Sam Lane (Kansas)
Sam Lane (Democratic Party) is running for election for Kansas Secretary of State. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]
Lane completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Sam Lane was born in Leavenworth, Kansas. He graduated from Leavenworth High School. He attended the University of Kansas. His career experience includes working in testing and inspection for construction, manufacturing, retail, shipping, and as a line cook.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: Kansas Secretary of State election, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for Kansas Secretary of State
Sam Lane, Pat Proctor, and Ken Rahjes are running in the general election for Kansas Secretary of State on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
![]() | Sam Lane (D) ![]() | |
![]() | Pat Proctor (R) | |
Ken Rahjes (R) |
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Endorsements
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Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Sam Lane completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Lane's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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|- Election integrity, vital to a healthy democratic republic, is under threat from partisan politics. The Secretary of State, charged with overseeing elections, is the first line of defense. And that's a line I intend to hold.
- Fair and accurate elections -- I intend to make certain we have a complete paper trail for every ballot location, to achieve complete transparency and so voter fraud has no place to hide. In this era of tense, sometimes near-violent political polarization I also intend to make sure every ballot location is well-protected and to work to restore the reliability of mail-in ballots so we can all vote in safety. And I absolutely intend to push back against attempts at voter suppression, no matter where it comes from. Every citizen Constitutionally eligible to vote deserves safe and easy voting access. That's fundamental to democracy -- every voice matters
- Both sides of the aisle claim election integrity is being compromised, but for different reasons. It's my intent to take both sides seriously, regardless of what I personally think is or isn't true. I have to take every threat seriously, because our elections are too vital to risk to a biased judgement call.
More broadly, I'm a freedom-loving American, so civil liberties are a big deal to me -- freedom of speech, right to bear arms, due process (protection from unwarranted search and seizure, writ of habeas corpus), privacy, freedom of religion. Constitutional checks and balances are also important to me, as is education.
Being a history nerd, I could name any number of admirable historical figures. John Brown wasn't afraid to die for his Abolitionist beliefs. Rudramadevi led her kingdom with skilled statesmanship in peace and war. Gráinne Mhaol was irrepressible. Cyrus the Great was one of the first rulers to practice the virtues of mercy and religious pluralism.
Also, the Kansas Secretary of State has the power to prosecute voter fraud cases.
On the flipside, familiarity breeds complacency. I've seen a lot of people at the various jobs I've worked take shortcuts or ignore safety rules, and bosses let it slide because that's just how it is. I'm not usually the guy that "lets it slide" anyway, and since I'm looking at it with fresh eyes, I'm not about to say any breach of important protocol is "just how it is".
But throwing elections in there changes everything. A good Secretary of State will need to be sharp enough to catch threats to election integrity, stubborn enough to stop them in their tracks, and skilled enough at critical thinking to see through attempts to sell threats as something benign.
-Mark Twain
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on June 5, 2025