Kansas Attorney General election, 2018

	2022 → ← 2014
Kansas Attorney General
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election;
Election details
	Filing deadline: June 1, 2018
	Primary: August 7, 2018; General: November 6, 2018; Pre-election incumbent(s):; Derek Schmidt (Republican)
How to vote
	Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Voting in Kansas
Ballotpedia analysis
	Federal and state primary competitiveness; State executive elections in 2018; Impact of term limits in 2018; State government trifectas; State government triplexes; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018
Kansas; executive elections
	Governor; Lieutenant governor; Attorney general; Secretary of state; Treasurer; Insurance commissioner; State board of education

Kansas held an election for attorney general on November 6, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was June 1, 2018.

For more information about the Democratic primary, click here.
For more information about the Republican primary, click here.

For more information on attorney general elections in 2018, click here.

SETTING THE STAGE
Heading into the 2018 election, the sitting attorney general was Derek Schmidt (R), who was first elected in 2010 and was re-elected in 2014. Schmidt filed for re-election to a third term in 2018.
At the time of the 2018 election, Kansas was a Republican trifecta. It first gained this status when Gov. Sam Brownback (R) took office in 2011. Kansas was a Republican triplex in 2018.
Kansas was won by the Republican candidate in each of the five presidential elections leading up to the 2018 election. The widest margin of victory was George W. Bush's 25 percent margin in 2004 while the narrowest was John McCain's 15 percent margin in 2008.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Attorney General of Kansas

Incumbent Derek Schmidt defeated Sarah Swain in the general election for Attorney General of Kansas on November 6, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Derek Schmidt (R)	59.0	614,436
	Sarah Swain (D)	41.0	427,289

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,041,725
= 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 Attorney General of Kansas

Sarah Swain advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Kansas on August 7, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sarah Swain	100.0	140,503

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 140,503
= 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 Attorney General of Kansas

Incumbent Derek Schmidt advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of Kansas on August 7, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Derek Schmidt	100.0	269,212

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 269,212
= 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.

State overview

Partisan control

This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Kansas heading into the 2018 elections.

Congressional delegation

Following the 2016 elections, Republicans held both U.S. Senate seats in Kansas.
Republicans held all four U.S. House seats in Kansas.

State executives

As of September 2018, Democrats held six of 11 state executive positions, and the remaining positions were officially nonpartisan.
The governor of Kansas was Republican Jeff Colyer. The state held elections for governor and lieutenant governor on November 6, 2018.

State legislature

Republicans controlled both chambers of the Kansas State Legislature. They had a 85-40 majority in the state House and a 30-9 majority in the state Senate.

Trifecta status

Kansas had a Republican trifecta, meaning that the Republican Party controlled both chambers of the state legislature and the governorship. Jeff Colyer served as governor; he succeeded Sam Brownback, who left office in January 2018 after being appointed ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom by Pres. Donald Trump.

2018 elections

See also: Kansas elections, 2018

Kansas held elections for the following positions in 2018:

Demographics

Demographic data for Kansas
	Kansas	U.S.
Total population:	2,906,721	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	81,759	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	85.2%	73.6%
Black/African American:	5.8%	12.6%
Asian:	2.6%	5.1%
Native American:	0.8%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more:	3.3%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	11.2%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	90.2%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	31%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$52,205	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	15%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Kansas. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

As of July 2016, Kansas' three largest cities were Wichita (pop. est. 390,000), Overland Park (pop. est. 190,000), and Kansas City (pop. est. 150,000).^[1]

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Kansas from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Kansas Secretary of State.

Historical elections

Presidential elections

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Kansas every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), Kansas 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Donald Trump	56.6%	Hillary Clinton	36.0%	20.6%
2012	Mitt Romney	59.7%	Barack Obama	37.9%	21.8%
2008	John McCain	56.6%	Barack Obama	41.6%	15.0%
2004	George W. Bush	62.0%	John Kerry	36.6%	25.4%
2000	George W. Bush	58.0%	Al Gore	37.2%	20.8%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Kansas from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), Kansas 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Jerry Moran	62.1%	Patrick Wiesner	32.2%	29.9%
2014	Pat Roberts	53.1%	Greg Orman	42.5%	10.6%
2010	Jerry Moran	70.0%	Lisa Johnston	26.3%	43.7%
2008	Pat Roberts	60.0%	Jim Slattery	36.4%	23.6%
2004	Sam Brownback	69.1%	Lee Jones	27.4%	41.7%
2002	Pat Roberts	82.5%	Steven Rosile	9.1%	73.4%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Kansas.

Election results (Governor), Kansas 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2014	Sam Brownback	49.8%	Paul Davis	46.1%	3.7%
2010	Sam Brownback	63.2%	Tom Holland	32.2%	31.0%
2006	Kathleen Sebelius	57.9%	Jim Barnett	40.4%	17.5%
2002	Kathleen Sebelius	52.9%	Tim Shallenburger	45.1%	7.8%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Kansas in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, Kansas 2000-2016
Year	Republicans	Republicans (%)	Democrats	Democrats (%)	Balance of power
2016	4	100%	0	0%	R+4
2014	4	100%	0	0%	R+4
2012	4	100%	0	0%	R+4
2010	4	100%	0	0%	R+4
2008	3	75.0%	1	25.0%	R+3
2006	2	50.0%	2	50.0%	Split
2004	3	75.0%	1	25.0%	R+3
2002	3	75.0%	1	25.0%	R+3
2000	3	75.0%	1	25.0%	R+3

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

Kansas Party Control: 1992-2025
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	25
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	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	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	R

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

There are no Pivot Counties in Kansas. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Kansas with 56.7 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 36.1 percent. In presidential elections between 1864 and 2016, Kansas voted Republican 84.21 percent of the time and Democratic 15.78 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, Kansas voted Republican all five times.^[2]

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Kansas. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.^[3]^[4]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 29 out of 125 state House districts in Kansas with an average margin of victory of 21.8 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 34 out of 125 state House districts in Kansas with an average margin of victory of 20.9 points. Clinton won six districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.

In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 96 out of 125 state House districts in Kansas with an average margin of victory of 32.8 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 91 out of 125 state House districts in Kansas with an average margin of victory of 35.5 points. Trump won 11 districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.

2016 presidential results by state House district
District	Obama	Romney	2012 Margin	Clinton	Trump	2016 Margin	Party Control
1	34.52%	63.35%	R+28.8	23.35%	71.63%	R+48.3	R
2	39.77%	57.53%	R+17.8	27.77%	66.50%	R+38.7	D
3	46.36%	51.22%	R+4.9	38.05%	54.82%	R+16.8	D
4	30.10%	67.41%	R+37.3	20.25%	74.79%	R+54.5	R
5	32.25%	65.27%	R+33	23.45%	69.48%	R+46	R
6	29.97%	68.18%	R+38.2	26.18%	67.84%	R+41.7	R
7	37.56%	60.32%	R+22.8	27.74%	66.71%	R+39	R
8	29.85%	68.98%	R+39.1	39.07%	55.47%	R+16.4	R
9	34.83%	62.80%	R+28	26.84%	66.79%	R+39.9	R
10	56.98%	40.00%	D+17	56.46%	35.14%	D+21.3	D
11	30.79%	66.61%	R+35.8	24.48%	70.05%	R+45.6	R
12	22.13%	75.66%	R+53.5	16.45%	78.95%	R+62.5	R
13	22.55%	75.21%	R+52.7	16.51%	77.88%	R+61.4	R
14	35.33%	63.12%	R+27.8	40.81%	52.23%	R+11.4	R
15	41.90%	55.57%	R+13.7	42.04%	48.78%	R+6.7	R
16	42.20%	56.14%	R+13.9	47.32%	45.91%	D+1.4	D
17	41.27%	56.85%	R+15.6	47.24%	45.90%	D+1.3	R
18	43.81%	54.18%	R+10.4	45.07%	47.41%	R+2.3	D
19	44.88%	53.47%	R+8.6	53.76%	39.96%	D+13.8	R
20	37.95%	60.61%	R+22.7	48.15%	46.37%	D+1.8	R
21	50.02%	48.02%	D+2	57.77%	35.71%	D+22.1	D
22	52.33%	44.57%	D+7.8	52.46%	38.89%	D+13.6	D
23	49.29%	48.38%	D+0.9	51.80%	40.42%	D+11.4	R
24	53.41%	43.84%	D+9.6	54.71%	37.19%	D+17.5	D
25	50.47%	47.54%	D+2.9	59.32%	33.38%	D+25.9	R
26	32.80%	65.25%	R+32.4	33.61%	58.71%	R+25.1	R
27	29.93%	68.57%	R+38.6	36.38%	57.73%	R+21.4	R
28	31.83%	66.95%	R+35.1	42.47%	52.42%	R+9.9	R
29	44.53%	53.59%	R+9.1	49.08%	44.00%	D+5.1	D
30	43.67%	54.04%	R+10.4	47.90%	44.60%	D+3.3	R
31	68.34%	29.12%	D+39.2	64.49%	28.46%	D+36	D
32	70.85%	26.33%	D+44.5	69.13%	24.93%	D+44.2	D
33	53.07%	44.74%	D+8.3	46.77%	46.81%	R+0	D
34	87.52%	11.61%	D+75.9	82.15%	14.18%	D+68	D
35	83.97%	14.71%	D+69.3	79.07%	17.21%	D+61.9	D
36	57.58%	41.19%	D+16.4	54.32%	40.28%	D+14	D
37	60.83%	36.66%	D+24.2	53.70%	39.94%	D+13.8	D
38	34.73%	63.29%	R+28.6	30.42%	63.22%	R+32.8	R
39	35.39%	62.94%	R+27.5	39.04%	53.11%	R+14.1	R
40	40.75%	57.27%	R+16.5	38.32%	53.56%	R+15.2	D
41	46.66%	50.70%	R+4	39.81%	50.78%	R+11	D
42	36.18%	61.14%	R+25	31.04%	61.02%	R+30	R
43	34.15%	63.16%	R+29	31.41%	59.98%	R+28.6	R
44	62.77%	34.89%	D+27.9	67.49%	25.53%	D+42	D
45	54.91%	42.82%	D+12.1	59.16%	33.32%	D+25.8	R
46	77.64%	19.20%	D+58.4	76.44%	14.71%	D+61.7	D
47	38.18%	59.43%	R+21.3	31.44%	61.94%	R+30.5	R
48	36.29%	62.51%	R+26.2	45.15%	48.99%	R+3.8	R
49	38.40%	59.65%	R+21.3	42.61%	49.98%	R+7.4	R
50	37.85%	59.91%	R+22.1	32.39%	60.99%	R+28.6	R
51	28.55%	68.80%	R+40.3	24.87%	67.57%	R+42.7	R
52	38.48%	59.83%	R+21.4	41.24%	52.33%	R+11.1	R
53	49.46%	48.55%	D+0.9	48.48%	44.69%	D+3.8	D
54	36.08%	61.42%	R+25.3	31.53%	61.19%	R+29.7	R
55	58.75%	38.23%	D+20.5	56.22%	35.86%	D+20.4	D
56	50.35%	47.61%	D+2.7	47.52%	45.37%	D+2.1	D
57	60.24%	37.08%	D+23.2	52.56%	40.10%	D+12.5	D
58	68.89%	28.89%	D+40	62.81%	30.95%	D+31.9	D
59	34.91%	62.26%	R+27.3	27.17%	65.34%	R+38.2	R
60	44.81%	52.89%	R+8.1	41.23%	50.34%	R+9.1	R
61	28.37%	68.24%	R+39.9	21.25%	72.95%	R+51.7	R
62	23.43%	74.47%	R+51	17.38%	77.05%	R+59.7	R
63	35.08%	62.22%	R+27.1	26.76%	66.59%	R+39.8	R
64	25.27%	72.77%	R+47.5	20.43%	73.29%	R+52.9	R
65	43.74%	54.05%	R+10.3	34.93%	58.47%	R+23.5	R
66	50.12%	46.43%	D+3.7	51.05%	38.79%	D+12.3	D
67	40.06%	57.80%	R+17.7	42.63%	49.20%	R+6.6	R
68	34.43%	63.50%	R+29.1	29.68%	63.68%	R+34	R
69	35.59%	61.03%	R+25.4	30.21%	60.42%	R+30.2	R
70	23.84%	73.94%	R+50.1	19.14%	74.53%	R+55.4	R
71	32.78%	64.93%	R+32.1	30.30%	61.66%	R+31.4	R
72	40.72%	57.33%	R+16.6	36.99%	55.92%	R+18.9	D
73	26.35%	71.50%	R+45.2	22.73%	70.59%	R+47.9	R
74	29.70%	67.81%	R+38.1	26.47%	66.27%	R+39.8	R
75	30.67%	66.90%	R+36.2	24.51%	69.40%	R+44.9	R
76	30.91%	66.27%	R+35.4	24.82%	68.60%	R+43.8	R
77	27.21%	70.71%	R+43.5	22.92%	70.69%	R+47.8	R
78	34.61%	63.40%	R+28.8	38.30%	53.87%	R+15.6	R
79	32.96%	65.00%	R+32	28.05%	65.25%	R+37.2	D
80	35.06%	62.13%	R+27.1	26.70%	67.44%	R+40.7	R
81	33.84%	63.99%	R+30.2	31.03%	61.27%	R+30.2	R
82	30.06%	67.52%	R+37.5	26.99%	65.38%	R+38.4	R
83	54.37%	43.11%	D+11.3	51.85%	39.65%	D+12.2	D
84	70.84%	26.86%	D+44	68.69%	24.53%	D+44.2	D
85	34.31%	63.97%	R+29.7	37.32%	56.24%	R+18.9	R
86	53.12%	43.21%	D+9.9	48.15%	43.40%	D+4.7	D
87	37.57%	60.74%	R+23.2	40.94%	52.41%	R+11.5	R
88	49.69%	48.03%	D+1.7	47.67%	44.31%	D+3.4	D
89	61.51%	37.13%	D+24.4	59.18%	34.73%	D+24.4	D
90	24.03%	73.80%	R+49.8	22.19%	71.68%	R+49.5	R
91	30.91%	66.80%	R+35.9	29.71%	63.58%	R+33.9	R
92	50.33%	46.78%	D+3.5	49.74%	42.40%	D+7.3	D
93	27.30%	70.28%	R+43	21.81%	71.39%	R+49.6	R
94	29.42%	68.69%	R+39.3	29.97%	63.69%	R+33.7	R
95	47.49%	49.01%	R+1.5	43.07%	48.91%	R+5.8	D
96	46.56%	50.44%	R+3.9	39.83%	52.31%	R+12.5	D
97	36.12%	61.26%	R+25.1	30.50%	61.72%	R+31.2	R
98	40.62%	56.26%	R+15.6	33.41%	58.84%	R+25.4	D
99	26.09%	72.26%	R+46.2	28.46%	64.66%	R+36.2	R
100	31.22%	66.92%	R+35.7	31.69%	61.73%	R+30	R
101	23.17%	75.00%	R+51.8	21.32%	72.49%	R+51.2	R
102	44.74%	51.67%	R+6.9	36.80%	53.97%	R+17.2	D
103	64.24%	33.10%	D+31.1	59.09%	33.27%	D+25.8	D
104	31.01%	67.13%	R+36.1	29.17%	64.11%	R+34.9	R
105	37.77%	59.32%	R+21.5	36.00%	56.30%	R+20.3	R
106	23.27%	74.50%	R+51.2	18.06%	76.25%	R+58.2	R
107	21.11%	76.29%	R+55.2	16.89%	77.37%	R+60.5	R
108	28.23%	68.87%	R+40.6	24.51%	68.39%	R+43.9	R
109	18.44%	79.59%	R+61.2	14.04%	81.00%	R+67	R
110	17.45%	80.37%	R+62.9	13.13%	82.19%	R+69.1	R
111	26.84%	71.10%	R+44.3	24.33%	69.49%	R+45.2	D
112	23.09%	75.31%	R+52.2	19.09%	75.85%	R+56.8	R
113	24.26%	73.83%	R+49.6	18.44%	76.06%	R+57.6	R
114	26.19%	71.17%	R+45	20.18%	73.85%	R+53.7	R
115	19.36%	78.60%	R+59.2	15.93%	78.96%	R+63	R
116	24.38%	73.12%	R+48.7	16.94%	76.79%	R+59.8	R
117	20.29%	78.08%	R+57.8	15.14%	79.76%	R+64.6	R
118	14.70%	83.44%	R+68.7	11.38%	84.39%	R+73	R
119	35.54%	62.75%	R+27.2	33.22%	61.23%	R+28	R
120	17.37%	80.09%	R+62.7	12.51%	82.46%	R+70	R
121	34.73%	63.15%	R+28.4	37.99%	54.71%	R+16.7	R
122	21.80%	76.17%	R+54.4	20.40%	74.49%	R+54.1	R
123	32.30%	65.78%	R+33.5	35.21%	58.47%	R+23.3	R
124	16.22%	82.22%	R+66	15.64%	79.80%	R+64.2	R
125	29.14%	69.53%	R+40.4	32.81%	62.26%	R+29.4	R
Total	38.08%	59.72%	R+21.6	36.28%	57.01%	R+20.7	-
Source: Daily Kos

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Kansas attorney general election 2018. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Kansas Attorney General election, 2018 - Google News

External links

Suggest a link

Kansas attorney general official website

Footnotes

[1] Kansas Demographics, "Kansas Cities by Population," accessed September 4, 2018

[2] 270towin.com, "Kansas," accessed June 1, 2017

[3] Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013

[4] Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017

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