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Presidential election in Kansas, 2016

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General election in Kansas
  Date: November 8, 2016
2016 winner: Donald Trump
Electoral votes: Six
2012 winner: Mitt Romney (R)
Democratic Caucuses
  Date: March 5, 2016
Winner: Bernie Sanders
Republican Caucuses
  Date: March 5, 2016
Winner: Ted Cruz
Down ballot races in Kansas
  U.S. Senate
U.S. House
Kansas State Senate
Kansas House of Representatives
Kansas judicial elections
Kansas local judicial elections
State ballot measures
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Kansas held an election for the president of the United States on November 8, 2016. Democratic and Republican caucuses in Kansas took place on March 5, 2016.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Donald Trump won Kansas in the general election.
  • In 2016, Kansas had six electoral votes, which was 1.1 percent of the 538 electoral votes up for grabs and 2.2 percent of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the general election.
  • Between 1900 and 2016, Kansas cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 70 percent of the time. In that same time frame, Kansas supported Republican candidates more often than Democratic candidates, 83.33 to 16.67 percent, making it one of the most reliably Republican states in the country. Kansas favored Republicans in every presidential election between 2000 and 2016.
  • Democratic and Republican caucuses took place in Kansas on March 5, 2016. Bernie Sanders won the Kansas Democratic caucuses 67.7 percent of the vote. Ted Cruz won the Kansas Republican caucuses with 48.2 percent.

    • General election candidates and results

    See also: Ballot access for presidential candidates

    The candidate list below is based on an official list on the Kansas secretary of state website. The candidate names below appear in the order in which they were listed on the official list—not necessarily the order in which they appeared on the ballot in November. Write-in candidates were not included in the list below.

    Presidential candidates on the ballot in Kansas

    ☐ Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine (Democratic)
    ☑ Donald Trump/Mike Pence (Republican)
    ☐ Gary Johnson/Bill Weld (Libertarian)
    ☐ Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka (Green - listed as Independent)

    Results

    U.S. presidential election, Kansas, 2016
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes Electoral votes
         Democratic Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine 36.1% 427,005 0
         Republican Green check mark transparent.pngDonald Trump/Mike Pence 56.7% 671,018 6
         Libertarian Gary Johnson/Bill Weld 4.7% 55,406 0
         Green Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka 2% 23,506 0
         - Write-in votes 0.6% 7,467 0
    Total Votes 1,184,402 6
    Election results via: Federal Election Commission

    Historical election trends

    See also: Presidential election accuracy

    Below is an analysis of Kansas's voting record in presidential elections. The state's accuracy is based on the number of times a state has voted for a winning presidential candidate. The majority of statistical data is from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration and was compiled, here, by Ballotpedia, unless otherwise noted.

    Presidential election voting record in Kansas, 1900-2016

    Between 1900 and 2016:

    • Kansas participated in 30 presidential elections.
    • Kansas voted for the winning presidential candidate 70 percent of the time. The average accuracy of voting for winning presidential candidates for all 50 states in this time frame was 72.31 percent.[1]
    • Kansas voted Democratic 16.67 percent of the time and Republican 83.33 percent of the time.

    Presidential election voting record in Kansas, 2000-2016

    *An asterisk indicates that that candidate also won the national electoral vote in that election.

    Election results

    2012

    U.S. presidential election, Kansas, 2012
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes Electoral votes
         Democratic Barack Obama/Joe Biden Incumbent 38% 440,726 0
         Republican Green check mark transparent.pngMitt Romney/Paul Ryan 59.7% 692,634 6
         Libertarian Gary Johnson/Jim Gray 1.8% 20,456 0
         Reform Chuck Baldwin/Joseph Martin 0.4% 5,017 0
         Write-in Write-in candidates 0.1% 1,138 0
    Total Votes 1,159,971 6
    Election results via: Kansas Secretary of State

    2008

    U.S. presidential election, Kansas, 2008
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes Electoral votes
         Democratic Barack Obama/Joe Biden 41.7% 514,765 0
         Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJohn McCain/Sarah Palin 56.6% 699,655 6
         Independent Ralph Nader/Matt Gonzalez 0.9% 10,527 0
         Libertarian Bob Barr/Wayne Allyn Root 0.5% 6,706 0
         Reform Chuck Baldwin/Darrell Castle 0.3% 4,148 0
         Write-in Write-in candidates 0% 71 0
    Total Votes 1,235,872 6
    Election results via: Kansas Secretary of State

    Electoral votes

    See also: Electoral College

    The president of the United States is not elected by popular vote but rather by electors in the Electoral College. In fact, when Americans vote for president, they are actually voting for a slate of electors selected by members of Democratic and Republican state parties or nominated in some other fashion. Under this system, which is laid out in Article 2, Section 1, of the Constitution, each state is allocated one electoral vote for every member of their congressional delegation, meaning one for each member of the U.S. House and one for each of their two Senators.

    Kansas electors

    In 2016, Kansas had six electoral votes. Kansas's share of electoral votes represented 1.1 percent of the 538 electoral votes up for grabs in the general election and 2.2 percent of the 270 votes needed to be elected president.

    "Faithless electors"

    The U.S. Constitution does not dictate how presidential electors are to cast their votes, but, in general, electors are expected to vote for the winner of the popular vote in their state or the candidates of the party that nominated them to serve as electors. Electors who choose not to vote for the winner of the popular vote or the candidates of the party that nominated them are known as "faithless electors." Faithless electors are rare. Between 1900 and 2012, there were only eight known instances of faithless electors.

    Several states have passed laws against faithless electors and require electors to vote for the winner of the popular vote in their state, for the candidate of the party that nominated them to serve as electors, or in accordance with any pledge they may have been required to make at the time of their nomination. In states with these types of laws, faithless electors can be fined or replaced, or their votes can be nullified.[3][4]

    Kansas was one of 20 states in 2016 without a law seeking to bind the votes of presidential electors.

    Down ballot races

    See also: Kansas elections, 2016

    Below is a list of down ballot races in Kansas covered by Ballotpedia in 2016.

    Caucuses

    Quick facts

    Democrats:
    • 2016 Democratic winner: Bernie Sanders
    • 2008 Democratic winner: Barack Obama
    • Type: Caucus
    • Delegate allocation: Proportional
    • Pledged delegates at stake: 33
    • Total delegates at stake: 37
    		 Republicans
    • 2016 Republican winner: Ted Cruz
    • 2012 Republican winner: Rick Santorum
    • Type: Caucus
    • Delegate allocation: Proportional
    • Pledged delegates at stake: 40
    • Total delegates at stake: 40

    Democrats

    Bernie Sanders won the 2016 Kansas Democratic caucus, defeating Hillary Clinton 67 to 32 percent. The Kansas Democratic Party declared Sanders the winner at 7:15 pm CST with 90 percent of precincts reporting in. 40,000 voters participated in the 2016 Kansas Democratic caucus. Voter turnout in the 2008 Kansas Democratic caucus was approximately 36,500. Barack Obama won the state in 2008, beating Hillary Clinton 74 to 26 percent.[5] Sanders' victory in Kansas marked his second win of the evening of March 5, 2016, which also saw a Democratic caucus in Nebraska and a primary in Louisiana. Sanders won the Nebraska caucus too.

    Kansas divides its major caucus regions into congressional districts, of which the state has four. Sanders won all of them. In District 2, Sanders beat Clinton 71 to 28 percent.[6]

    Republicans

    Ted Cruz won the 2016 Kansas Republican caucus with 48 percent of the vote. Donald Trump came in second with 23 percent.[6] In a poll taken two days before the caucus, Donald Trump led Cruz by six points in the state.[7] Prior to his caucus victory in Kansas, Cruz also won caucuses in Iowa and Alaska on February 1 and March 1, respectively.[8] Cruz won all four of Kansas' congressional districts, including District 3, home to Kansas City and roughly 740,000 residents.[9] Cruz's biggest victory, however, came in District 4, where the city of Wichita is located. Cruz beat Trump 58 to 22 percent in that district.[6] Rick Santorum won the Kansas Republican caucus in 2012, beating eventual Republican nominee Mitt Romney 51 to 21 percent.[10]

    2016 primary results

    Democrats

    Kansas Democratic Caucus, 2016
    Candidate Vote % Votes Delegates
    Green check mark transparent.pngBernie Sanders 67.7% 26,450 10
    Hillary Clinton 32.3% 12,593 23
    Totals 39,043 33
    Source: The New York Times and Kansas Democratic Party

    Republicans

    Kansas Republican Caucus, 2016
    Candidate Vote % Votes Delegates
    Green check mark transparent.pngTed Cruz 48.2% 35,207 24
    Donald Trump 23.3% 17,062 9
    Marco Rubio 16.7% 12,189 6
    John Kasich 10.7% 7,795 1
    Other 1.2% 863 0
    Totals 73,116 40
    Source: The New York Times and CNN

    Polls

    Republican Party Republican Party presidential primary polling (Kansas)
    Poll Donald Trump Ted CruzMarco RubioJohn KasichUnsure or OtherMargin of ErrorSample Size
    Trafalgar Group
    March 2-3, 2016    		35.18%29.31%16.56%12.66%6.3%+/-2.961,060
    Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

    Delegates

    Delegate selection

    See also: 2016 presidential nominations: calendar and delegate rules

    Democratic Party

    Democratic Party Logo.png

    Kansas had 37 delegates at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Of this total, 33 were pledged delegates. National party rules stipulated how Democratic delegates in all states were allocated. Pledged delegates were allocated to a candidate in proportion to the votes he or she received in a state's primary or caucus. A candidate was eligible to receive a share of the state's pledged delegates if he or she won at least 15 percent of the votes cast in the primary or caucus. There were three types of pledged Democratic delegates: congressional district delegates, at-large delegates, and party leaders and elected officials (PLEOs). Congressional district delegates were allocated proportionally based on the primary or caucus results in a given district. At-large and PLEO delegates were allocated proportionally based on statewide caucus results.[11][12]

    Four party leaders and elected officials served as unpledged delegates. These delegates were not required to adhere to the results of a state's primary or caucus.[11][13]

    Kansas superdelegates

    See also: Superdelegates from Kansas, 2016 and Superdelegates and the 2016 Democratic National Convention

    Republican Party

    Logo-GOP.png

    Kansas had 40 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, 12 were district-level delegates (three for each of the state's four congressional districts). District-level delegates were allocated proportionally; a candidate had to win at least 10 percent of the district caucus vote in order to be eligible to receive any of the district's delegates.[14][15]

    Of the remaining 28 delegates, 25 served at large. At-large delegates were allocated on a proportional basis; a candidate had to win at least 10 percent of the statewide caucus vote in order to be eligible to receive any at-large delegates. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention.[14][15]

    Republican delegates

    See also: Republican delegates from Kansas, 2016 and RNC delegate guidelines from Kansas, 2016

    Presidential voting history

    Kansas presidential election results (1900-2024)

    • 5 Democratic wins
    • 27 Republican wins
    Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
    Winning Party R R R D D R R R D D R R R R R R D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

    State profile

    Demographic data for Kansas
     KansasU.S.
    Total population:2,906,721316,515,021
    Land area (sq mi):81,7593,531,905
    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.

    Presidential voting pattern

    See also: Presidential voting trends in Kansas

    Kansas voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.


    More Kansas coverage on Ballotpedia

    See also

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ This average includes states like Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, which did not participate in all 30 presidential elections between 1900 and 2016. It does not include Washington, D.C., which cast votes for president for the first time in 1964, or Alaska and Hawaii, which cast votes for president for the first time in 1960.
    2. ↑ This number refers to the number of times that the state voted for the winning presidential candidate between 2000 and 2016.
    3. ↑ Archives.gov, "About the Electors," accessed July 28, 2016
    4. ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The Electoral College: How it works in contemporary presidential elections," April 13, 2016
    5. ↑ CNN, "Election Center: 2008," accessed March 5, 2016
    6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 The New York Times, "Kansas Caucus Results, March 5, 2016
    7. ↑ RealClearPolitics, "Kansas Republican Presidential Caucus," accessed March 5, 2016
    8. ↑ The New York Times, "Cruz Wins Kansas Caucuses as 5 States Vote on ‘Super Saturday,'" March 5, 2016
    9. ↑ Cohen, R. and Barnes, J. 2015. The Almanac of American Politics, 2016. New York, NY: Columbia Books
    10. ↑ CNN, "Kansas Results," accessed March 5, 2016
    11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Democratic National Committee, "2016 Democratic National Convention Delegate/Alternate Allocation," updated February 19, 2016
    12. ↑ The Green Papers, "2016 Democratic Convention," accessed May 7, 2021
    13. ↑ Democratic National Committee's Office of Party Affairs and Delegate Selection, "Unpledged Delegates -- By State," May 27, 2016
    14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Republican National Committee, "2016 Presidential Nominating Process," accessed October 6, 2015
    15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 CNN.com, "Republican National Convention roll call vote," accessed July 20, 2016
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    Insiders Poll: First Democratic debate (October 13, 2015) • Presidential Nominating Index: Clinton remains choice of Democratic Insiders • Presidential Nominating Index: Bush remains choice of Republican Insiders • Insiders Poll: Winners and losers from the Fox News Republican Debate


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