Kansas

KANSAS

6 Electoral Votes

Population
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Kansas Secretary of State)

Total Population, July 1, 2008 est.	2,802,134
Total Registration, Oct. 2008	1,749,756 >

Rep. 771,019 (44.06%) Dem. 484,710 (27.70%) Lib. 9,786 (0.56%) Ref. 1,361 (0.07%) Unaffiliated 482,883 (27.60%)
Kansas has: 105 counties.
Largest Counties: Johnson, Sedgewick, Shawnee, Wyandotte, Douglas. >
Largest Cities: Wichita, Kansas City, Overland Park, Topeka, Olathe. >

Government
Governor: Kathleen Sebelius (D) elected in 2002, re-elected in 2006.
State Legislature: Kansas Legislature
Local: Communities, Counties   NACO Counties
U.S. House: 2R, 2D - 1. J.Moran (R) | 2. N.Boyda (D) | 3. D.Moore (D) | 4. T.Tiahrt (R).
U.S. Senate: Pat Roberts (R) up for re-election in 2008, Sam Brownback (R) re-elected in 2004.

2008 update
U.S. Senate: Sen. Pat Roberts (R) easily won his bid for re-election, defeating former Rep. Jim Slattery (D) by 727,121 to 441,339 with 42,170 votes split by two other candidates.
U.S. House: In the 2nd CD, freshman Rep. Nancy Boyda (D) lost her bid for re-election to State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins (R) by 155,532 (50.61%) to 142,013 (46.21%) with 9,763 votes (3.18%) split by two other candidates.  The balance of the U.S. House delegation reverts to 3R, 1D.
Post-election: On March 2, 2009 President Obama nominated Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) to the position of Secretary of Health and Human Services. The Senate confirmed Sebelius on April 28, and Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson was sworn in as governor the same day.
    > Republicans pick up one U.S. House seat.

State of Kansas
Secretary of State

KS Democratic Party
KS Green Party
KS Libertarian Party
KS Republican Party
KS Constitution Party

Topeka Capital-Journal
Wichita Eagle
Media (Newsp.)
TV, Radio

Politics1-KS

The Jayhawker State

General Election -- Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Voting Eligible Population*: 1,978,713.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 62.5%.

Total Registration: 1,749,756.

Official Results >
Obama/Biden (Dem.)	514,765	(41.65)
Nader/Gonzalez (Ind.)	10,527	(0.85)
Barr/Root (Lib.)	6,706	(0.54)
Baldwin/Castle (Ref.)	4,148	(0.34)
+McCain/Palin (Rep.)	699,655	(56.61)
5 w/ins	71	-
Total........1,235,872

w/ins: Keyes 31, McKinney 35, Allen 2, Moore 2, Judd 1

2008 Overview
McCain-Palin carried Kansas with a plurality of 184,890 votes (14.96 percentage points). The Democratic ticket finished ahead in three counties: Douglas County (includes Lawrence, KS, home of Univ. of Kansas) and Wyandotte County/Kansas City, as in 2004 and Crawford County (in the Southeast on the Missouri border).
Obama/Allies | McCain/Allies | Nader

[Primary Election: August 5, 2008]

Democratic Presidential Caucus--Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Republican Presidential Caucus--Saturday, February 9, 2008

Democrats KSDP Super Tuesday Central
41 Delegates (32 Pledged and 9 Unpledged) and 5 Alternates.
1.01% of the 4,049 Delegate Votes.

Clinton | Obama

Caucuses held in 50 sites around the state. [ad]

Delegates to CD Conventions

Hillary Clinton
123

+Barack Obama
313

Total
436

Unofficial Statewide Percentages: Clinton 25.30%, Edwards 0.10%, Kucinich 0.10%, Obama 73.30%, Richardson 0.00%, Uncommitted 0.00%.
Turnout: 37,089 KSDP releases

Congressional District Conventions: April 12, 2008

Republicans ballot
39 Delegates: 3 RNC; 24 at-large; 12 by CD (3 x 4 CDs).
1.64% of the 2,380 Delegates.

Delegate allocation:
At-large - winner-take-all based on statewide votes from CD Caucus, as long as one candidate wins at least 2 CDs.
CD - winner-take-all per CD based on CD Caucus.

Huckabee | McCain
former:
Giuliani - Kansas State Representative Kevin Yoder of Overland Park and Garden City Commissioner J.R. Behan (Nov. 16, 2007 release).
Romney - Kris Kobach, chairman of the Kansas Republican party and a professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law (Jan. 28, 2008).
and Sen. Sam Brownback was a 2008 presidential candidate but withdrew on Oct. 19, 2007. >

Caucuses held in 64 locations around the state. [ad]
Results as reported by KS GOP

Rudy Giuliani
34

0.17%

+Mike Huckabee
11,627

59.58%

Alan Keyes
288

1.4%

John McCain
4,587

23.50%

Ron Paul
2,182

11.18%

Mitt Romney
653

3.35%

Fred Thompson
61

0.31%

Uncommitted
84

0.43%

Total
Provisional

19,516
493
20,009

Provisional votes likely to be added in sometime in the Spring.
Huckabee release

Caucus: Feb. 9, 2008
District Conventions: by March 31, 2008
State Committee Meeting: between April 1-June 28, 2008

Setting the Process
Kansas statutes provide for a presidential preference primary election (Chapter 45, Article 45 >), however the state has only held presidential primaries in 1980 and 1992. In the first part of 2007 it appeared quite possible that Kansas could hold a presidential primary in February 2008. Stephanie Wing, a spokesperson for the Secretary of State, stated (Jan. 12, 2007 e-mail), "Several members of the legislature have publicly stated they are onboard, and one Senator (Senator Phil Journey, R-Wichita) is prepared to introduce a bill asking for one. The governor is also supporting the idea, and included the funding in her new budget." More broadly, Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh hoped to build support for an early Midwestern regional primary. A relatively early primary would likely have given a boost to native son Sen. Sam Brownback, a candidate for the Republican nomination. In the end it came down to spending priorities. The $1.6 million-plus that would have been needed to reimburse counties for a primary proved too much. By the end of the session the legislature failed to approve funding, and the parties will hold caucuses (Republicans).

Tim Carpenter. "Kansas presidential primary real possibility." The Capital-Journal, Jan. 12, 2007.
John Hanna (AP). "Will Midwestern bloc share a primary date in '08?" The Wichita Eagle, Dec. 1, 2006.

General Election -- Tuesday, November 2, 2004

Voting Eligible Population: 1,928,764.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 61.6%.

Total Registration: 1,694,365.

Official Results

Badnarik/Campagna (Lib.)

4,013

(0.33)

Kerry/Edwards (Dem.)
434,993

(36.62)

Peroutka/Baldwin (Const.) 2,899 (0.24)

Ralph Nader (F.) 9,348
(0.79)

+Bush/Cheney (Rep.)
736,456

(62.00)

Walt Brown
4

-

David Cobb
33

-

John Joseph Kennedy
5

-

Bill Van Auken
5

-

Total........1,187,756

2004 Overview
Not since LBJ in 1964 has a Democratic presidential candidate carried Kansas. Bush improved upon his 2000 showing gaining a plurality of 301,463 votes (25.38 percentage points). As in 2000, the Democratic ticket carried Douglas County (includes Lawrence, KS, home of Univ. of Kansas) and Wyandotte County/Kansas City.
General Election Details

[Primary Election: August 3, 2004]

General Election -- Tuesday, November 7, 2000

Voting Eligible Population: 1,927,950.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 55.6%.

Total Registration: 1,623,623.

Official Results

Phillips/Frazier (Const.)
1,254

(0.12)

Gore/Lieberman (Dem.)
399,276

(37.24)

Browne/Olivier (Lib.)
4,525

(0.42)

Buchanan/Foster (Ref.)
7,370

(0.69)

+Bush/Cheney (Rep.)
622,332

(58.04)

Nader/LaDuke (indep.)
36,086

(3.37)

Hagelin/Ticciati (indep.)
1,375

(0.13)

Total........1,072,218

2000 Overview
Kansas remained firmly in the Republican column as Bush-Cheney defeated Gore-Lieberman by a plurality of 223,056 votes (20.80 percentage points). Gore managed to carry just two of the state's 105 counties: Douglas (includes Lawrence, KS, home of Univ. of Kansas) and Wyandotte County/Kansas City.

1992 and 1996 General Elections

1992

Bush (Rep.)...........449,951	(38.88)
Clinton (Dem.).......390,434	(33.74)
Perot (Ind.) ...........312,358	(26.99)
Others(4+w/ins)........,4,493	(0.39)
Total........1,157,236

1996

Dole (Rep.)............583,245	(54.29)
Clinton (Dem.)........387,659	(36.08)
Perot (Ref.)..............92,639	(8.62)
Others (3+w/ins)......10,757	(1.00)
Total........1,074,300

2004 page >
2000 page >