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Kansas State Senate District 11

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Kansas State Senate District 11
Incumbent
Assumed office: January 11, 2021

Kansas State Senate District 11 is represented by Kellie Warren (R).

As of the 2020 Census, Kansas state senators represented an average of 73,522 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 71,595 residents.

About the chamber

Members of the Kansas State Senate serve four-year terms and are not subject to term limits. Kansas legislators assume office the second Monday of January after their election.[1]

Qualifications

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

Section 4 of Article 2 of the Kansas Constitution states, "During the time that any person is a candidate for nomination or election to the legislature and during the term of each legislator, such candidate or legislator shall be and remain a qualified elector who resides in his or her district."[2]


Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
State legislative salaries, 2024[3]
SalaryPer diem
$86.66/session day$166/day

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

If there is a vacancy in the Kansas State Legislature, the governor is responsible for appointing a replacement, and a special election is held if the vacancy occurs before May 1 of the second year of the officeholder's term. If the vacancy occurs after or on May 1 of the officeholder's second year, the governor is responsible for appointing a replacement, and that person serves out the rest of the term.[4][5][6]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Kansas Stat. Ann. §25-3903 and Kansas Stat. Ann. §25-312


District map

Redistricting

2020 redistricting cycle

See also: Redistricting in Kansas after the 2020 census

Kansas enacted legislative district boundaries on May 18, 2022, when the Kansas Supreme Court unanimously upheld the validity of the legislative districts that Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) signed into law on April 15, 2022.[7][8] Both chambers of the legislature passed the redistricting legislation on March 30, 2022, after a joint House-Senate conference committee had developed it.[9] The Kansas House of Representatives approved the legislative boundaries, 83-40, and the State Senate approved them, 29-11.[9]After Kelly signed the maps, Andrew Bahl and Rafael Garcia of the Topeka Capital-Journal wrote, "The state Senate and House maps were mildly contested in the Legislature, particularly in the Senate where the map will create a fourth, Democrat-leaning district in Topeka and Lawrence."[10]

How does redistricting in Kansas work? In Kansas, the state legislature draws both congressional and state legislative district lines. Redistricting plans are subject to veto by the governor. State legislative district maps must be submitted for final approval to the Kansas Supreme Court, which must determine whether the maps are constitutional. If the court rules that the maps violate the law, the state legislature may attempt to draw the lines again. There are no such provisions in place for congressional redistricting.[11]

In 2002, Kansas adopted guidelines for congressional and state legislative redistricting. These guidelines ask that "both congressional and state legislative districts be contiguous, as compact as possible, and recognize and consider communities of common 'social, cultural, racial, ethnic, and economic' interests." In addition, these guidelines stipulate that state legislative districts should "preserve existing political subdivisions and avoid contests between incumbents to the extent possible." Congressional districts should "preserve whole counties and maintain the core of existing districts where possible." The state legislature may amend these guidelines at its discretion.[11]

Kansas State Senate District 11
until January 12, 2025

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Kansas State Senate District 11
starting January 13, 2025

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Elections

2024

See also: Kansas State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for Kansas State Senate District 11

Incumbent Kellie Warren defeated Karen Thurlow in the general election for Kansas State Senate District 11 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Kellie Warren
Kellie Warren (R)
 
52.2
 
22,905
Image of Karen Thurlow
Karen Thurlow (D) Candidate Connection
 
47.8
 
21,000

Total votes: 43,905
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Kansas State Senate District 11

Karen Thurlow advanced from the Democratic primary for Kansas State Senate District 11 on August 6, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Karen Thurlow
Karen Thurlow Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
3,598

Total votes: 3,598
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Kansas State Senate District 11

Incumbent Kellie Warren advanced from the Republican primary for Kansas State Senate District 11 on August 6, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Kellie Warren
Kellie Warren
 
100.0
 
5,334

Total votes: 5,334
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2020

General election

General election for Kansas State Senate District 11

Kellie Warren defeated Joy Koesten in the general election for Kansas State Senate District 11 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Kellie Warren
Kellie Warren (R)
 
52.7
 
24,846
Image of Joy Koesten
Joy Koesten (D) Candidate Connection
 
47.3
 
22,317

Total votes: 47,163
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Kansas State Senate District 11

Joy Koesten advanced from the Democratic primary for Kansas State Senate District 11 on August 4, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Joy Koesten
Joy Koesten Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
7,316

Total votes: 7,316
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Kansas State Senate District 11

Kellie Warren defeated incumbent John Skubal in the Republican primary for Kansas State Senate District 11 on August 4, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Kellie Warren
Kellie Warren
 
63.9
 
9,131
Image of John Skubal
John Skubal
 
36.1
 
5,154

Total votes: 14,285
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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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.

John Skubal defeated Skip Fannen in the Kansas State Senate District 11 general election.[12][13]

Kansas State Senate, District 11 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png John Skubal 65.02% 25,992
     Democratic Skip Fannen 34.98% 13,983
Total Votes 39,975
Source: Kansas Secretary of State


Skip Fannen ran unopposed in the Kansas State Senate District 11 Democratic primary.[14][15]

Kansas State Senate, District 11 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Skip Fannen  (unopposed)


John Skubal defeated incumbent Jeff Melcher in the Kansas State Senate District 11 Republican primary.[14][15]

Kansas State Senate, District 11 Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png John Skubal 56.51% 5,665
     Republican Jeff Melcher Incumbent 43.49% 4,360
Total Votes 10,025

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. Jeff Melcher was one of 14 Republican incumbents who were defeated in the 2016 primary.

2012

See also: Kansas State Senate elections, 2012

Elections for the office of Kansas State Senate consisted of a primary election on August 7, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 11, 2012. Jeff Melcher (R) defeated Michael F. Delaney (D) in the general election and defeated Pat Colloton in the Republican primary. Delaney was unopposed in the Democratic primary.[16][17]

Kansas State Senate, District 11, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJeff Melcher 62.8% 23,565
     Democratic Michael F. Delaney 37.2% 13,985
Total Votes 37,550
Kansas State Senate, District 11 Republican Primary, 2012
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngJeff Melcher 59.4% 5,479
Pat Colloton 40.6% 3,748
Total Votes 9,227

Campaign contributions

From 2000 to 2024, candidates for Kansas State Senate District 11 raised a total of $2,104,779. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $100,228 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money

Campaign contributions, Kansas State Senate District 11
Year Amount Candidates Average
2024 $541,663 2 $270,832
2020 $508,232 3 $169,411
2016 $424,386 3 $141,462
2012 $237,765 3 $79,255
2010 $11,406 1 $11,406
2008 $135,574 3 $45,191
2006 $40,568 1 $40,568
2004 $100,098 2 $50,049
2002 $6,738 1 $6,738
2000 $98,348 2 $49,174
Total $2,104,779 21 $100,228


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. Kansas Constitution, "Article Two, Section 2", accessed February 9, 2021
  2. Kansas Bar Association, "The Constitution," accessed May 21, 2025
  3. National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
  4. Kansas Legislature, "2022 Statute," accessed August 9, 2023 (Statute 25-3903, Kansas Statutes)
  5. Kansas Legislature, "2022 Statute," accessed August 9, 2023 (Statute 25-312, Kansas Statutes)
  6. Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes, "25-321. Vacancy in state senate and house of representatives; tenure of office of person appointed to fill vacancy," accessed February 2, 2024
  7. Kansas Supreme Court, "In the Matter of the Petition of DEREK SCHMIDT, Attorney General, to Determine the Validity of Substitute for Senate Bill 563," May 18, 2022
  8. Kansas, Office of the Governor, "Governor Laura Kelly Signs Redistricting Maps for State House, Senate, Board of Education," April 15, 2022
  9. 9.0 9.1 Kansas Legislature, "Sub SB563," accessed April 19, 2022
  10. Topeka Capital-Journal, "Kansas governor signs new legislative, board of education maps, with legal challenge possible," April 16, 2022
  11. 11.0 11.1 All About Redistricting, "Kansas," accessed April 28, 2015
  12. Kansas Secretary of State, "Candidate list," accessed August 23, 2016
  13. Kansas Secretary of State, "2016 General Election official results," accessed December 19, 2016
  14. 14.0 14.1 Kansas Secretary of State, "Candidate list," accessed June 3, 2016
  15. 15.0 15.1 Kansas Secretary of State, "2016 Official Kansas Primary Election Results," accessed September 12, 2016
  16. Kansas Secretary of State, "Official 2012 Primary Results," accessed October 17, 2013
  17. Kansas Secretary of State, "Official 2012 General Election Results," accessed October 17, 2013


Current members of the Kansas State Senate
Leadership
Senate President:Ty Masterson
Majority Leader:Chase Blasi
Minority Leader:Dinah Sykes
Senators
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
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
Mary Ware (D)
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
Tory Blew (R)
District 34
District 35
TJ Rose (R)
District 36
District 37
District 38
District 39
District 40
Republican Party (31)
Democratic Party (9)