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Kansas, State House, District 61

Kansas House of Representatives District 61
Current incumbentFrancis Awerkamp Republican Party

Kansas' sixty-first state house district is represented by Republican Representative Francis Awerkamp.

Kansas state representatives represent an average of 22,825 residents. After the 2000 Census, each member represented 21,507 residents.

About the chamber

Members of the Kansas House of Representatives serve two-year terms and are not subject to term limits. Kansas legislators assume office the second Monday of January after their election.

Qualifications

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."

Salaries

State legislators
SalaryPer diem
$88.66/day$144/day

Pension

As of 2011, when pensions are calculated for Kansas legislators, their normal annual salary is inflated by nearly $78,000. This is composed of $32,982, which comes from multiplying their daily salary by 372 (the number of days they would work if in session every day and if every month had 31 days), $45,756 from adding in their daily per diem (also based on 372 days) and $7,083 from expense payments. According to former state Senator Steve Morris, this is intended as compensation because of low legislative salaries which are seen as difficult to raise.

Vacancies

The Governor is responsible for filling all vacancies in the house.

The political party committee that last held the vacant seat must call for a convention within 21 days of the vacancy. The convention is designed to select the Governor's appointee and involves all the committeemen and committeewomen that represent the vacant house district.

The committeemen and committeewomen present for voting must approve a replacement on a simple majority vote. Once the vote has been conducted, the party committee must send the paperwork certifying the selection to the Governor within 24 hours or the next business day. The Governor has seven days after receiving the paperwork to act on the appointment.

Elections

2020

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

2018

General election
General election for Kansas House of Representatives District 61

Incumbent Francis Awerkamp (R) won election in the general election for Kansas House of Representatives District 61 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Francis Awerkamp (R)
100
7,466

Total votes: 7,466
Democratic primary election

No Democratic candidates ran in the primary.

Republican primary election
Republican primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 61

Incumbent Francis Awerkamp advanced from the Republican primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 61 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Francis Awerkamp (R)
100
3,119

Total votes: 3,119

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. Incumbent Becky Hutchins (R) did not seek re-election.

Francis Awerkamp defeated Lauren Van Wagoner in the Kansas House of Representatives District 61 general election.

Kansas House of Representatives, District 61 General Election, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Francis Awerkamp 61.44% 6,221
Democratic Lauren Van Wagoner 38.56% 3,904
Total Votes 10,125
Source: Kansas Secretary of State

Lauren Van Wagoner ran unopposed in the Kansas House of Representatives District 61 Democratic primary.

Kansas House of Representatives, District 61 Democratic Primary, 2016

Party Candidate
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Lauren Van Wagoner (unopposed)

Francis Awerkamp defeated Dan Brenner in the Kansas House of Representatives District 61 Republican primary.

Kansas House of Representatives, District 61 Republican Primary, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Francis Awerkamp 60.16% 2,413
Republican Dan Brenner 39.84% 1,598
Total Votes 4,011

2014

Elections for the Kansas House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election was held on August 5, 2014, and a general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 2, 2014. Vivien Olsen was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Becky Hutchins was unopposed in the Republican primary. Hutchins defeated Olsen in the general election.

Kansas House of Representatives District 61, General Election, 2014

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngBecky Hutchins 67.8% 5,644
Democratic Vivien Olsen 32.2% 2,685
Total Votes 8,329

2012

Elections for the office of Kansas House of Representatives consisted of a primary election on August 7, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. The signature-filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 11, 2012. Incumbent Richard Carlson (R) was unopposed in the general election. He defeated District 50 incumbent Trent LeDoux and Daniel A. Brenner in the Republican primary.

Kansas House of Representatives, District 61 Republican Primary, 2012

Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngRichard Carlson Incumbent 49.2% 1,855
Trent LeDoux Incumbent 32% 1,206
Daniel A. Brenner 18.8% 711
Total Votes 3,772

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2016, candidates for Kansas House of Representatives District 61 raised a total of $282,629. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $13,459 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Kansas House of Representatives District 61

Year Amount Candidates Average
2016 $56,665 3 $18,888
2014 $30,643 2 $15,322
2012 $94,998 3 $31,666
2010 $30,017 1 $30,017
2008 $22,597 1 $22,597
2006 $10,531 3 $3,510
2004 $24,878 5 $4,976
2002 $4,925 1 $4,925
2000 $7,375 2 $3,688
Total $282,629 21 $13,459