- Share on WeChat
-
Army veteran and engineer Steve Watkins (R) defeated former state House Minority Leader Paul Davis (D) and business owner Kelly Standley (L) in the general election for Kansas' 2nd Congressional District on November 6, 2018.
All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives were up for election in 2018. The Democratic Party gained a net total of 40 seats, winning control of the chamber. This race was identified as a 2018 battleground that might have affected partisan control of the U.S. House in the 116th Congress. Heading into the election, the Republican Party was in the majority holding 235 seats to Democrats' 193 seats, with seven vacant seats. Democrats needed to win 23 GOP-held seats in 2018 to win control of the House. From 1918 to 2016, the president’s party lost an average of 29 seats in midterm elections.
Incumbent Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R) announced she was not seeking re-election in January 2017, which left open a seat whose district Donald Trump won by a margin of 19 points in 2016. The district had elected a Republican representative in every election since 1994, with the exception of the 2006 election of Nancy Boyda (D). The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committeerated the race a "Toss-up" in the month leading up to the election.
Kansas' 2nd Congressional District, Davis vs. Watkins
| Poll | Paul Davis (D) | Steve Watkins (R) | Undecided/Other | Margin of Error | Sample Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Times Upshot/Siena College October 27-30, 2018 | 41% | 37% | 15% | +/-4.8 | 501 |
| New York Times Upshot/Siena College September 13-15, 2018 | 45% | 44% | 12% | +/-4.8 | 500 |
Kansas' 2nd Congressional District, Davis vs. Fitzgerald
| Poll | Paul Davis (D) | Steve Fitzgerald (R) | Undecided/Other | Margin of Error | Sample Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mellman Group (commissioned by Davis) June 13-18, 2018 | 39% | 34% | 27% | +/-4.0 | 600 |
The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Davis | Democratic Party | $3,985,403 | $3,954,361 | $31,166 | As of December 31, 2018 |
| Steve Watkins | Republican Party | $1,257,753 | $1,223,163 | $34,590 | As of December 31, 2018 |
| Kelly Standley | Libertarian Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | As of April 1, 2018 |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2018.
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
|||||
This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Kansas from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Kansas Secretary of State.
This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Kansas every year from 2000 to 2016.
Election results (President of the United States), Kansas 2000-2016
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 |  Donald Trump |
56.6% |  Hillary Clinton |
36.0% | 20.6% |
| 2012 | Mitt Romney |
59.7% | Barack Obama |
37.9% | 21.8% |
| 2008 | John McCain |
56.6% | Barack Obama |
41.6% | 15.0% |
| 2004 | George W. Bush |
62.0% | John Kerry |
36.6% | 25.4% |
| 2000 | George W. Bush |
58.0% | Al Gore |
37.2% | 20.8% |
This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Kansas from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.
Election results (U.S. Senator), Kansas 2000-2016
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Jerry Moran |
62.1% | Patrick Wiesner |
32.2% | 29.9% |
| 2014 | Pat Roberts |
53.1% |  Greg Orman |
42.5% | 10.6% |
| 2010 | Jerry Moran |
70.0% | Lisa Johnston |
26.3% | 43.7% |
| 2008 | Pat Roberts |
60.0% | Jim Slattery |
36.4% | 23.6% |
| 2004 | Sam Brownback |
69.1% | Lee Jones |
27.4% | 41.7% |
| 2002 | Pat Roberts |
82.5% |  Steven Rosile |
9.1% | 73.4% |
This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Kansas.
Election results (Governor), Kansas 2000-2016
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Sam Brownback |
49.8% | Paul Davis |
46.1% | 3.7% |
| 2010 | Sam Brownback |
63.2% | Tom Holland |
32.2% | 31.0% |
| 2006 | Kathleen Sebelius |
57.9% | Jim Barnett |
40.4% | 17.5% |
| 2002 | Kathleen Sebelius |
52.9% | Tim Shallenburger |
45.1% | 7.8% |
This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Kansas in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.
Congressional delegation, Kansas 2000-2016
| Year | Republicans | Republicans (%) | Democrats | Democrats (%) | Balance of power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 |
100% | 0 |
0% | R+4 |
| 2014 | 4 |
100% | 0 |
0% | R+4 |
| 2012 | 4 |
100% | 0 |
0% | R+4 |
| 2010 | 4 |
100% | 0 |
0% | R+4 |
| 2008 | 3 |
75.0% | 1 |
25.0% | R+3 |
| 2006 | 2 |
50.0% | 2 |
50.0% | Split |
| 2004 | 3 |
75.0% | 1 |
25.0% | R+3 |
| 2002 | 3 |
75.0% | 1 |
25.0% | R+3 |
| 2000 | 3 |
75.0% | 1 |
25.0% | R+3 |
A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.
Kansas Party Control: 1992-2019
No Democratic trifectas • 16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
Demographic data for Kansas
| Kansas | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|
| Total population: | 2,906,721 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 81,759 | 3,531,905 |
| Gender | ||
| Female: | 50.2% | 50.8% |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 85.2% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 5.8% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 2.6% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.8% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 3.3% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 11.2% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 90.2% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 31% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $52,205 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 15% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Kansas. | ||
As of July 2016, Kansas' three largest cities were Wichita (pop. est. 390,000), Overland Park (pop. est. 190,000), and Kansas City (pop. est. 150,000).
