Democratic governor’s $2 million PAC angling to undercut two-thirds majorities
TOPEKA — Winners for more than one-third of the 165 seats in the Kansas Legislature were known before polls opened Tuesday, but that reality concealed keen interest among Republicans and Democrats in the outcome of other races for House and Senate.
Fifty-eight seats in the Legislature — 50 in the House and eight in the Senate — were unofficially settled in the August primary. The victor of those 58 contests didn’t draw a general election opponent, so they were allowed to relax and watch as others sweated out the fall campaign. Of the 58, Republicans claimed 37 seats and Democrats the remaining 21.
Democrats hoped to gain two seats in the House and three in the Senate to break the GOP supermajority in both chambers.
Republican leaders of the Legislature, House Speaker Dan Hawkins and Senate President Ty Masterson, have devoted years to redrawing legislative boundaries, setting a voter-friendly agenda and recruiting Republican legislative candidates to build upon the GOP supermajority.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who created a $2 million PAC, has endorsed and supported candidates capable of flipping House and Senate seats to help her push back against the GOP agenda.
The governor, who is midway through her second term, said she was confident Democrats would claim two more House seats and three more Senate seats to end the supermajority ahead of the 2025 legislative session.
“The most important thing is to be able to break the supermajority that has existed for way too long,” Kelly said. “It is very difficult to govern when you have folks who are dedicating themselves to ensuring that you don’t get anything done, so the administration is not successful. It is time to switch that out.”
The Democratic National Committee invested $660,000 in Kansas to try to break the GOP supermajorities, DNC officials said.
Hawkins said preservation of the GOP supermajority was important because Kelly has been too quick to veto bills. He disagreed with the governor’s rejection of legislation on election security as well as gender-affirming health care and sports participation by transgender individuals. He denounced her use of authority to line-item veto clusters of specific budget appropriations.
And, to the deep frustration of Kansas GOP leadership, Kelly kicked to the curb a series of tax-reduction bills developed by Republican lawmakers. That deadlock led to a special session in 2024 that produced the compromise expected to cut state tax revenue by $1.2 billion over three years.
Masterson, who has led the Senate since 2021, said he was stunned Kelly voted legislation during the regular 2024 session that would have trimmed income, sales and property taxes.
“Her shifting reasons for vetoing tax relief have now morphed into the absurd, especially when the state she governs is awash with billions in surplus money that belongs to the people,” Masterson said. “She has opted for the ‘my-way-or-the-highway’ approach.”
Democrats saw the greatest chance for breaking the supermajority in races in the Kansas City metro area of Johnson County. But races in Hutchinson, Manhattan and elsewhere also could tip or solidify the balance of power.
In Emporia, Republican incumbent Rep. Mark Schreiber said he was confident about his chances of keeping his House seat. Democrat Mic McGuire challenged Schreiber.
“We’ve had a good campaign and the forums we’ve had have informed our voters about my positions on various issues,” Schreiber said. “I’ve had good feedback on the campaign and look forward to a positive result tonight.”
Beyond his own race, Schreiber said the state contests he was watching most closely would determine whether the GOP keeps its supermajority in the Kansas Legislature.
“It will come down to the races in Johnson County,” Schreiber said.
This story will be updated.
Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.
Don’t miss a beat … Click here to sign up for our email newsletters
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
Latest state news:
