Kansas Legislative Results
All members of the Kansas House of Representatives were up for reelection this year . The victors will serve a two year term . In all , the Republicans lost one seat in the Kansas House ; however , they still have a vetoproof majority and , along with the vetoproof majority in the Senate , will continue to be able to provide a legislative “ check ” to Governor Laura Kelly ’ s veto pen . This puts the current composition of the 125-seat House at 85 Republicans and 40 Democrats ( Currently 86-39 .)* Following retirements , redistricting , pursuit of other political office , or losses in the Primary and General Elections , we will see 33 new faces in the House , which represents a 26 % turnover .
Finally , in the lone Senate race , incumbent Republican Ron Ryckman , Sr . defeated his Democrat challenger 75 to 25 in Southwest Kansas ’ 38th Senate District . This special election was held after Ryckman was elected by precinct committeemen and committeewomen to fill the vacated seat of Bud Estes after his passing .
* These results are based upon unofficial returns ( at the time of writing ). There are a couple of Johnson County races that are close enough to potentially change as provisional and mail in ballots arrive , but the likelihood of that occurring appears to be fairly low . So , we ’ ll continue to monitor and let you know if the make-up changes .
contested . Current Majority Leader Dan Hawkins appears to be the prohibitive favorite to become the next Speaker of the House . The candidates in the other leadership positions , specifically Majority Leader and Speaker Pro Temp have yet to solidify .
We ’ ll keep an eye on the leadership races as they have a significant impact on your issues and on the direction the legislators will take on addressing the serious issues facing the legislature in January .
Dan Murray is partner at Devine , Donley , & Murray Governmental Affairs , LLC in Topeka . He is also a lobbyist for KAIA as well as the Kansas State Director for the National Federation of Independent Business ( NFIB ). An Army veteran , he has been in legislative consulting for the last 18 years . He has a Bachelor ' s degree from West Point and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Kansas .
WORKERS ’ COMP FOR WORKING PEOPLE
Looking Ahead ...
House Leadership . House Leadership races are scheduled to be held on December 5th . You can bet those vying for a leadership post have already hit the phones and the road to campaign . With less than a month , it will be a furious race to the finish line for elections that many Kansans don ’ t know about or don ’ t pay much attention to . With the conservative composition of the House and all leadership offices up for grabs , we expect a furious internal campaign to occur and open posts will be hotly
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