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Kansas Democratic Party

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Kansas Democratic Party
ChairwomanJeanna Repass
GovernorLaura Kelly
Lieutenant GovernorDavid Toland
Senate LeaderDinah Sykes
House LeaderBrandon Woodard
FoundedJuly 27, 1855
HeadquartersTopeka, KS
Membership (2021)Decrease508,808[1]
IdeologyModern liberalism
National affiliationDemocratic Party
ColorsBlue
U.S. Senate Seats
0 / 2
U.S. House Seats
1 / 4
Statewide Executive Offices
2 / 6
State Senate
11 / 40
State House
40 / 125
Election symbol
Website
www.kansasdems.org

The Kansas Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Kansas and one of two major parties in the state, alongside the Republicans. The chair of the party is Jeanna Repass.

The party currently controls the state's governorship and lieutenant governorship, as well as one seat in the state's U.S. House delegation. It is currently in the minority in both houses of the state legislature.

Overview

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Since its founding as a territory, Kansas politics have been largely dominated by the Kansas Republican Party and in 1857, the Kansas Democratic Party was formed in an attempt to curb this trend by writing a constitution which would make Kansas a pro-slavery state. This constitution, which was written in Lecompton, Kansas, was boycotted by many of the free-staters and seen as illegitimate. Eventually a free-state constitution was drafted in Topeka and was adopted.[2]

The Kansas Democratic Party has not been able to send a U.S. Senator to Washington since 1939, a record currently unmatched by any state party in America, Republican or Democratic. Kansas Democrats have only controlled the Kansas Senate for 4 years (1913–1916) since statehood, and have only controlled the Kansas House of Representatives for six years since statehood (1913–1914, 1977–1978, and 1990–1991).

Since the state's founding, there have been 12 Democratic governors of Kansas, six of whom were elected after 1961.[3]

The aftermath of the “Summer of Mercy,” a series of anti-abortion protests in Wichita which split Kansas Republicans into moderate and conservative factions, established the modern “three-party politics”[4] at the state level.[5] Kansas Democrats often capitalize on that split, forming coalitions with moderate Republicans and independents to achieve near and complete electoral and legislative success, most notably in the 2002, 2006, 2014, and 2018 gubernatorial elections.[6][7][8]

The party suffered major defeats in the 2010 Kansas elections, losing every statewide race and 16 seats in the Kansas House. Before then, the Democrats had joined with a coalition of moderate Republicans to effectively control the state senate. However, the ousters of several moderate Republicans in the 2010 primaries left the lower chamber in the hands of conservative Republicans.

The Kansas Democratic Party helped elect 14 new Democrats to the Kansas Legislature in 2016, and, along with substantial primary victories among moderate Republicans,[9] often achieved bipartisan, moderate majorities in the Kansas House on issues such as Medicaid expansion[10] and taxes.[11]

In 2018, Democrat Laura Kelly was elected governor and Sharice Davids was elected to represent 3rd congressional district, with the party making sizable gains in suburbs and major cities around the state while keeping losses to a minimum in the rural, more conservative parts of Kansas.[12]

The 2020 presidential election saw Joe Biden perform the best for any Democratic nominee in Kansas (winning 42% of the vote) since Michael Dukakis in 1988.[13]

Kelly was re-elected in 2022 and Davids was re-elected in 2020 and 2022, retaining their status (alongside Lieutenant Governor David Toland) as the only statewide and congressional office holders respectively.

Washington Days

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Since 1895, the Kansas Democratic Party has hosted the annual Washington Days convention. Consisting of one weekend of caucus meetings, dinners, and receptions, the event ends with an address from a keynote speaker. It is traditionally held in the capital city of Topeka.

The keynote speech has historically been a proving ground for future Democratic candidates for President of the United States,[14] including William Jennings Bryan, Ted Kennedy, Gary Hart, John Edwards, Martin O’Malley, Bernie Sanders, and Pete Buttigieg.

Keynote speakers who would go on to become president include Woodrow Wilson, Harry S. Truman, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. Alben Barkley, Al Gore, and Joe Biden also gave keynote speeches at Washington Days before each became vice president.

Current elected officials

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Members of U.S. Senate

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  • None

George McGill, who served from 1930 until 1939, was the last Democrat to serve as a United States Senator from Kansas; the state has since exclusively been represented by Republicans in that body, representing the longest losing streak by either party in any of the fifty states.

Members of U.S. Congress

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District Member Photo
3rd Sharice Davids

Statewide offices

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Legislative Leadership

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Mayors

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State party chairs

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  • (1855) Gen. James H. Lane
  • (1866) W.P. Gambell
  • (1872–1874) Thomas P. Fenlon
  • (1874–1883) Col. John Elmore Martin
  • (1883–1886) Hon. Wm. C. Perry
  • (1886–1888) Ed Carroll
  • (1888–1892) John M. Galloway
  • (1892–1894) W.C. Jones
  • (1896–1902) John S. Richardson
  • (1902–1904) Hugh P. Farrelly
  • (1904–1906) Col. William F. Sapp
  • (1906–1908) Col. W.H. “Bill” Ryan
  • (1908–1914) Henderson S. Martin
  • (1914–1916) E.E. Murphy
  • (1916-1918) Hubert Lardner
  • (1918-1920) E.E. Murphy
  • (1920–1922) Forrest Luther
  • (1922–1924) Carl John Peterson
  • (1924–1928) Fred B. Robertson
  • (1928–1930) John Wells
  • (1930) Ruth B. Rice
  • (1930–1933) Guy T. Helvering
  • (1934–1936) Clyde E. Short
  • (1936–1940) C.M. Fitzwilliams
  • (1940–1940) Charles E. Young
  • (1944–1946) Harry Castor
  • (1946–1948) Delmas C. “Buzz” Hill
  • (1948–1950) Leigh Warner
  • (1950–1954) John I. Young
  • (1954–1955) Marvin A. “Mike” Harder
  • (1955–1969) Frank Theis
  • (1960–1962) John D. Montgomery
  • (1962–1964) Jack Glaves
  • (1964–1965) Maurice Martin
  • (1965–1966) Thomas J. Corcoran
  • (1966–1974) Norbert Dreiling
  • (1974–1975) Robert L. Brock
  • (1975–1976) Henry “Hank” Lueck
  • (1976–1977) Jan Myers
  • (1977–1979) Terry Scanlon
  • (1979–1981) Larry Bengston
  • (1981–1983) Robert E. Tilton
  • (1983–1985) Pat Lehman
  • (1985–1991) James W. Parrish
  • (1991–1993) John T. Bird
  • (1993–1999) Dennis M. Langley
  • (1999–2003) Tom Sawyer
  • (2003–2011) Larry Gates
  • (2011–2015) Joan Wagnon
  • (2015–2015) Larry Meeker
  • (2015–2017) Lee Kinch
  • (2017–2019) John Gibson
  • (2019–2023) Vicki Hiatt
  • (2023–present) Jeanna Repass

Prominent past party officials

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Federal

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Cabinet members and appointees

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U.S. Senators

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U.S. Representatives

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State

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Governors

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Winger, Richard (28 March 2021). "March 2021 Ballot Access News Print Edition". Ballot Access News. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  2. ^ Stampp, Kenneth M. "America in 1857: A Nation on the Brink". Oxford University Press, 1990. pp. 150–154
  3. ^ Office of Secretary of State.[1] Archived 2011-12-25 at the Wayback Machine "Kansas History", August 1, 2011.
  4. ^ "Three-party politics returning to Topeka". kansas. Retrieved 2018-11-24.
  5. ^ McLean, Jim. "My Fellow Kansans: The Summer Of Mercy". Retrieved 2018-11-24.
  6. ^ Slevin, Peter (2006-10-19). ""Moderates in Kansas Decide They're Not in GOP Anymore," Washington Post" (English). The Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  7. ^ Wickham, DeWayne (2006-06-05). ""Kansas Political Shifts Sign Of Things To Come?," USA Today" (English). Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  8. ^ ""Kansas Republicans Evolve – Into Democrats," Salon" (English). Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  9. ^ "Moderate Republicans cruise to victories in Kansas primaries". kansascity. Retrieved 2018-11-24.
  10. ^ "Kansas House Narrowly Upholds Governor's Veto of Medicaid Expansion". Retrieved 2018-11-24.
  11. ^ "Legislature overrides Brownback's veto of bill that rolls back his 2012 tax cuts". kansascity. Retrieved 2018-11-24.
  12. ^ Smith, Mitch (7 November 2018). "Laura Kelly, a Kansas Democrat, Tops Kobach in Governor's Race". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-11-24.
  13. ^ Joslyn, Mark (December 7, 2023). "Kansas is a Republican state, but there's political space in the middle of the road | Commentary". The Wichita Eagle. Archived from the original on December 10, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  14. ^ "Washington Days 2019". Kansas Democratic Party. 2018-11-24. Archived from the original on 2018-11-24.
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