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Kansas, U.S. House, District 2


Army veteran and engineer Steve Watkins (R) defeated former state House Minority Leader Paul Davis (D) and business owner Kelly Standley (L) in the general election for Kansas' 2nd Congressional District on November 6, 2018.

All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives were up for election in 2018. The Democratic Party gained a net total of 40 seats, winning control of the chamber. This race was identified as a 2018 battleground that might have affected partisan control of the U.S. House in the 116th Congress. Heading into the election, the Republican Party was in the majority holding 235 seats to Democrats' 193 seats, with seven vacant seats. Democrats needed to win 23 GOP-held seats in 2018 to win control of the House. From 1918 to 2016, the president’s party lost an average of 29 seats in midterm elections.

Incumbent Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R) announced she was not seeking re-election in January 2017, which left open a seat whose district Donald Trump won by a margin of 19 points in 2016. The district had elected a Republican representative in every election since 1994, with the exception of the 2006 election of Nancy Boyda (D). The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committeerated the race a "Toss-up" in the month leading up to the election.

Polls

Kansas' 2nd Congressional District, Davis vs. Watkins

Poll Paul Davis (D) Steve Watkins (R)Undecided/OtherMargin of ErrorSample Size
New York Times Upshot/Siena College
October 27-30, 2018
41%37%15%+/-4.8501
New York Times Upshot/Siena College
September 13-15, 2018
45%44%12%+/-4.8500

Kansas' 2nd Congressional District, Davis vs. Fitzgerald

Poll Paul Davis (D) Steve Fitzgerald (R)Undecided/OtherMargin of ErrorSample Size
Mellman Group (commissioned by Davis)
June 13-18, 2018
39%34%27%+/-4.0600


Campaign finance

The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Paul Davis Democratic Party $3,985,403 $3,954,361 $31,166 As of December 31, 2018
Steve Watkins Republican Party $1,257,753 $1,223,163 $34,590 As of December 31, 2018
Kelly Standley Libertarian Party $0 $0 $0 As of April 1, 2018

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2018.

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.


State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Kansas from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Kansas Secretary of State.

Historical elections

Presidential elections

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Kansas every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), Kansas 2000-2016

Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2016 Republican Party Donald Trump 56.6% Democratic Party Hillary Clinton 36.0% 20.6%
2012 Republican Party Mitt Romney 59.7% Democratic Party Barack Obama 37.9% 21.8%
2008 Republican Party John McCain 56.6% Democratic Party Barack Obama 41.6% 15.0%
2004 Republican Party George W. Bush 62.0% Democratic Party John Kerry 36.6% 25.4%
2000 Republican Party George W. Bush 58.0% Democratic Party Al Gore 37.2% 20.8%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Kansas from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), Kansas 2000-2016

Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2016 Republican Party Jerry Moran 62.1% Democratic Party Patrick Wiesner 32.2% 29.9%
2014 Republican Party Pat Roberts 53.1% Grey.png Greg Orman 42.5% 10.6%
2010 Republican Party Jerry Moran 70.0% Democratic Party Lisa Johnston 26.3% 43.7%
2008 Republican Party Pat Roberts 60.0% Democratic Party Jim Slattery 36.4% 23.6%
2004 Republican Party Sam Brownback 69.1% Democratic Party Lee Jones 27.4% 41.7%
2002 Republican Party Pat Roberts 82.5% Libertarian Party Steven Rosile 9.1% 73.4%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Kansas.

Election results (Governor), Kansas 2000-2016

Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2014 Republican Party Sam Brownback 49.8% Democratic Party Paul Davis 46.1% 3.7%
2010 Republican Party Sam Brownback 63.2% Democratic Party Tom Holland 32.2% 31.0%
2006 Democratic Party Kathleen Sebelius 57.9% Republican Party Jim Barnett 40.4% 17.5%
2002 Democratic Party Kathleen Sebelius 52.9% Republican Party Tim Shallenburger 45.1% 7.8%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Kansas in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, Kansas 2000-2016

Year Republicans Republicans (%) Democrats Democrats (%) Balance of power
2016 Republican Party 4 100% Democratic Party 0 0% R+4
2014 Republican Party 4 100% Democratic Party 0 0% R+4
2012 Republican Party 4 100% Democratic Party 0 0% R+4
2010 Republican Party 4 100% Democratic Party 0 0% R+4
2008 Republican Party 3 75.0% Democratic Party 1 25.0% R+3
2006 Republican Party 2 50.0% Democratic Party 2 50.0% Split
2004 Republican Party 3 75.0% Democratic Party 1 25.0% R+3
2002 Republican Party 3 75.0% Democratic Party 1 25.0% R+3
2000 Republican Party 3 75.0% Democratic Party 1 25.0% R+3

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

Kansas Party Control: 1992-2019
No Democratic trifectas16 years of Republican trifectas

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Governor D D D R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R D
Senate R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
House D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R


Demographics

Demographic data for Kansas

KansasU.S.
Total population:2,906,721316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):81,7593,531,905
Gender
Female:50.2%50.8%
Race and ethnicity**
White:85.2%73.6%
Black/African American:5.8%12.6%
Asian:2.6%5.1%
Native American:0.8%0.8%
Pacific Islander:0.1%0.2%
Two or more:3.3%3%
Hispanic/Latino:11.2%17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:90.2%86.7%
College graduation rate:31%29.8%
Income
Median household income:$52,205$53,889
Persons below poverty level:15%11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Kansas.

As of July 2016, Kansas' three largest cities were Wichita (pop. est. 390,000), Overland Park (pop. est. 190,000), and Kansas City (pop. est. 150,000).