Attorney Sharice Davids (D) defeated incumbent Rep. Kevin Yoder (R) and teacher Chris Clemmons (L) in the general election for Kansas' 3rd 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.
Yoder was re-elected in 2016 by 10 points. The district backed the Republican presidential nominees in 2008 and 2012 before flipping blue for Hillary Clinton (D), who won it by 1 percentage point in 2016.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee included the district in its list of targets for 2018. On October 3, 2018, The Washington Post named the race one of 15 seats most likely to flip.
Kansas' 3rd Congressional District election, Davids (D) v. Yoder (R)
Poll | Davids (D) | Yoder (R) | Undecided/Other | Margin of error | Sample size |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
New York Times/Siena College October 14-17, 2018 | 48% | 39% | 11% | +/-4.7 | 504 |
New York Times/Siena College September 20-23, 2018 | 51% | 43% | 6% | +/-4.7 | 494 |
AVERAGES | 49.5% | 41% | 8.5% | +/-4.7 | 499 |
Kansas' 3rd Congressional District election, Davids (D) v. Yoder (R) v. Clemens (L)
Poll | Davids (D) | Yoder (R) | Clemens (L) | Undecided/Other | Margin of error | Sample size |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Emerson College September 26-28, 2018 | 47% | 41% | 2% | 10% | +/-6.4 | 246 |
Davids Campaign/Global Strategy Group August 13-15, 2018 | 46% | 43% | 4% | 7% | +/-4.9 | 400 |
AVERAGES | 46.5% | 42% | 3% | 8.5% | +/-5.65 | 323 |
The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sharice Davids | Democratic Party | $4,860,761 | $4,852,129 | $8,632 | As of December 31, 2018 |
Kevin Yoder | Republican Party | $4,655,830 | $4,966,110 | $125,073 | As of December 31, 2018 |
Chris Clemmons | Libertarian Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available |
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).