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Kansas State Senate District 21
Kansas State Senate District 21 is represented by Dinah Sykes (D).
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
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] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $86.66/session day | $166/day |
Vacancies
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]
See sources: Kansas Stat. Ann. §25-3903 and Kansas Stat. Ann. §25-312
District map
Redistricting
2020 redistricting cycle
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 21
until January 12, 2025
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Kansas State Senate District 21
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 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 |
| 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. | ||||
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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 |
| 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. | ||||
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 |
| Tom Bickimer (R) | 45.2 | 19,970 | ||
| 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 |
| 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 | ||
| ✔ | Tom Bickimer | 100.0 | 9,301 | |
| 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.[12][13]
| 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.[14][15]
| 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.[14][15]
| 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.
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. Greg Smith (R) defeated Juanita Roy (D) in the general election and defeated Joe Beveridge in the Republican primary. Roy was unopposed in the Democratic primary.[16][17]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Greg Smith |
53.2% | 17,527 | |
| Democratic | Juanita Roy | 46.8% | 15,441 | |
| Total Votes | 32,968 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Greg Smith |
52.1% | 3,581 |
| Joe Beveridge | 47.9% | 3,290 |
| Total Votes | 6,871 | |
Campaign contributions
From 2000 to 2024, candidates for Kansas State Senate District 21 raised a total of $1,172,750. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $58,638 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money
| Campaign contributions, Kansas State Senate District 21 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Amount | Candidates | Average |
| 2024 | $246,278 | 1 | $246,278 |
| 2020 | $252,732 | 2 | $126,366 |
| 2016 | $246,607 | 5 | $49,321 |
| 2012 | $214,044 | 3 | $71,348 |
| 2010 | $8,099 | 1 | $8,099 |
| 2008 | $72,227 | 3 | $24,076 |
| 2006 | $9,758 | 1 | $9,758 |
| 2004 | $26,120 | 1 | $26,120 |
| 2002 | $0 | 1 | $0 |
| 2000 | $96,885 | 2 | $48,443 |
| Total | $1,172,750 | 20 | $58,638 |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Kansas Constitution, "Article Two, Section 2", accessed February 9, 2021
- ↑ Kansas Bar Association, "The Constitution," accessed May 21, 2025
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
- ↑ Kansas Legislature, "2022 Statute," accessed August 9, 2023 (Statute 25-3903, Kansas Statutes)
- ↑ Kansas Legislature, "2022 Statute," accessed August 9, 2023 (Statute 25-312, Kansas Statutes)
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Kansas, Office of the Governor, "Governor Laura Kelly Signs Redistricting Maps for State House, Senate, Board of Education," April 15, 2022
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Kansas Legislature, "Sub SB563," accessed April 19, 2022
- ↑ Topeka Capital-Journal, "Kansas governor signs new legislative, board of education maps, with legal challenge possible," April 16, 2022
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 All About Redistricting, "Kansas," accessed April 28, 2015
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "Candidate list," accessed August 23, 2016
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2016 General Election official results," accessed December 19, 2016
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Kansas Secretary of State, "Candidate list," accessed June 3, 2016
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Kansas Secretary of State, "2016 Official Kansas Primary Election Results," accessed September 12, 2016
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "Official 2012 Primary Results," accessed October 17, 2013
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "Official 2012 General Election Results," accessed October 17, 2013
