Kansas held its general election on November 4, 2014, deciding 127 legislative seats and 6 statewide offices led by the governorship. No chamber changed party control.
Highlights
- Gov. Sam Brownback (R) survived a re-election race fought over his income tax cuts, and Republicans widened their House majority, keeping the GOP trifecta and both supermajorities intact for 2015.
- Brownback beat House Minority Leader Paul Davis (D) by about 4 points, after Davis made the race about tax cuts that sliced state revenue. In July, more than 100 current and former Republican officials endorsed Davis, citing the cuts' effect on schools and highways. Using exit polls, University of Kansas political scientist Patrick Miller found that only two-thirds of Republicans who told pollsters they backed Davis actually voted for him.
- Every Republican statewide officeholder on the ballot won another term, among them Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R), who beat Jean Kurtis Schodorf (D) by about 18 points. Ken Selzer (R) won the open insurance commissioner's office.
- Republicans grew their House majority to 97-28. Four Democratic seats fell to Republicans, three of them in narrow wins over incumbents:
- Elsewhere in the House, Rep. Jan Pauls (R), who switched parties after the session, kept House District 102 running as a Republican. Ed Trimmer (D) held House District 79 by 17 votes, and Rep. Tom Burroughs (D), who would replace Davis as minority leader in 2015, held House District 33 by 145 votes.
- By roughly three to one, voters approved a measure (SCR 1618) letting the legislature authorize charitable raffles by certain nonprofit organizations.
Legislature
- House (125 seats): 33 D, 92 R before the election, 27 D, 98 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
- Senate (40 seats): 8 D, 32 R before the election, 8 D, 32 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
Statewide races
Legislative races
Ballot measures
| Measure | Description | Result |
|---|
| SCR 1618 | Authorizes the legislature to permit charitable raffles or other forms of charitable gaming by certain nonprofit organizations | Passed (74.59% yes) |