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Kansas House of Representatives

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Kansas House of
Representatives
SLP-Infobox Image-Color.png
General Information
Party control:  Republican
Session start:  January 13, 2025
Session end:  April 11, 2025
Term length:  2 years
Term limits:  None
Redistricting:  Legislative control
Salary:  $86.66/session day + per diem
Members
Total:  125
Democrats:  37
Republicans:  88
Other:  0
Vacancies:  0
Leadership
Speaker:  Daniel Hawkins (R)
Maj. Leader:  Chris Croft (R)
Min. Leader:  Brandon Woodard (D)
Elections
Last election:  November 8, 2016
Next election:  November 6, 2018

The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Kansas State Legislature. Alongside the Kansas State Senate, it forms the legislative branch of the Kansas state government and works alongside the governor of Kansas to create laws and establish a state budget. Legislative authority and responsibilities of the Kansas House of Representatives include passing bills on public policy matters, setting levels for state spending, raising and lowering taxes, and voting to uphold or override gubernatorial vetoes.

  • All 125 seats in the Kansas House of Representatives were up for election in 2018. Click to read more »
  • In the November 2016 elections, Republicans lost 12 seats but maintained control of the chamber. House Republicans went from a 97-28 majority to a 85-40 majority.
  • Kansas is a Republican trifecta. Throughout the country, there are 26 states with a Republican trifecta. A total six states have Democratic trifectas and 18 states are under divided government.
  • What you will find on this page

    This page contains information on the Kansas House of Representatives that is curated and updated by Ballotpedia staff. Click on the arrows (▼) below for information and research on party control, elections, members, legislation, sessions, procedures, committees, and districts.

    Party Control: current and historical information on party control of the Kansas House of Representatives

    Party control

    Current partisan control

    The table below shows the partisan breakdown of the Kansas House of Representatives as of October 2025:

    Party As of October 2025
         Democratic Party 37
         Republican Party 88
         Other 0
         Vacancies 0
    Total 125

    History of partisan control

    Republicans won control of the Kansas House of Representatives in 1992. In 2024, they won a 88-37 majority. The table below shows the partisan history of the Kansas House following every general election from 1992 to 2024. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Kansas House of Representatives election results: 1992-2024

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20 '22 '24
    Democrats 59 45 48 48 46 45 42 47 48 33 35 28 40 40 39 40 37
    Republicans 66 80 77 77 79 80 83 78 77 92 90 97 85 85 86 85 88

    Trifecta history

    A state government trifecta is a term that describes single party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government. Republicans in Kansas gained a state government trifecta as a result of the 2010 elections. They defended their trifecta in the 2012, 2014, and 2016 elections. Republicans previously held a trifecta from 1995 to 2002. The table below shows state government trifectas in Kansas from 1992 to 2017.

    Kansas Party Control: 1992-2025
    No Democratic trifectas  •  Sixteen years of Republican trifectas

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
    Governor D D D R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D
    Senate R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    House D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

    Elections: election data from 2000 to the present

    Elections

    Elections by year

    Kansas state representatives serve two-year terms, with all seats up for election every two years. Kansas holds elections for its legislature in even years.

    2026

    See also: Kansas House of Representatives elections, 2026

    Elections for the Kansas House of Representatives will take place in 2026. The general election is on November 3, 2026.

    2024

    See also: Kansas House of Representatives elections, 2024

    Elections for the Kansas House of Representatives took place in 2024. The general election was on November 5, 2024. The primary was August 6, 2024. The filing deadline was June 3, 2024.

    In the 2024 elections, Republicans increased their majority from 85-40 to 88-37.

    Kansas House of Representatives
    Party As of November 5, 2024 After November 6, 2024
         Democratic Party 40 37
         Republican Party 85 88
    Total 125 125

    2022

    See also: Kansas House of Representatives elections, 2022

    Elections for the Kansas House of Representatives took place in 2022. The general election was on November 8, 2022. A primary was scheduled for August 2, 2022. The filing deadline was June 1, 2022.

    Heading into the 2022 elections, Republicans had an 86-39 majority in the Kansas House of Representatives. Republicans lost one seat in the election, giving the party an 85-40 majority in the chamber.

    Kansas House of Representatives
    Party As of November 8, 2022 After November 9, 2022
         Democratic Party 39 40
         Republican Party 86 85
    Total 125 125

    2020

    See also: Kansas House of Representatives elections, 2020


    Elections for the office of Kansas House of Representatives took place in 2020. The general election was held on November 3, 2020. A primary was scheduled for August 4, 2020. The filing deadline was June 1, 2020.

    In the 2020 elections, Republicans increased their majority in the Kansas House of Representatives from 84–41 to 86–39.

    Kansas House of Representatives
    Party As of November 3, 2020 After November 4, 2020
         Democratic Party 41 39
         Republican Party 84 86
    Total 125 125

    2018

    See also: Kansas House of Representatives elections, 2018

    Elections for the Kansas House of Representatives took place in 2018. The closed primary election took place on August 7, 2018, and the general election was held on November 6, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was June 1, 2018.

    In the 2018 elections, there was no change in the partisan balance of the Kansas House of Representatives.

    Kansas House of Representatives
    Party As of November 6, 2018 After November 7, 2018
         Democratic Party 40 40
         Republican Party 85 85
    Total 125 125

    2016

    See also: Kansas House of Representatives elections, 2016

    Elections for the Kansas House of Representatives were held 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. All 125 seats in the Kansas House of Representatives were up for election in 2016.

    Heading into the election, Republicans held a 97-28 majority. Republicans lost 12 seats in the election, giving them a 85-40 majority.

    Kansas House of Representatives
    Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
         Democratic Party 28 40
         Republican Party 97 85
    Total 125 125

    Members: current leadership and membership list and information on salaries and qualifications

    Members

    Leadership

    The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer of the body. In the absence of the Speaker, the Speaker Pro Tempore takes on the duties of the office. The Speaker and Speaker Pro Tempore are both elected by the members of the House. Duties of the Speaker include preserving order and decorum, and deciding all questions of order.[7][8]

    Current leadership and members

    Current members, Kansas House of Representatives (125)
    District Representative Party Assumed office
    1 Michael Houser Republican 2013
    2 Adam Lusker Democratic 2014
    3 Monica Murnan Democratic 2017
    4 Trevor Jacobs Republican 2017
    5 Kevin Jones Republican 2013
    6 Jene Vickrey Republican 1993
    7 Richard Proehl Republican 2005
    8 Patty Markley Republican 2017
    9 Kent Thompson Republican 2013
    10 Eileen Horn Democratic 2017
    11 Jim Kelly Republican 2011
    12 Doug Blex Republican 2017
    13 Larry Paul Hibbard Republican 2013
    14 Keith Esau Republican 2013
    15 Erin Davis Republican 2014
    16 Cindy Holscher Democratic 2017
    17 Tom Cox Republican 2017
    18 Cindy Neighbor Democratic 2017
    19 Stephanie Clayton Republican 2013
    20 Jan Kessinger Republican 2017
    21 Jerry Stogsdill Democratic 2017
    22 Nancy Lusk Democratic 2013
    23 Linda Gallagher Republican 2015
    24 Jarrod Ousley Democratic 2015
    25 Melissa Rooker Republican 2013
    26 Frank Trimboli Republican 2018
    27 Sean Tarwater Sr. Republican 2017
    28 Joy Koesten Republican 2017
    29 Brett Parker Democratic 2017
    30 Randy Powell Republican 2015
    31 Louis Ruiz Democratic 2005
    32 Pam Curtis Democratic 2014
    33 Tom Burroughs Democratic 1997
    34 Valdenia Winn Democratic 2001
    35 Broderick Henderson Democratic 1995
    36 Kathy Wolfe Moore Democratic 2011
    37 Stan Frownfelter Democratic 2007
    38 Willie Dove Republican 2013
    39 Shelee Brim Republican 2017
    40 Debbie Deere Democratic 2017
    41 Jeff Pittman Democratic 2017
    42 Jim Karleskint Republican 2017
    43 Bill Sutton Republican 2013
    44 Barbara Ballard Democratic 1993
    45 Thomas Sloan Republican 1995
    46 Dennis "Boog" Highberger Democratic 2015
    47 Ronald B. Ellis Republican 2017
    48 Abraham Rafie Republican 2017
    49 Scott Schwab Republican 2009
    50 Fred Patton Republican 2015
    51 Ron Highland Republican 2013
    52 Brenda Dietrich Republican 2017
    53 Jim Gartner Democratic 2017
    54 Ken Corbet Republican 2013
    55 Annie Kuether Democratic 1997
    56 Virgil Weigel Democratic 2017
    57 John Alcala Democratic 2013
    58 Vic Miller Democratic 2017
    59 Blaine Finch Republican 2013
    60 Mark Schreiber Republican 2017
    61 Francis Awerkamp Republican 2017
    62 Randy Garber Republican 2011
    63 John Eplee Republican 2017
    64 Susie Swanson Republican 2015
    65 Lonnie Clark Republican 2015
    66 Sydney Carlin Democratic 2003
    67 Tom Phillips Republican 2012
    68 Dave Baker Republican 2017
    69 J.R. Claeys Republican 2013
    70 John E. Barker Republican 2013
    71 Diana Dierks Republican 2013
    72 Tim Hodge Democratic 2017
    73 Les Mason Republican 2014
    74 Don Schroeder Republican 2007
    75 Mary Martha Good Republican 2017
    76 Eric Smith Republican 2017
    77 Kristey Williams Republican 2015
    78 Ron Ryckman Republican 2013
    79 Ed Trimmer Democratic 2005
    80 Anita Judd-Jenkins Republican 2017
    81 Blake Carpenter Republican 2015
    82 Jesse Burris Republican 2017
    83 Henry Helgerson Democratic 2016
    84 Gail Finney Democratic 2009
    85 Michael Capps Republican 2018
    86 Jim Ward Democratic 2003
    87 Roger Elliott Republican 2017
    88 Elizabeth Bishop Democratic 2017
    89 KC Ohaebosim Democratic 2017
    90 Steve Huebert Republican 2001
    91 Emil Bergquist Republican 2018
    92 John Carmichael Democratic 2013
    93 John Whitmer Republican 2015
    94 Leo Delperdang Republican 2017
    95 Tom Sawyer Democratic 2013
    96 Brandon Whipple Democratic 2013
    97 Leslie Osterman Republican 2011
    98 Steven Crum Democratic 2017
    99 Susan Humphries Republican 2017
    100 Daniel Hawkins Republican 2013
    101 Joe Seiwert Republican 2009
    102 Jason Probst Democratic 2017
    103 Ponka-We Victors Democratic 2011
    104 Steven R. Becker Republican 2013
    105 Brenda Landwehr Republican 2017
    106 Clay Aurand Republican 2017
    107 Susan L. Concannon Republican 2013
    108 Steven C. Johnson Republican 2011
    109 Troy L. Waymaster Republican 2013
    110 Ken Rahjes Republican 2016
    111 Eber Phelps Democratic 2017
    112 Tory Arnberger Republican 2017
    113 Greg Lewis Republican 2015
    114 Jack Thimesch Republican 2013
    115 Boyd Orr Republican 2017
    116 Kyle Hoffman Republican 2011
    117 Leonard Mastroni Republican 2017
    118 Don Hineman Republican 2009
    119 Bradley Ralph Republican 2017
    120 Adam Smith Republican 2017
    121 John Resman Republican 2017
    122 Russ Jennings Republican 2013
    123 John Wheeler Jr. Republican 2017
    124 J. Stephen Alford Republican 2011
    125 Shannon Francis Republican 2015

    Salaries

    See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
    State legislative salaries, 2024[9]
    SalaryPer diem
    $86.66/session day$166/day

    When sworn in

    See also: When state legislators assume office after a general election

    Kansas legislators assume office the second Monday of January after their election.

    Membership qualifications

    See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

    Section 4 of Article 2 of the Kansas Constitution states, "During the time that any person is a candidate for nomination or election to the legislature and during the term of each legislator, such candidate or legislator shall be and remain a qualified elector who resides in his or her district."

    Legislation: all legislation passed by the chamber in the current or most recent legislative session

    Legislation

    The legislation tracker below displays all legislation that the Kansas House of Representatives has approved in its most recent legislative session—this includes legislation that has been sent from the Senate to the House and legislation that has already been approved by the House and signed by the governor after its passage in the Senate. Information on legislation provided below includes the bill number, its name, progress, most recent action date, and sponsor. The tracker is fully interactive. Scroll up and down and side to side to see more. Click the bill number to read its text in full and see its voting history. You can click the headings to sort the content in the column. You can also rearrange the order of the headings by clicking and dragging them. Finally, in the bottom-left corner of the tracker is a magnifying glass, which, when clicked, will allow you to search for specific terms. The legislation tracker is maintained and updated by BillTrack50.

    Sessions: legislative sessions dates, special sessions, and key events

    Sessions

    About legislative sessions in Kansas

    The Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution declares that any power not already given to the federal government is reserved to the states and the people.[10] State governments across the country use this authority to hold legislative sessions where a state's elected representatives meet for a period of time to draft and vote on legislation and set state policies on issues such as taxation, education, and government spending. The different types of legislation passed by a legislature may include resolutions, legislatively referred constitutional amendments, and bills that become law.

    Article 2 of the Kansas Constitution establishes when the Kansas State Legislature, of which the House of Representatives is a part, is to be in session. Section 8 of Article 2 states that the Legislature is to convene on the second Monday of January of each year. Section 8 also limits the length of regular sessions in even-numbered years to ninety calendar days, but it allows these sessions to be extended by a two-thirds affirmative vote of both houses. In 2010, this kind of extension occurred, moving the session's adjournment date from March 30th to May 28th.

    Dates of legislative sessions in Kansas by year

    2025

    See also: 2025 Kansas legislative session and Dates of 2025 state legislative sessions

    In 2025, the legislature was scheduled to convene on January 13, 2025, and adjourn on April 11, 2025.


    Procedures: rules and procedures for veto overrides, the budget, and vacancies

    Procedures

    Every state legislature throughout the country features it own internal procedures that it uses to govern itself and how it interacts with other parts of state government. Ballotpedia's coverage of internal state legislative procedures includes veto overrides, the role of the legislature in the state budget, procedures for filling membership vacancies, and redistricting.

    Veto overrides

    Veto Override Graphic-Republican Party.png

    See also: Veto overrides in state legislatures

    State legislatures can override governors' vetoes. Depending on the state, this can be done during the regular legislative session, in a special session following the adjournment of the regular session, or during the next legislative session. The rules for legislative overrides of gubernatorial vetoes in Kansas are listed below.

    How many legislators are required to vote for an override? Two-thirds of members in both chambers.

    Two-thirds of members in both chambers must vote to override a veto, which is 84 of the 125 members in the Kansas House of Representatives and 27 of the 40 members in the Kansas State Senate. Kansas is one of 36 states that requires a two-thirds vote from both of its legislative chambers to override a veto.

    Authority: Article 2, Section 14 of the Kansas Constitution.

    "If the governor approves a bill, he shall sign it. If the governor does not approve a bill, the governor shall veto it by returning the bill, with a veto message of the objections, to the house of origin of the bill. Whenever a veto message is so received, the message shall be entered in the journal and in not more than thirty calendar days (excluding the day received), the house of origin shall reconsider the bill. If two-thirds of the members then elected (or appointed) and qualified shall vote to pass the bill, it shall be sent, with the veto message, to the other house, which shall in not more than thirty calendar days (excluding the day received) also reconsider the bill, and if approved by two-thirds of the members then elected (or appointed) and qualified, it shall become a law, notwithstanding the governor's veto."

    Role in state budget

    See also: Kansas state budget and finances
    Kansas on Public Policy Logo-one line-on Ballotpedia.png
    Check out Ballotpedia articles about policy in your state on:
    BudgetsCivil libertiesEducationElectionsEnergyEnvironmentHealthcarePensions

    The state operates on an annual budget cycle. The sequence of key events in the budget process is as follows:[22]

    1. Budget instructions are sent to state agencies in June.
    2. State agencies submit their budget requests to the governor in September.
    3. The governor submits his or her proposed budget to the state legislature in January.
    4. The legislature typically adopts a budget in May. A simple majority is required to adopt a budget. The fiscal year begins in July.

    Kansas is one of 44 states in which the governor has line item veto authority.[22][23]

    The governor is legally required to submit a balanced proposed budget. Likewise, the legislature is legally required to pass a balanced budget.[22]

    Vacancies

    See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

    If there is a vacancy in the Kansas State Legislature, the governor is responsible for appointing a replacement, and a special election is held if the vacancy occurs before May 1 of the second year of the officeholder's term. If the vacancy occurs after or on May 1 of the officeholder's second year, the governor is responsible for appointing a replacement, and that person serves out the rest of the term.[24][25][26]

    DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Kansas Stat. Ann. §25-3903 and Kansas Stat. Ann. §25-312

    Committees: role and list of current committees

    Committees

    Every state legislature and state legislative chamber in the country contains several legislative committees. These committees are responsible for studying, amending, and voting on legislation before it reaches the floor of a chamber for a full vote. The different types of committees include standing committees, select or special, and joint.

    • Standing committees are generally permanent committees, the names of which sometimes change from session to session.
    • Select or special committees are temporary committees formed to deal with specific issues such as recent legislation, major public policy or proposals, or investigations.
    • Joint committees are committees that feature members of both chambers of a legislature.

    Ballotpedia covers standing and joint committees. The Kansas House of Representatives has 29 standing committees:


    Districts

    See also: Kansas state legislative districts

    The state of Kansas has 165 legislative districts. Each district elects one representative. The state Senate has 40 districts and the state House has 125 districts.

    Use the interactive map below to find your district.

    Redistricting

    See also: Redistricting in Kansas

    In Kansas, the state legislature draws both congressional and state legislative district lines. Redistricting plans are subject to veto by the governor. State legislative district maps must be submitted for final approval to the Kansas Supreme Court, which must determine whether the maps are constitutional. If the court rules that the maps violate the law, the state legislature may attempt to draw the lines again. There are no such provisions in place for congressional redistricting.[27]

    In 2002, Kansas adopted guidelines for congressional and state legislative redistricting. These guidelines ask that "both congressional and state legislative districts be contiguous, as compact as possible, and recognize and consider communities of common 'social, cultural, racial, ethnic, and economic' interests." In addition, these guidelines stipulate that state legislative districts should "preserve existing political subdivisions and avoid contests between incumbents to the extent possible." Congressional districts should "preserve whole counties and maintain the core of existing districts where possible." The state legislature may amend these guidelines at its discretion.[27]

    2010 census

    Kansas received its local census data on March 3, 2012. The state grew by 6.1 percent to over 2.58 million, with growth concentrated in the northeast corner of the state and the remainder largely showing slight declines. (The adjusted total was about 14,000 less than the federal figure.) Wichita grew by 11.1 percent, Overland Park grew by 16.3 percent, Kansas City decreased by 0.7 percent, Topeka grew by 4.2 percent, and Olathe grew by 35.4 percent.[28]

    The Legislature attempted redistricting in its 2012 session. Against custom, which had the chambers passing their own maps, the Senate passed revisions to a new House map, and the House passed a map for the Senate; neither chamber was amenable to the other's actions. On May 20, the Legislature adjourned amid deadlock, meaning the courts would have to decide the new boundaries.

    See also

    Elections Kansas State Government State Legislatures State Politics
    Ballotpedia Elections Badge-VOTE-no shadow-Square.jpg
    Kansas State Flag-Close Up.jpg
    State Houses-Tile image.png
    State Courts-Tile image.png

    Footnotes

    1. Follow the Money, "Kansas 2010 - Candidates," accessed August 19, 2014
    2. Follow the Money, "Kansas 2008 - Candidates," accessed August 23, 2013
    3. Follow the Money, "Kansas 2006 - Candidates," accessed August 23, 2013
    4. Follow the Money, "Kansas 2004 - Candidates," accessed August 23, 2013
    5. Follow the Money, "Kansas 2002 - Candidates," accessed August 23, 2013
    6. Follow the Money, "Kansas 2000 - Candidates," accessed August 23, 2013
    7. Kansas Legislature, "Rules of the Kansas House of Representatives," January 2013 (Referenced Article 33)
    8. Kansas Legislature, "House Leadership," accessed August 19, 2014
    9. National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
    10. Find Law, "Tenth Amendment - U.S. Constitution," accessed May 20, 2017
    11. The Topeka Capital-Journal, "Kansas Legislature adopts budget, highway bill before adjourning until late April," March 19, 2020
    12. MultiState, "2020 Legislative Session Dates," last updated April 27, 2020
    13. The Wichita Eagle, "Kansas Gov. Kelly’s pandemic powers may be on the agenda when Legislature returns," May 6, 2020
    14. Associated Press, "Fiscal issues to drive Kansas lawmakers' session," December 28, 2014
    15. Lawrence Journal-World, "Issues that will dominate the 2014 legislative session," January 12, 2014
    16. Lawrence Journal World, "Key issues expected during the 2013 legislative session," January 13, 2013
    17. Kansas City Star, "Republican infighting forces Kansas Legislature to extend session," May 12, 2012 (Archived)
    18. Topeka Capital Journal, "Legislative session to start Monday," January 8, 2012
    19. Stateline.org, "States balance budgets with cuts, not taxes," June 15, 2011(Archived)
    20. The Wichita Eagle, "Kansas legislature delays hard choices on state budget," April 1, 2010 (dead link) (dead link)
    21. National Conference of State Legislatures, "2010 Legislative Session Calendar," October 30, 2010 (Archived)
    22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 National Association of State Budget Officers, "Budget Processes in the States, Spring 2021," accessed January 24, 2023
    23. National Conference of State Legislatures, "Separation of Powers: Executive Veto Powers," accessed January 26, 2024
    24. Kansas Legislature, "2022 Statute," accessed August 9, 2023 (Statute 25-3903, Kansas Statutes)
    25. Kansas Legislature, "2022 Statute," accessed August 9, 2023 (Statute 25-312, Kansas Statutes)
    26. Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes, "25-321. Vacancy in state senate and house of representatives; tenure of office of person appointed to fill vacancy," accessed February 2, 2024
    27. 27.0 27.1 All About Redistricting, "Kansas," accessed April 28, 2015
    28. U.S. Census Bureau, "U.S. Census Bureau Delivers Kansas' 2010 Census Population Totals, Including First Look at Race and Hispanic Origin Data for Legislative Redistricting," March 3, 2011