Dozens of open seats in the Kansas Legislature could tip the scales of power in Topeka

Every seat in the Kansas Legislature — 125 in the House and 40 in the Senate — is up for election in 2024.

Republicans will attempt to hold onto — and expand — veto-proof majorities in both chambers that would allow the GOP to pass laws without support from Democratic lawmakers or Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.

Democrats will try to break the veto-proof majorities and could do so by picking up an additional three seats in the Senate and two seats in the House.

The 2024 statehouse races could reshape the Legislature in an election cycle that looks to be competitive.

Across the state, Republicans will have 32 primary races — 12 in the Senate and 20 in the House — while Democrats will have 11 contested primary races — four in the Senate and seven in the House.

Other the other hand, dozens of legislators could win their races by default. Forty-four candidates for the Legislature are so far the only candidate — of either party — to run for a particular seat. That includes two Republican Senate candidates and 25 Republican House candidates. An additional two Democratic candidates in the Senate and 15 Democratic candidates in the House are the sole filers for their districts.

Thirty-one seats in the Kansas Legislature are open, meaning the incumbent opted not to seek re-election, changed districts or died.

Neal Allen, an associate professor of political science at Wichita State University, said he expects the Kansas legislative elections to largely depend on national issues in the presidential race.

“Democrats are going to try to make this election about abortion and women’s reproductive rights as much as possible, and that will help Democrats a lot in northeast Kansas and will help them some in the Wichita area as well,” Allen said.

“Republicans are going to try to run on immigration as much as they can and tying Democrats to Joe Biden,” Allen said.

Taxes, Medicaid and marijuana are also likely to dominate campaign messaging, Allen said.

“Republicans are going to want voters to think that Democrats have blocked a tax cut that’ll put money back into voters’ pockets; Democrats are going to want to get voters to see Republicans as cutting taxes on the wealthy to starve public education and other key state services,” Allen said.

Allen said he expects Republican Senate leadership to consolidate power this election as many more moderate Republicans exit the upper chamber.

“Any Republican who can credibly be labeled a moderate is in danger in a Republican primary,” Allen said. “And so that might be a motivation for some retirements. And it is somewhat surprising that we are having as many retirements as we do, considering that the pay is now going to double and get close to being a living wage.”

The Legislature nearly doubled its members’ pay for 2025, bumping up annual wages from about $30,000 a year for rank-and-file lawmakers to nearly $58,000. The Legislature is usually in session for five months out of the year.

Allen said the House of Representatives could return to its role as the most active chamber of the Legislature.

“The Democrats have a solid chance of picking up seats in the House so they can get over the one-third threshold and sustain Gov. Kelly’s vetoes and block constitutional amendments,” Allen said. “If they can get up to around 43 to 48 seats, then they are in a strong position to find enough Republican allies to force votes on issues like Medicaid expansion or marijuana reform.”

Here’s a look at each chamber and the contested primaries and shakeups expected in the Wichita area.

Kansas Senate

▪ The Republican Party holds a veto-proof 29-11 majority over the Democratic Party in the Kansas Senate. That’s two more Republicans than the 27-vote threshold needed to override a veto by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.

▪ Contested primaries: 16 (Republicans: 12; Democrats: 4)

Thirty percent of the Kansas Senate districts will have a new senator — with 11 senators opting not to run for re-election and one running for a seat in a different district.

Notable Wichita-area changes include the retirements of Republican senators Carolyn McGinn of Sedgwick, Dan Kerschen of Garden Plain and Mark Steffen of Hutchinson. Rick Wilborn, the vice president of the Senate, is leaving the upper chamber to run for a vacant seat in the House district previously occupied by his friend Les Mason, a McPherson Republican who died the Friday before the filing deadline of a brain aneurysm.

Sixteen districts will have primary contests in August. Twelve are Republican primaries and four are Democratic primaries.

A few of those primaries will be in the Wichita area. Sen. Chase Blasi and J.C. Moore will face off in the Republican primary for the vacancy left by Kerschen.

Blasi, who was appointed in 2023 by the Republican Party to finish Gene Sullentrop’s term in District 27, is running for Kerschen’s seat in District 26 as a result of redistricting. District 26 includes Cheney, Garden Plain, Haysville and Clearwater along with most of Goddard, southwest Wichita, southwest Derby and northern Mulvane.

Rep. Stephen Owens, a Hesston Republican, is running for McGinn’s seat against Democratic challenger Jason Miller of Newton. There is no primary in Senate District 31, which includes Harvey County and north-central and northwest Sedgwick County.

Wichitan Joe Claeys, brother of Salina Republican J.R. Claeys, is a lock for the Republican nod in the vacant District 27 seat left behind by Blasi. He’ll face off in the general election against Democratic candidate Jennifer Herington of Maize.

Wilborn’s Senate District 35 was changed completely in the latest redistricting, and it no longer includes where he lives. It previously included parts of Ellsworth, Rice, McPherson, Marion, Chase, Dickinson and Marion counties. It now includes parts of Lenexa, Olathe and Overland Park.

In District 34, which includes much of Reno and Kingman counties, Republicans Bob Fee of Hutchinson and Michael Murphy of Sylvia will face off in the GOP primary for the seat being vacated by Steffen. The winner will face Democratic candidate Shanna Henry of Cheney.

Elsewhere in the state, Republican senators who did not file for re-election also include Alicia Straub of Ellinwood, John Doll of Garden City, Robert Olson of Olathe, Jeff Longbine of Emporia, Kristen O’Shea of Topeka, Rick Kloos of Berryton. Tom Holland of Baldwin City is the lone Democrat not seeking re-election in the Kansas Senate.

Four Senate candidates — two Republicans and two Democrats — could win their races without having to campaign, as only one candidate had filed to run by the Monday deadline. Two of those candidates represent districts in Wichita: Republican Mike Petersen and Democrat Oletha Faust Goudeau. El Dorado Republican Michael A. Fagg and Lenexa Democrat Dinah Sykes are also the sole filers for their seats so far. These candidates still could face third-party and independent challengers, who do not have primaries and can join a race before the general election.

Kansas House

▪ The Republican Party held a veto-proof 85-40 majority over the Democratic Party in the Kansas House. That’s one more Republican than the 84-vote threshold needed to override a veto by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.

▪ Contested primaries: 27 (Republicans: 20; Democrats: 7)

In the Kansas House of Representatives, at least 15% of districts can expect to have a new representative.

The House has 19 open seats this election cycle, including the seat vacated by the death of Mason. Wilborn, the Senate vice president, is the only candidate of either party running for Mason’s seat.

First-term Rep. Carl Maughan, a Colwich Republican who is facing DUI and gun charges related to a Topeka arrest, announced last week that he is ending his campaign for House District 90, which includes portions of northwest Wichita, Maize, Colwich, Valley Center, Kechi and Bentley. Three other Republicans have filed to run for the seat: Steven Huebert of Valley Center, who held the seat for more than 20 years starting in 2001 and did not file to run in 2022; Darren Pugh of Colwich; and Jesse McCurry of Colwich. The winner of the Republican primary would face Democratic challenger Tracy Edingfield of Valley Center.

Longtime Rep. Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita Republican who served in the House from 1995 to 2013 and again starting in 2017, is retiring from the Legislature. She represents north-central Wichita in District 105 and said she is leaving to spend more time with her family.

“Family has always been a priority for me, and it is time for me to spend more time with my family,” Landwehr said in a statement.

Landwehr is endorsing Jill Ward, a Wichita Republican who successfully lobbied for steeper penalties for leaving the scene of a deadly collision after her 20-year-old son — a contracted storm chaser for KAKE News — was killed in a hit-and-run accident while riding as a passenger on a motorcycle. Ward will face off against Wichita Republican David Hickman in the GOP primary. The winner would face Wichita Democratic candidate John Burke in the general election.

In what Allen, the Wichita State political scientist, described as the most competitive race in the Wichita area, former officeholder Chuck Schmidt and first-time candidate Veronica Gillette will face off in a Democratic primary to see who will challenge Republican incumbent Sandy Pickert in District 88, which includes southeast Wichita and west Andover.

In 2022, Pickert edged out Schmidt by just over 100 votes out of 5,930 cast in the district. Since 2012, the district has bounced back and forth between Democratic and Republican control multiple times.

Rep. Kristey Williams, an Augusta Republican and chair of the House Majority Caucus, faces a GOP primary challenger in District 77 from Douglas Law, another Augusta Republican. That district includes east Andover, Augusta, Rose Hill and Douglass.

In District 102, the lone legislative district west of Wichita represented by a Democratic officeholder, two Republican candidates have filed to challenge Democratic Rep. Jason Probst of Hutchinson: Kyler Sweely and Tyson Thrall, both of Hutchinson.

These area incumbents are unopposed for re-election:

Wichita Democratic Reps. John Carmichael, Ford Carr, Angela Martinez, Silas Miller and KC Ohaebosim

Republican Reps. Blake Carpenter of Derby, Will Carpenter of El Dorado, Leo Delperdang and Susan Humphries of Wichita, Bill Rhiley of Wellington, Joe Seiwert of Pretty Prairie and Richard Wilborn of McPherson.