Of the 2016 state and federal races in which KS RPAC participated, we were successful in supporting the winner 89% of the time.
In Kansas there was one US Senate race (Moran) and four US House races (Marshall, Jenkins, Yoder, Pompeo). All five incumbents won.
On the state level we saw Democrat gains, though not to the extent that observers predicted.
In the Senate, Democrats picked up just one seat. The Senate breakdown is now 31 Republicans and nine Democrats. Regardless, the primary election resulted in more moderate Republican wins. Though the breakdown between Republicans and Democrats is largely unchanged, the political ideology of the Senate Republican majority has shifted. There are 14 “new” senators in the Kansas Senate (five are former House members and nine are new to the legislature).
In the House, Democrats realized larger gains. Preliminary results show Democrats picked up 13 seats. This leaves a preliminary breakdown of 84 Republicans and 41 Democrats.
While Republicans still enjoy a significant majority, most of those Republicans losing on election night were conservatives. There will be more than 40 new House members with a couple former Representatives returning to Topeka.
Focus will now shift to leadership elections in both the House and Senate and the accompanying appointment of committee leadership, which will take place at the beginning of December.
