 5, 2024
How to vote
	Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Voting in Kansas
Race ratings
	Cook Political Report: Solid Republican; DDHQ and The Hill: Safe Republican; Inside Elections: Solid Republican; Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
	U.S. Senate battlegrounds; U.S. House battlegrounds; Federal and state primary competitiveness; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2024
See also
	Kansas' 1st Congressional District; 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th; Kansas elections, 2024; U.S. Congress elections, 2024; U.S. Senate elections, 2024; U.S. House elections, 2024; Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House racesArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House racesFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House racesOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House racesTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House racesVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House racesSubmit

Kansas 2024 elections

U.S. House • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Appellate courts • Municipal • How to run for office

All U.S. House districts, including the 1st Congressional District of Kansas, held elections in 2024. The general election was November 5, 2024. The primary was August 6, 2024. The filing deadline was June 3, 2024. The outcome of this race affected the partisan balance of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 119th Congress. All 435 House districts were up for election.

At the time of the election, Republicans held a 220-212 majority with three vacancies.^[1] As a result of the election, Republicans retained control of the U.S. House, winning 220 seats to Democrats' 215.^[2] To read more about the 2024 U.S. House elections, click here.

In the 2022 election in this district, the Republican candidate won 67.7%-32.3%. Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Donald Trump (R) would have defeated Joe Biden (D) 63.7%-34.1%.^[3]

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House Kansas District 1

Incumbent Tracey Mann defeated Paul Buskirk in the general election for U.S. House Kansas District 1 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Tracey Mann (R)	69.1	210,493
	Paul Buskirk (D)	30.9	93,965

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 304,458
= 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 U.S. House Kansas District 1

Paul Buskirk advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Kansas District 1 on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Paul Buskirk	100.0	15,240

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 15,240
= 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 U.S. House Kansas District 1

Incumbent Tracey Mann defeated Eric Bloom in the Republican primary for U.S. House Kansas District 1 on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tracey Mann	87.5	57,219
	Submit photo	Eric Bloom	12.5	8,148

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 65,367
= 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.

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Paul Buskirk

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography: "I was born and raised in a small rural town in south central Nebraska. Lived in western Colorado for junior high and then high school in Derby Kansas. Undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Kansas. For nearly 40 years I have worked in the field of academic support - working with high school and college students to ensure that they completed their degrees and were prepared for life after school. My bride and I have been married for 31 years and we have two amazing adult daughters. Why I am running for public office? Today our country is being pulled at the edges by voices of extremism – on all sides. These voices are loud. So loud at times that we may be tempted to believe they represent the majority. But they do not. The majority of Americans – and specifically many Kansans – want to make a living for ourselves and create a future for our children. We want our government to get back to its job of serving the people. We want our elected officials to quit arguing over ideology and party affiliation and start representing us and addressing our needs. The 1st District of Kansas is comprised of 60 counties across 90,000 square miles. The diversity within our district is unique: diversity in culture; in language; in industry; in education and more. This district - Our district - has the opportunity to be a shining example to our country how we can push aside these voices of extremism and beginning working together to meet the needs of our communities."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

Arrogance of Government. Our elected and appointed officials at the federal level are obsessed with adhering to their ideology and political party affiliation. They need to be reminded that government exists to serve and refocus their attention on helping meet the needs of those who elected them.

Unity. The voices of extremism are so loud. We must push aside these voices - which are in the minority. Those of us in the middle need to work together to help our families make a living for themselves and a future for our children.

Common needs and strengths within our District. The communities in our 1st Congressional District in Kansas have unique identities. And they have common needs: expanded rural medical facilities; roads and highway improvements to support the economic opportunities; more teachers to educate our children. These communities have a wealth of common strengths. The people of our district are proud of our history, our cultures, and our traditions. We want to establish a thriving legacy of success for our children.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Kansas District 1 in 2024.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Kansas

Election information in Kansas: Nov. 5, 2024, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

In-person: Oct. 15, 2024
By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 15, 2024
Online: Oct. 15, 2024

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

Yes

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

In-person: Oct. 29, 2024
By mail: Received by Oct. 29, 2024
Online: Oct. 29, 2024

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

In-person: Nov. 5, 2024
By mail: Postmarked by Nov. 5, 2024

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Oct. 16, 2024 to Nov. 4, 2024

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. (CST/MST)

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

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.

Expand all | Collapse all

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/pbuskirk.jpg

Paul Buskirk (D)

Arrogance of Government. Our elected and appointed officials at the federal level are obsessed with adhering to their ideology and political party affiliation. They need to be reminded that government exists to serve and refocus their attention on helping meet the needs of those who elected them.

Unity. The voices of extremism are so loud. We must push aside these voices - which are in the minority. Those of us in the middle need to work together to help our families make a living for themselves and a future for our children.

Common needs and strengths within our District.

The communities in our 1st Congressional District in Kansas have unique identities. And they have common needs: expanded rural medical facilities; roads and highway improvements to support the economic opportunities; more teachers to educate our children.

These communities have a wealth of common strengths. The people of our district are proud of our history, our cultures, and our traditions. We want to establish a thriving legacy of success for our children.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Paul Buskirk (D)

Agriculture and completing the long-overdue Farm Bill to serve our farmers and ranchers.

Highways and transportation to serve our communities.

Public education to prepare our youth for the next generation of success.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Paul Buskirk (D)

My first job, in high school, was at the McDonald's restaurant just up the road from my high school. My high school debate partner worked at this store and encouraged me to apply when I turned 16 in the summer of 1977.

My supervisor set me up at the french fry station my first day. Grab the bag of frozen fries from the cooler; load them into the frying baskets; drop the baskets into the hot oil; set the timer; when the beeper sounded, pull the basket out; pour the hot fries into the warming tray; salt liberally; and then scoop into serving containers.

Six hours I worked the fry station that first day. I went home smelling like a french fry.

The next day I went back to work eager to learn something new! And?....

Two full weeks I worked the french fry station! I couldn't eat a french fry for 6 months.

While my introduction to this first job was memorable, this four-year experience (high school and then part-time in college) carved deep impressions for me: the value of work; being on time; respect for chain of command; getting along with co-workers from all walks of life.

In my travels throughout the 1st District of Kansas I regularly stop at McDonald's for my favorite Diet Coke and an opportunity to visit with the hard-working people behind the counter.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Paul Buskirk (D)

Our country must work to find what we truly have in common. It is an easy path to divide -- it is a truly burdensome, but necessary journey to unite.

The message in the Pledge of Allegiance will guide our journey as a country: "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

President Lincoln quoted the Bible when he said “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” America has many voices. We must unite in order to create a legacy for our children.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Paul Buskirk (D)

In the Gettysburg Address, President Lincoln referenced Government as "of the People, by the People, and for the People." Serving the people by helping meet their needs is the essence of government. Compromise of a position or a goal while keeping steadfast to character and integrity must be at the core of government.

Campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Tracey Mann	Republican Party	$1,523,583	$867,437	$1,753,697	As of December 31, 2024
Paul Buskirk	Democratic Party	$63,182	$62,835	$346	As of December 31, 2024
Eric Bloom	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2024. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election. * Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.^[4]
Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.^[5]^[6]^[7]

Race ratings: Kansas' 1st Congressional District election, 2024
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 5, 2024	October 29, 2024	October 22, 2024	October 15, 2024
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Kansas in the 2024 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Kansas, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2024
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Kansas	U.S. House	Ballot-qualified party	2% of the party's total voter registration in the district	$1,760.00	6/3/2024	Source
Kansas	U.S. House	Unaffiliated	4% of registered voters in the district, or 5,000, whichever is less	$1,760.00	8/5/2024	Source

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2024 U.S. House elections in the state.
Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.

District map

Competitiveness
Presidential elections

State party control

Below was the map in use at the time of the election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2024

This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in Kansas.

Kansas U.S. House competitiveness, 2014-2024
Office	Districts/ offices	Seats	Open seats	Candidates	Possible primaries	Contested Democratic primaries	Contested Republican primaries	% of contested primaries	Incumbents in contested primaries	% of incumbents in contested primaries
2024	4	4	1	15	8	1	3	50.0%	1	33.0%
2022	4	4	0	9	8	0	1	12.5%	0	0.0%
2020	4	4	1	19	8	2	3	62.5%	1	33.3%
2018	4	4	1	24	8	2	4	75.0%	3	100.0%
2016	4	4	0	12	8	2	2	50.0%	2	50.0%
2014	4	4	0	13	8	2	3	62.5%	3	75.0%

Post-filing deadline analysis

The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in Kansas in 2024. Information below was calculated on June 27, 2024, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

Fifteen candidates ran for Kansas’ four U.S. House districts, including five Democrats and 10 Republicans. That’s an average of 3.75 candidates per district. There was an average of 2.25 candidates per district in 2022, 4.75 candidates per district in 2020 and 6.00 in 2018.

The 2nd Congressional District was the only open district in Kansas in 2024. Incumbent Rep. Jacob LaTurner (R-02) retired from public office.

Seven candidates—two Democrats and five Republicans—ran for the open 2nd Congressional District, the most candidates who ran for a district in Kansas in 2024.

Four primaries—one Democratic and three Republican—were contested in 2024. Between 2014 and 2022, an average of 4.2 primaries were contested each election cycle.

One incumbent—Rep. Tracey Mann (R-01)—ran in a contested primary this year, tying with 2020 for the second-fewest in the last 10 years.

Candidates filed to run in the Republican and Democratic primaries in both districts, meaning no seats were guaranteed to either party.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+18. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 18 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Kansas' 1st the 58th most Republican district nationally.^[8]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2020 presidential election would have been in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

2020 presidential results in Kansas' 1st based on 2024 district lines
Joe Biden	Donald Trump
34.1%	63.7%

Inside Elections Baselines

See also: Inside Elections

Inside Elections' Baseline is a figure that analyzes all federal and statewide election results from the district over the past four election cycles. The results are combined in an index estimating the strength of a typical Democratic or Republican candidate in the congressional district.^[9] The table below displays the Baseline data for this district.

Inside Elections Baseline for 2024
Democratic Baseline	Republican Baseline	Difference
34.2	63.8	R+29.7

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Kansas, 2020

Kansas presidential election results (1900-2020)

5 Democratic wins
26 Republican wins

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020
Winning Party	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

See also: Party control of Kansas state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Kansas' congressional delegation as of May 2024.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Kansas
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	0	1	1
Republican	2	3	5
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	4	6

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Kansas' top four state executive offices as of May 2024.

State executive officials in Kansas, May 2024
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Laura Kelly
Lieutenant Governor	David Toland
Secretary of State	Scott Schwab
Attorney General	Kris Kobach

State legislature

Kansas State Senate

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	11
	Republican Party	29
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		40

Kansas House of Representatives

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	40
	Republican Party	85
	Independent	0
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		125

Trifecta control

The table below shows the state's trifecta status from 1992 until the 2024 election.

Kansas Party Control: 1992-2024
No Democratic trifectas • Sixteen years of Republican trifectas

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Governor	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D
Senate	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2018.