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United States Senate election in Kansas, 2020 (August 4 Democratic primary)
- Primary date: Aug. 4
- Primary type: Semi-closed
- Registration deadline(s): July 14
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: No
- Early voting starts: July 15
- Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): Aug. 4 (postmarked)
- Voter ID: Photo ID
- Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
2026 →
← 2014
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| U.S. Senate, Kansas |
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| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: June 1, 2020 |
| Primary: August 4, 2020 General: November 3, 2020 Pre-election incumbent: Pat Roberts (Republican) |
| How to vote |
| Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voting in Kansas |
| Race ratings |
Inside Elections: Tilt Republican Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Republican |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020 |
| See also |
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th Kansas elections, 2020 U.S. Congress elections, 2020 U.S. Senate elections, 2020 U.S. House elections, 2020 |
A Democratic Party primary took place on August 4, 2020, in Kansas to determine which Democratic candidate would run in the state's general election on November 3, 2020.
Barbara Bollier advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Kansas.
| Candidate filing deadline | Primary election | General election |
|---|---|---|
Heading into the election, the incumbent was Pat Roberts (Republican), who was first elected in 1996.
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. In Kansas, parties decide who may vote in their primaries. As of September 2025, the Democratic Party held an open primary and the Republican Party held a closed primary. Regardless of the party's rules, an unaffiliated voter can declare their affiliation with a party on the day of the primary and vote in that party's primary. Previously affiliated voters who want to change their affiliation to vote in a different party's primary must do so before the candidate filing deadline, which is June 1 or the next business day.[1][2]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
For more information about the Republican primary, click here.
For more information about the general election, click here.
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
Political party events in Kansas were modified as follows:
- Political party events: The Democratic Party of Kansas canceled in-person voting in its presidential preference primary, originally scheduled to take place on May 2, 2020. Voting instead took place by mail. The receipt deadline for mail-in ballots was May 2.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Candidates and election results
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Kansas
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Barbara Bollier | 85.3 | 168,759 |
| Robert Tillman | 14.7 | 28,997 | ||
| Total votes: 197,756 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
 = 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Usha Reddi (D)
- Elliott Adams (D)
- Nancy Boyda (D)
- Barry Grissom (D)
- Adam Smith (D)
Campaign finance
This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[3] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[4] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbara Bollier | Democratic Party | $29,004,665 | $28,841,685 | $162,980 | As of December 31, 2020 |
| Robert Tillman | Democratic Party | $100 | $80 | $0 | As of June 30, 2020 |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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General election race ratings
- See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:
- Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
- Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
- Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[5]
- Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.
Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[6][7][8]
| Race ratings: U.S. Senate election in Kansas, 2020 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| November 3, 2020 | October 27, 2020 | October 20, 2020 | October 13, 2020 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Tilt Republican | Tilt Republican | Tilt Republican | Lean Republican | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season. | |||||||||
See also
- United States Senate election in Kansas, 2020 (August 4 Republican primary)
- United States Senate election in Kansas, 2020
- United States Senate Democratic Party primaries, 2020
- United States Senate Republican Party primaries, 2020
- United States Senate elections, 2020
- U.S. Senate battlegrounds, 2020
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes, "Kan. Stat. Ann. § 25–3301," accessed September 12, 2025
- ↑ Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes, "Kan. Stat. Ann. § 25–3304," accessed September 12, 2025
- ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
