The Kansas Republican Party is the state affiliate political party in Kansas of the United States Republican Party. The Kansas Republican Party was organized in May 1859.
At the state level, the party is largely split between its moderate and conservative ideological factions, with the moderates often willing to work with Democrats on legislation and other matters. Because of this divide, Kansas is sometimes described as having "three-party politics." In recent years, as the national Republican Party has grown more conservative, some moderates have left the party to become Democrats. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all but one of Kansas' four U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seats, and supermajorities in both houses of the state legislature. The statewide offices that the party does not control are the governorship and the lieutenant governorship which are currently held by Democrats Laura Kelly and David Toland respectively.
Party structure and governance The current internal operating rules for the Kansas Republican Party and its biannual platform can be found on the party webpage: www.kansas.gop. The current Kansas Republican Party structure includes the following elements:http://www.ksgop.org | Kansas Republican Party Constitution and Bylaws
Precincts: Kansas is divided into thousands of administrative voting districts called precincts. Precincts are not based on population and range from 0 registered voters to 2,500 voters. During the biannual primary election in August, the registered Republican voters in each precinct elect one precinct committeeman and one precinct committeewoman (also known as "precinct leaders"). Vacancies in precinct positions may be filled by the county party chair. In the event that an elected partisan state legislative or county office becomes vacant, the precinct leaders from that district will meet and elect a replacement County Party: Each of the 105 counties has an active Republican County Party. Every two years, between the primary election and 2 weeks after the general election, all the precinct committee people – the county party "Central Committee" – hold a meeting and elect county party officers, a chair, vice chair, secretary and treasurer. Each county party is responsible for recruiting, advising, and supporting county-level candidates and supporting all Republican candidates whose district includes all or part of the county County Delegates: At the biannual meeting of the precinct committeemen, county delegates are elected. Each county has two automatic delegates, its chair and vice chair. Additional delegates are awarded based on the total number of Republican votes from the county in the last primary election. While most counties have only 2 delegates, large counties, like Sedgwick and Johnson, have dozens of county delegates District Committee: The county delegates assemble in four different Congressional District Committees. In December or January after each general election, the District Committees meet and elect four officers (chair, vice-chair, secretary, and treasurer) and 37 delegates and 37 alternate delegates to the state committee. In presidential election years, the District Committee meets to elect some of the delegates to the Republican National Convention. In the event a Congressional office becomes vacant, the District Committee will select the Republican candidate for the special election to fill the vacancy State Committee: The state committee, currently has 179 members, and is made up of 37 delegates from each congressional district, the chair and vice-chair of each district, the six state party officers, key elected officials and leaders of Republican affiliated groups. The State Committee meets at least twice a year. Every two years the newly elected delegates elect new state party officers – a chair, vice-chair, secretary and treasurer. During the first meeting in a Presidential election year, the state committee elects a National Committeeman and Committeewoman, who take office immediately after the Republican national convention. The state committee approves resolutions, changes to the state party constitution and by-laws, and approves the party platform every two years Executive Committee: The Executive committee currently has 38 members and is made up of the party officers, elected officials, leaders of Republican affiliated groups, and some specially appointed and elected individuals. The Executive Committee meets at State Committee meetings and by phone several times during the year. Budgetary and other administrative supervisory duties are tasked to the executive committee State party officers: There are six party officers. The chair, vice-chair, secretary, and treasurer are elected every two years. The national committeeman and women are elected every four years. The chair may hire an executive director and other paid staff with the approval of the executive committee Republican House Campaign Committee (RHCC) and Kansas Republican Senatorial Committee (KRSC): These are special party organizations composed of Republican Representatives and Senators. The role of these organizations is to recruit, advise, and support Republican candidates for the Kansas House and Senate. The Representatives and Senators elect the leadership for each organization
Current party leadership
Party officersParty Officials, The Republican Party of Kansas, http://ksgop.org/party_officials/ , retrieved 15 February 2015 Chair: Danedri Herbert Vice-chair: Andrew Hooser Secretary: Amanda Schlyer Treasurer: Roger Lomshek National Committeewoman: Wendy Bingesser National Committeeman: Mark Kahrs 1st District Chair: Chris McGowne 2nd District Chair: Don Alexander 3rd District Chair: Matt Bingesser 4th District Chair: Debbie Luper Executive Committee Members: the 10 party officers Vice Chair of each Congressional District Committee Senator Jerry Moran or Designee Senator Roger Marshall or Designee Congressman Tracey Mann or Designee Congressman Derek Schmidt or Designee Congressman Ron Estes or Designee Secretary of State Scott Schwab or Designee Attorney General Kris Kobach or Designee State Treasurer Steven Johnson or Designee Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt or Designee Senate President Ty Masterson or Designee Senate Majority Leader Chase Blasi or Designee Speaker of the House Daniel Hawkins or Designee House Majority Leader Chris Croft or Designee Kansas Black Republican Council chair Kansas Federation of Republican Women chair Kansas Republican Hispanic Assembly chair Kansas Federation of Young Republicans chair Kansas Federation of College Republicans chair One State Committee member from each district, elected by members of that district Two individuals appointed by the Chair
Current Republican officeholders
Members of the Republican Party currently hold both U.S. Senate seats; three of the four U.S. House seats; four of six statewide offices, and a majority in both the Kansas House of Representatives and the Kansas Senate.
Members of Congress
U.S. Senate Current Senators:U.S. Senate, The Republican Party of Kansas, http://ksgop.org/us_senate/ , Retrieved 13 December 2011
U.S. House of Representatives Current House members:U.S. House, The Republican Party of Kansas, http://ksgop.org/us_house/ , retrieved 13 December 2011 KS-01: Tracey Mann KS-02: Derek Schmidt KS-04: Ron Estes
Statewide offices Secretary of State: Scott Schwab Attorney General: Kris Kobach State Treasurer: Steven Johnson Insurance Commissioner: Vicki SchmidtStatewide officials, The Republican Party of Kansas, http://ksgop.org/statewide_officials/ , Retrieved 5 February 2018
State legislature Kansas Senate
President of the Senate: Ty Masterson Senate Majority Leader: Chase Blasi
Kansas House of Representatives
Speaker of the House: Daniel Hawkins House Majority Leader: Chris CroftKansas Senate and House, The Republican Party of Kansas, http://ksgop.org/kansas-senate/ , retrieved 13 December 2016
Party history
Dominant political party of Kansas The Kansas Republican Party has dominated Kansas politics since Kansas statehood in 1861. Kansas has had 45 governors: 32 Republicans, 11 Democrats and 2 Populists. Kansas has had 33 U.S. Senators: 28 Republicans, 3 Democrats, and 2 Populists. The last time a Democrat was elected to the U.S. Senate from Kansas was in 1932. Since 1960, the Republicans have won 107 of 131 Congressional elections and have won 71 of 93 statewide elections. The Democrats have won control of the Kansas Senate only in the 1912 election and control of the Kansas House only three times in the 1912, 1976, and 1990 elections. Beginning with the 1968 election, Kansas has consistently voted for the Republican presidential candidate and since 1860 has voted for the Republican presidential candidate 20 times, the Democrat six times and the Populist candidate once. From the 2010 to the 2016 elections, Republicans went 32–0 in Kansas's federal and statewide elections.
Currently, of the 1.9 million registered voters in Kansas, about 45% registered as members of the Republican Party, about 25% registered as members of the Democratic Party, and about 30% registered as unaffiliated with any political party.KS Secretary of State Registered Voter List
Early party history 1854 to 1974
Territorial Kansas (1854–1860) Kansas and the Republican Party owe their mutual existence to the passage of the Kansas–Nebraska Act in 1854, which repealed the Missouri Compromise. The Compromise had outlawed slavery above the 36⁰30' latitude in the Louisiana territories.Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854),100 Milestone Documents, http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=28 Eliminating the Missouri Compromise left the question of whether Kansas would be a slave or free state up to the Kansas voters. Anti-slavery and pro-slavery settlers came into Kansas in order to influence the outcome of the first election. The conflict was violent, known to history as Bleeding Kansas. In 1855, the anti-slavery settlers organized themselves as the Free-State political party, which, in 1859, became the Kansas Republican Party.
The Kansas Republican Party was organized on May 18, 1859, at a convention held at the Jillson Hotel in Osawatomie, and was attended by Horace Greeley."Speech of Horace Greeley to a Mass Meeting of Citizens of Kansas, Attending the Republican Convention at Osawatomie, May 18, 1859," New York Daily Tribune, May 31, 1859Kansas Historical Quarterly - When Horace Greeley Visited Kansas in 1859. by Martha B. Caldwell. May 1940 (Vol. 9, No. 2), pages 115 to 140. When the Wyandotte Constitutional Convention met in July 1859, it consisted of 35 Republicans and 17 Democrats. It produced the Wyandotte Constitution, making Kansas a free state and was ratified by the people of Kansas on October 4, 1859. Abraham Lincoln, campaigning to be the new Republican Party's presidential nominee, visited Kansas in November and December 1859, speaking in Elwood, Troy, Atchison, and Leavenworth.
Shortly after Lincoln's visit, John A. Martin, Atchison journalist and future governor, noted "We have formed a Republican Constitution, adopted it with Republican votes, sent a Republican delegate to bear it to the National Capital, [and] elected Republican State Officers and a Republican State Legislature." No place, he added, was "as thoroughly Republican" as Kansas."Kansas Thoroughly Republican", Freedom's Champion, December 17, 1859
Basic party organization (1859–1908)