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Ken Selzer
Ken Selzer (Republican Party) was the Kansas Commissioner of Insurance. He assumed office on January 12, 2015. He left office in 2019.
Selzer (Republican Party) ran for election for Governor of Kansas. He lost in the Republican primary on August 7, 2018.
Click here for more information on the August 7 Republican primary election. Click here for more information on the November 6 general election.
Selzer was the Republican Kansas commissioner of insurance from 2015 to 2019. He was first elected to this position in 2014, and was sworn in on January 12, 2015.[1] He succeeded three-term officeholder Sandy Praeger (R).[2]
Biography
Selzer's professional experience includes working as a CPA and executive managing director for Aon Benfield.[3]
Political career
Kansas Insurance Commissioner (2015-2019)
Selzer was first elected Kansas commissioner of insurance in 2014. After securing the Republican nomination for insurance commissioner in a hotly contested primary race, Selzer faced Democrat Dennis Anderson on November 4, 2014, and easily won the open seat with 61.5 percent of the general election vote. He took office on January 12, 2015. He left the position in January 2019.
Elections
2018
General election
Laura Kelly defeated Kris Kobach, Greg Orman, Jeff Caldwell, and Rick Kloos in the general election for Governor of Kansas on November 6, 2018.
General election
General election for Governor of Kansas
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Laura Kelly (D) | 48.0 | 506,727 |
 | Kris Kobach (R) | 43.0 | 453,645 | |
 | Greg Orman (Independent) | 6.5 | 68,590 | |
 | Jeff Caldwell (L) | 1.9 | 20,020 | |
 | Rick Kloos (Independent) | 0.6 | 6,584 | |
| Total votes: 1,055,566 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Andrea Costley (Independent)
- Aaron Coleman (Independent)
- JoeLarry Hunter (Independent)
Democratic primary
Laura Kelly defeated Carl Brewer, Joshua Svaty, Arden Andersen, and Jack Bergeson in the Democratic primary for Governor of Kansas on August 7, 2018.
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of Kansas
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Laura Kelly | 51.4 | 80,377 |
 | Carl Brewer | 20.2 | 31,493 | |
 | Joshua Svaty | 17.5 | 27,292 | |
 | Arden Andersen | 8.4 | 13,161 | |
| Jack Bergeson | 2.5 | 3,950 | ||
| Total votes: 156,273 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Michael Tabman (D)
Republican primary
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of Kansas on August 7, 2018.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of Kansas
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kris Kobach | 40.6 | 128,832 |
 | Jeff Colyer | 40.5 | 128,489 | |
 | Jim Barnett | 8.8 | 27,994 | |
 | Ken Selzer | 7.8 | 24,804 | |
 | Patrick Kucera | 1.0 | 3,212 | |
| Tyler Ruzich | 0.7 | 2,275 | ||
| Joseph Tutera Jr. | 0.5 | 1,559 | ||
| Total votes: 317,165 | |||
| = 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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2014
Selzer ran for Kansas Insurance Commissioner in 2014. Incumbent Commissioner Sandy Praeger (R) opted not to seek re-election in 2014, leaving the seat open.[3] Selzer won the Republican nomination in a hotly contested primary on August 5, 2014. He defeated Democrat Dennis Anderson in the general election. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
Results
Primary election
| Kansas Insurance Commissioner, Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Ken Selzer |
27.1% | 64,911 | ||
| Beverly Gossage | 23% | 55,306 | ||
| Clark Shultz | 22.7% | 54,565 | ||
| David Powell | 16.8% | 40,388 | ||
| John Toplikar | 10.3% | 24,773 | ||
| Total Votes | 239,943 | |||
| Election results via Kansas Secretary of State. | ||||
General election
| Insurance Commissioner of Kansas, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Ken Selzer |
61.5% | 512,679 | |
| Democratic | Dennis Anderson | 38.5% | 320,862 | |
| Total Votes | 833,541 | |||
| Election results via Kansas Secretary of State | ||||
Endorsements
Selzer's campaign was endorsed by former state budget director Steve Anderson.[2]
Campaign themes
2018
Campaign website
The following themes were found on Selzer's official campaign website.
| “ |
Experienced Businessman Who Can Create More Efficient Government I was elected 3 years ago to serve as your Kansas Insurance Commissioner. Since then we have calmly and thoughtfully managed our way to more than a 15% reduction in the number of employees and more than a 15% reduction in costs. And all the while we ramped up our focus on the customer, the citizens of Kansas! Our staff did such a great job of focusing on the customer and in being more and more responsive that an independent outside organization ranked the Kansas Insurance Department the 2nd highest in the nation! We ranked exceptionally high in customer responsiveness, in transparency, our web site, and other important factors. In short, I've been in state government long enough to prove we can make it work better, but not long enough to accept more politics as usual.[4] |
” |
| —Kansans for Selzer[5] | ||
See also
| Kansas | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
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- Governor of Kansas
- Kansas gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018
- Kansas Insurance Commissioner
- Kansas down ballot state executive elections, 2014
- Insurance Commissioner
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Governor of Kansas
- Office of the Kansas Insurance Commissioner
- Ken Selzer for Insurance Commissioner 2014 Official campaign website
Footnotes
- ↑ Kansas Insurance Commissioner, "Homepage," accessed January 12, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kansas.com, "Former budget chief Anderson joins Selzer campaign for Insurance Commissioner," September 12, 2013
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ken Selzer for Insurance Commissioner 2014 Official campaign website, "Homepage," accessed September 27, 2013
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Kansans for Selzer, "Issues," accessed March 18, 2018
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sandy Praeger (R) |
Kansas Commissioner of Insurance 2015–2019 |
Succeeded by Vicki Schmidt (R) |
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State of Kansas Topeka (capital) |
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