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Michael O'Donnell (Kansas)
Michael O'Donnell (Republican Party) was a member of the Sedgwick County Commission in Kansas, representing District 2. O'Donnell assumed office in 2017. O'Donnell left office on January 11, 2021.
O'Donnell (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Sedgwick County Commission to represent District 2 in Kansas. O'Donnell lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.
O'Donnell is a former Republican member of the Kansas State Senate, representing District 25 from 2013 to 2017.
Biography
O'Donnell earned his B.S. in political science from Friends University. O'Donnell has served as chair of the Sedgwick County Young Republicans and member of the board of the Wichita YMCA and The American Cancer Society's Cattleman's Ball.[1]
Elections
2020
See also: Municipal elections in Sedgwick County, Kansas (2020)
General election
General election for Sedgwick County Commission District 2
Sarah Lopez defeated incumbent Michael O'Donnell in the general election for Sedgwick County Commission District 2 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Sarah Lopez (D) | 49.7 | 17,041 | |
 | Michael O'Donnell (R) | 48.9 | 16,777 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.4 | 466 | ||
| Total votes: 34,284 | |||
 = 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 Sedgwick County Commission District 2
Sarah Lopez advanced from the Democratic primary for Sedgwick County Commission District 2 on August 4, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Sarah Lopez | 100.0 | 3,861 | |
| Total votes: 3,861 | |||
| = 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 Sedgwick County Commission District 2
Incumbent Michael O'Donnell defeated Kathleen Garrison and Cindy Miles in the Republican primary for Sedgwick County Commission District 2 on August 4, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Michael O'Donnell | 51.3 | 4,419 |
 | Kathleen Garrison | 28.7 | 2,477 | |
 | Cindy Miles | 20.0 | 1,724 | |
| Total votes: 8,620 | |||
| = 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. Incumbent Michael O'Donnell (R) did not seek re-election.
Lynn Rogers defeated Jim Price in the Kansas State Senate District 25 general election.[2][3]
| Kansas State Senate, District 25 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Lynn Rogers |
58.48% | 11,704 | |
| Republican | Jim Price | 41.52% | 8,308 | |
| Total Votes | 20,012 | |||
| Source: Kansas Secretary of State | ||||
Lynn Rogers ran unopposed in the Kansas State Senate District 25 Democratic primary.[4][5]
| Kansas State Senate, District 25 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Lynn Rogers (unopposed) | |
Jim Price defeated William Eveland in the Kansas State Senate District 25 Republican primary.[4][5]
| Kansas State Senate, District 25 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Jim Price |
68.18% | 1,907 | |
| Republican | William Eveland | 31.82% | 890 | |
| Total Votes | 2,797 | |||
2012
- See also: Kansas State Senate elections, 2012
O'Donnell won election in the 2012 election for Kansas State Senate District 25. O'Donnell defeated incumbent Jean Kurtis Schodorf in the Republican primary on August 7, and defeated Dave Thomas (L) and Tim Snow (D) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[6][7]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Michael O'Donnell |
46.6% | 9,326 | |
| Democratic | Tim Snow | 45.3% | 9,063 | |
| Libertarian | Dave Thomas | 8% | 1,607 | |
| Total Votes | 19,996 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Michael O'Donnell |
58.8% | 2,785 |
| Jean Schodorf Incumbent | 41.2% | 1,949 |
| Total Votes | 4,734 | |
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Michael O'Donnell did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2012
O'Donnell's website highlighted the following campaign issues:[8]
- Creating New Jobs: "I will never stop working until the business climate in Kansas is the best in America. We must have a tax structure that encourages job growth and strengthens the middle class. I support tax cuts that focus on new jobs and more take home pay – for every family and small business."
- Cut Wasteful Spending: "It is imperative to have lawmakers in Topeka who can and will make tough decisions for our state. I want to cut wasteful spending in Topeka and get us on course for fiscal responsibility. I know when to say enough is enough and end the waste and mismanagement throughout government."
- Protecting Education: "We need our leaders to fight for each classroom and make sure your tax dollars make it to the teachers and the students – where it is needed most. Our schools and school systems are in desperate need for lawmakers who support their efforts. Our children deserve more funding."
- Preserving Healthcare: "I will oppose ObamaCare consistently to make sure WE have control of our own health care -- not the bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. Each time, I will vote against ObamaCare."
- Defending Our Constitution: "The 1st and 2nd Amendments are under attack daily – freedom of religion and speech, and the right to keep and bear arms. I will consistently fight to uphold these constitutional amendments."
- Limiting Federal Government: "I will preserve our independence by combatting government overreach in our lives. Out-of-control federal spending must be addressed and spending on non-constitutional programs must be eliminated. We no longer have an option."
- Guarding Lives: "I will fight for the life of every Kansan from conception to natural death and will promote our law enforcement daily."
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, O'Donnell served on the following committees:
| Kansas committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Public Health and Welfare, Vice Chair |
| • Ethics and Elections |
| • Ways and Means |
| • Home and Community Based Services Oversight |
| • Natural Resources |
| • Legislative Post Audit |
| • Local Government |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, O'Donnell served on the following committees:
| Kansas committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Public Health and Welfare |
| • Ethics, Elections and Local Government |
| • Ways and Means |
| • Natural Resources |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
Kansas Freedom Index
The Kansas Policy Institute, Kansas’s "first free market think tank," releases its legislator scorecard as a part of its Kansas Freedom Index for Kansas state representatives and senators once a year. The Score Card gives each legislator a score from 1%-100% based on how they voted in the prior legislative term on specific issues which the Kansas Policy Institute thought were pro-limited government policies.[9]
2013
Michael O'Donnell received a score of 67.2% in the 2013 index.[10]
About the county
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Sedgwick County, Kansas | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sedgwick County | Kansas | |
| Population | 523,824 | 2,937,880 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 996 | 81,758 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 71.2% | 77.9% |
| Black/African American | 7.9% | 5.4% |
| Asian | 4.2% | 2.9% |
| Native American | 0.8% | 0.7% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Other (single race) | 4.8% | 3.9% |
| Multiple | 11% | 9% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 16.1% | 13.3% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 89.5% | 91.9% |
| College graduation rate | 31.6% | 35.2% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $67,675 | $72,639 |
| Persons below poverty level | 14% | 11.5% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023). | ||
| **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. | ||
Noteworthy events
Acquittal on wire fraud and money laundering charges (2019)
On March 4, 2019, a jury acquitted O'Donnell of 21 counts of wire fraud.[11] On March 7, U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren granted prosecutors' request to drop the five remaining charges—two charges of wire fraud and three charges of money laundering.[12][13]
In May 2018, O’Donnell was indicted by a federal grand jury on 23 counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering. O’Donnell was accused of taking $10,500 from his campaign funds and using it for his personal use. The indictment alleged that over a couple of months in 2015 and 2016, O’Donnell wrote checks from his campaign account to three of his friends who cashed them. Prosecutors alleged that O’Donnell’s friends did little or no work on his campaign and that some of the money from the cashed checks went into O’Donnell’s personal checking account.[14]
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Michael for Kansas, "Biography," accessed July 26, 2012
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "Candidate list," accessed August 23, 2016
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2016 General Election official results," accessed December 19, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kansas Secretary of State, "Candidate list," accessed June 3, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Kansas Secretary of State, "2016 Official Kansas Primary Election Results," accessed September 12, 2016
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2012 Primary Election - Official Vote Totals," accessed March 29, 2014
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2012 General Election - Official Vote Totals," accessed March 31, 2014
- ↑ Michael for Kansas, "Issues," accessed July 26, 2012
- ↑ Kansas Policy Institute, "Freedom Index," accessed March 31, 2014
- ↑ Ballotpedia, "2013 Kansas Policy Index," accessed March 10, 2015
- ↑ KAKE, "Jury gets case in Michael O'Donnell fraud trial," March 1, 2019
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedkcur - ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs nameddismiss - ↑ Witchita Eagle, "Commissioner Michael O’Donnell’s wire fraud, money laundering trial starts Monday," February 25, 2019
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Sedgwick County Commission, District 2 2017 - 2021 |
Succeeded by Sarah Lopez (D) |
| Preceded by Jean Schodorf (R) |
Kansas State Senate District 25 2013–2017 |
Succeeded by Lynn Rogers (D) |
 |
State of Kansas Topeka (capital) |
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