Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
Notable Kansas races, 2016
 |
Presidential • U.S. Senate • U.S. House • State Senate • State House • State judges • Local judges • State ballot measures • Recalls • Candidate ballot access |
 |
| Notable Kansas Races | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Primary | August 2, 2016 |
| General | November 8, 2016 |
| 2016 Notable Races | |
|---|---|
| Choose a state below: | |
Ballotpedia identified four notable Kansas state legislative races in 2016.
Overview
- Main articles: Kansas House of Representatives elections, 2016, and Kansas State Senate elections, 2016
All 125 state House seats and all 40 state Senate seats were up for election in 2016.
| Partisan breakdown of the Kansas Legislature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Republicans | Democrats |
| Kansas House | 97 seats | 28 seats |
| Kansas Senate | 32 seats | 8 seats |
Republicans had held a state government trifecta since 2011, meaning they controlled the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature. They remained in total control of the state government following the November election. Gov. Sam Brownback (R) was not up for election in 2016, and Democrats would have had to gain 35 seats to win a majority in the House and 13 seats to win a majority in the Senate.
Democratic candidates challenged vulnerable Republicans in four closely divided districts: House District 3, House District 56, House District 88, and House District 98.[1][2][3]. Two of those challenges—in House District 56 and House District 98—feature rematches of the general election matchups from 2014.[1][4]
What makes a race notable?
Ballotpedia uses these criteria to identify notable races:
- Incumbents facing more conservative or liberal challengers
- Rematches between candidates
- Races that receive considerable media attention
- Races that could significantly affect the state's partisan balance
- Competitive races involving party leaders
- Open, competitive races with Republican and Democratic primaries
- Races that capture money and attention from outside groups, including key endorsements
Know of an interesting race we should include here? Email us!
Notable general elections
House District 3 - General election
| A Democratic candidate challenged the Republican incumbent in a Democratic-leaning district. |
Rep. Chuck Smith (R) pulled out a 114-vote victory in House District 3 in 2014, but faced another challenge in 2016.[4] Democratic candidate Monica Murnan ran against him in the Democratic-leaning district.[1][3] Smith and Murnan both ran unopposed in their respective primaries.[1]
House District 56 - General election
| The Republican incumbent faced a primary challenge en route to a general election rematch. |
Conservative Rep. Lane Hemsley (R) defeated Democratic candidate Virgil Weigel by just 40 votes in their previous matchup in 2014.[1][4] Although House District 56 leans Democratic, Hemsley voted for high-profile conservative legislation, including concealed carry and abortion bills, during his first term in office.[3] He faced Larry Geil in the GOP primary en route to a general election rematch with Weigel.[1] Weigel ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.[1]
House District 88 - General election
| A Democratic candidate challenged the Republican incumbent in a closely divided district. |
Rep. Joseph Scapa (R) first won election to the state House in District 87 in 2010.[3][5] Following redistricting, he lost the 2012 race for newly-drawn District 88 to Democratic candidate Patricia Sloop.[6][7] He reclaimed a seat in the House in 2014, defeating Sloop by 28 votes in a District 88 rematch, but faced a new Democratic challenger, Elizabeth Bishop, in 2016.[1][4][7] Scapa and Bishop both ran unopposed in their respective primaries.[1]
House District 98 - General election
| A Democratic candidate competed to challenge the GOP incumbent to a rematch. |
Democratic candidate Steven Crum competed for a shot at a general election rematch with Rep. Steven Anthimides (R) in House District 98.[1] Crum, who first took on Justin Kraemer in the Democratic primary, lost to Anthimides by 129 votes in 2014.[1][4] Anthimides was appointed to represent the swing district in January 2014, after former Rep. Phil Hermanson (R) moved out of the district and resigned his seat.[2][8]
Freshman legislators
The following is a list of challengers who won election on November 8.
- Adam Smith (Kansas) (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 120
- Anita Judd-Jenkins (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 80
- Barbara Bollier (Republican), .Kansas State Senate, District 7
- Boyd Orr (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 115
- Bradley Ralph (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 119
- Brenda Dietrich (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 52
- Brenda Landwehr (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 105
- Brett Parker (Democratic), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 29
- Bruce Givens (Republican), .Kansas State Senate, District 14
- Bud Estes (Republican), .Kansas State Senate, District 38
- Cindy Holscher (Democratic), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 16
- Cindy Neighbor (Democratic), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 18
- Clay Aurand (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 106
- Dan Goddard (Republican), .Kansas State Senate, District 15
- Dave Baker (Kansas) (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 68
- Debbie Deere (Democratic), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 40
- Dinah Sykes (Republican), .Kansas State Senate, District 21
- Doug Blex (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 12
- Eber Phelps (Democratic), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 111
- Edward Berger (Republican), .Kansas State Senate, District 34
- Elizabeth Bishop (Democratic), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 88
- Eric Smith (Kansas) (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 76
- Francis Awerkamp (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 61
- Gene Suellentrop (Republican), .Kansas State Senate, District 27
- Greg Lakin (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 91
- Jan Kessinger (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 20
- Jeff Pittman (Kansas) (Democratic), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 41
- Jerry Stogsdill (Democratic), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 21
- Jim Gartner (Democratic), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 53
- Jim Karleskint (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 42
- John Doll (Kansas) (Republican), .Kansas State Senate, District 39
- John Eplee (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 63
- John Skubal (Republican), .Kansas State Senate, District 11
- John Wheeler Jr. (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 123
- Joy Koesten (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 28
- KC Ohaebosim (Democratic), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 89
- Larry Alley (Republican), .Kansas State Senate, District 32
- Leo Delperdang (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 94
- Leonard Mastroni (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 117
- Lynn Rogers (Kansas) (Democratic), .Kansas State Senate, District 25
- Mark Schreiber (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 60
- Mary Jo Taylor (Republican), .Kansas State Senate, District 33
- Mary Martha Good (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 75
- Monica Murnan (Democratic), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 3
- Patsy Terrell (Democratic), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 102
- Patty Markley (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 8
- Randall Hardy (Republican), .Kansas State Senate, District 24
- Rick Billinger (Republican), .Kansas State Senate, District 40
- Roger Elliott (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 87
- Ronald B. Ellis (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 47
- Sean Tarwater Sr. (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 27
- Shelee Brim (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 39
- Steven Crum (Democratic), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 98
- Susan Humphries (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 99
- Tim Hodge (Democratic), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 72
- Tom Cox (Kansas) (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 17
- Tory Arnberger (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 112
- Trevor Jacobs (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 4
- Vic Miller (Democratic), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 58
- Virgil Weigel (Democratic), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 56
Defeated incumbents
The following is a list of incumbents who were defeated on November 8.
- Amanda Grosserode (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 16
- Chuck Smith (Kansas) (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 3
- James Todd (Kansas) (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 29
- Janice Pauls (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 102
- John Bradford (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 40
- Joseph Scapa (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 88
- Lane Hemsley (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 56
- Marc Rhoades (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 72
- Steven Anthimides (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 98
- Sue E. Boldra (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 111
- Tony Barton (Republican), .Kansas House of Representatives, District 41
See also
- Kansas House of Representatives
- Kansas State Senate
- Kansas State Legislature
- State legislative elections, 2016
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Kansas Secretary of State, "Candidate Lists," accessed July 30, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kansas Health Institute News Service, "Field Set for Competitive Legislative Races in Kansas," June 1, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Lawrence Journal-World, "Top 5 Kansas Legislative Districts to Watch in 2016 Elections," November 1, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Kansas Secretary of State, "2014 General Election Official Vote Totals," accessed July 28, 2016
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2010 General Election Official Vote Totals," accessed July 28, 2016
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2012 General Election Official Vote Totals," accessed July 28, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Wichita Eagle, "South-Central Kansas Incumbents Mostly Hold On to Legislative Seats," November 4, 2014
- ↑ The Wichita Eagle, "State Representative Phil Hermanson Resigns From Kansas Legislature," October 31, 2013
