Ballot Measures, August 2, 2022
Kansas voters decided 1 statewide ballot measure on August 2, 2022.
Ballot measures
| Measure | Description | Result |
|---|
| Amendment | Provide that the state constitution does not create a right to an abortion or public abortion funding | Failed (41% yes) |
General Election, November 8, 2022
Kansas held its general election on November 8, 2022, deciding 125 legislative seats and 5 statewide offices led by the governorship. No chamber changed party control. The Senate was not up for regular election this cycle.
Highlights
- Kansas split its verdict: Democrats kept the governorship, while Republicans kept two-thirds majorities in both chambers, holding the House supermajority with one seat to spare and preserving their power to override the governor's vetoes in her second term.
- Gov. Laura Kelly (D), the only Democratic governor seeking reelection in a state Trump carried easily in 2020, beat three-term Attorney General Derek Schmidt (R) by about 2 points. She racked up big leads in the Kansas City area and other places where abortion rights are popular, three months after Kansans rejected an anti-abortion constitutional amendment. Conservative state Sen. Dennis Pyle (I) ran as an independent after Democrats helped get him on the ballot and drew about 2%.
- Former Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R), coming off losses in the 2018 governor's race and a 2020 U.S. Senate primary, scored a political comeback by edging first-time candidate Chris Mann (D) for attorney general by under 2 points, the closest statewide race on the ballot. Republicans also flipped the treasurer's office, as state Rep. Steven Johnson (R) beat Treasurer Lynn Rogers (D) by about 13 points. Secretary of State Scott Schwab (R) won reelection comfortably.
- In the House, 5 seats changed party hands, three to Democrats and two to Republicans. Dennis Miller (D) unseated Rep. Charlotte Esau (R) in House District 14, while Sandy Pickert (R) ousted Rep. Chuck Schmidt (D) in House District 88; counting Treasurer Rogers, 3 incumbents lost in all. Rep. Carl Turner (R) held House District 28 by about 60 votes. In 62 of the 125 House races, one of the major parties fielded no candidate.
- Voters split the two constitutional amendments. Amendment 1, a legislative veto letting lawmakers cancel agency regulations by simple majority, failed by fewer than 9,000 votes; critics saw it as a power grab by the dominant party, fueled by its frustration with Kelly. Amendment 2, requiring elected sheriffs and limiting how they can be removed, passed with about 62% of the vote.
Legislature
- House (125 seats): 38 D, 87 R before the election, 40 D, 85 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
- Senate (40 seats): 11 D, 29 R before the election, 11 D, 29 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
Statewide races
Legislative races
Ballot measures
| Measure | Description | Result |
|---|
| Constitutional Amendment 1 | Authorize the Legislature to veto or suspend rules or regulations adopted by executive agencies via a simple majority vote | Failed (50% yes) |
| Constitutional Amendment 2 | Require the election of county sheriffs in counties that had not abolished the office and provide that sheriffs may be recalled from office | Passed (62% yes) |