United States Senate election in Kansas, 2016
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Presidential • U.S. Senate • U.S. House • State Senate • State House • State judges • Local judges • State ballot measures • Recalls • Candidate ballot access |
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November 8, 2016 |
August 2, 2016 |
Jerry Moran  |
Jerry Moran |
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Cook Political Report: Solid R[1] Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe R[2] Rothenberg & Gonzales: Safe R[3] |
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Voters in Kansas elected one member to the U.S. Senate in the election on November 8, 2016.
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated Kansas' U.S. Senate race as safely Republican. Incumbent Jerry Moran (R) defeated Patrick Wiesner (D) and Robert Garrard (L) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Moran defeated D.J. Smith in the Republican primary, while Wiesner defeated Monique Singh to win the Democratic nomination. The primary elections took place on August 2, 2016.[4][5]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Kansas utilizes a semi-closed primary process, in which previously unaffiliated voters can participate in the partisan primary of their choice (a voter who is already affiliated with a party can only vote in that party's primary).[6][7][8][9]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Incumbent: The election filled the Class 3 Senate seat held by Jerry Moran (R). He was first elected in 2010.
Election results
General election
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Jerry Moran Incumbent |
62.2% | 732,376 | |
| Democratic | Patrick Wiesner | 32.2% | 379,740 | |
| Libertarian | Robert Garrard | 5.6% | 65,760 | |
| N/A | Write-in | 0% | 46 | |
| Total Votes | 1,177,922 | |||
| Source: Kansas Secretary of State | ||||
Primary election
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Jerry Moran Incumbent |
79.1% | 230,907 | ||
| D.J. Smith | 20.9% | 61,056 | ||
| Total Votes | 291,963 | |||
| Source: Kansas Secretary of State |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Patrick Wiesner |
62.9% | 59,522 | ||
| Monique Singh | 37.1% | 35,042 | ||
| Total Votes | 94,564 | |||
| Source: Kansas Secretary of State |
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Candidates
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General election candidates: Jerry Moran   Patrick Wiesner Robert Garrard |
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Primary candidates:[10] |
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Democratic Patrick Wiesner[4] |
Republican D.J. Smith[4] |
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Third Party/Other |
Race background
Supreme Court nominations
Speaking to a group of constituents at the Gray County Courthouse on March 21, 2016, Senator Moran said, "I would rather have you (constituents) complaining to me that I voted wrong on nominating somebody than saying I’m not doing my job ... I can’t imagine the president has or will nominate somebody that meets my criteria, but I have my job to do ... I think the process ought to go forward."[12]
"Americans are already aware the Senate will not hold hearings or consider any Supreme Court nominee for the remainder of the year ... It is difficult to imagine a path toward confirmation until a new president takes office."[13]
A week after his initial statements, Moran stated that he was opposed to President Obama's nomination of Judge Merrick Garland. His office released a statement saying, "Senator Moran called Senator Grassley to discuss his position. As Senator Moran has said, he is opposed to President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee. He has examined Judge Garland’s record and didn’t need hearings to conclude that the nominee’s judicial philosophy, disregard for Second Amendment rights and sympathy for federal government bureaucracy make Garland unacceptable to serve on the Supreme Court."[14]
Election history
2014
On November 4, 2014, incumbent Pat Roberts (R) defeated challengers Greg Orman (I) and Randall Batson (L) in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Pat Roberts Incumbent |
53.1% | 460,350 | |
| Independent | Greg Orman | 42.5% | 368,372 | |
| Libertarian | Randall Batson | 4.3% | 37,469 | |
| Total Votes | 866,191 | |||
| Source: Kansas Secretary of State Official Results | ||||
2010
On November 2, 2010, Moran (R) won election to the United States Senate. He defeated Lisa Johnston (D), Michael Wm. Dann (L), and Joseph K. Bellis (Reformed Party) in the general election.[15]
| U.S. Senate, Kansas General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Jerry Moran |
70.1% | 587,175 | |
| Democratic | Lisa Johnston | 26.4% | 220,971 | |
| Libertarian | Michael Wm. Dann | 2.1% | 17,922 | |
| Reformed | Joseph "Joe" K. Bellis | 1.4% | 11,624 | |
| Total Votes | 837,692 | |||
Important dates and deadlines
- See also: Kansas elections, 2016
The calendar below lists important dates for political candidates in Kansas in 2016.
| Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Deadline | Event type | Event description | |
| January 11, 2016 | Campaign finance | Report due covering January 1, 2015–December 31, 2015 | |
| June 1, 2016 | Ballot access | Candidate filing deadline for the primary election | |
| July 25, 2016 | Campaign finance | Report due covering January 1, 2016–July 21, 2016 | |
| July 28, 2016 | Campaign finance | Report due for last minute contributions of $300 or more received between July 22, 2016, and July 27, 2016 | |
| August 1, 2016 | Ballot access | Candidate filing deadline for the general election | |
| August 2, 2016 | Election date | Primary election | |
| October 31, 2016 | Campaign finance | Report due covering July 22, 2016–October 27, 2016 | |
| November 3, 2016 | Campaign finance | Report due for last minute contributions of $300 or more received between October 28, 2016, and November 2, 2016 | |
| November 8, 2016 | Election date | General election | |
| January 10, 2017 | Campaign finance | Report due covering October 28, 2016–December 21, 2016 | |
| Source: Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission, "2016 Election Cycle Reporting Periods and Due Dates for Campaign Finance Reports," updated April 21, 2015 Kansas Secretary of State, "2016 Election Information," accessed October 28, 2015 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Kansas, 2016
- United States Senate elections, 2016
- Jerry Moran
Footnotes
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2016 Senate Race Ratings for July 11, 2016," accessed July 19, 2016
- ↑ Sabato's Crystal Ball, "2016 Senate," accessed July 18, 2016
- ↑ Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report, "Senate Ratings," accessed July 19, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Kansas Secretary of State, "Candidates for the 2016 Primary," accessed June 2, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Kansas House Primaries Results," August 2, 2016
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," February 6, 2024
- ↑ FairVote, "Open and closed primaries," accessed July 25, 2024
- ↑ Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
- ↑ Scott Schwab Kansas Secretary of State, "Voter information," accessed July 25, 2024
- ↑ Candidates are listed by party and alphabetically within each party.
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2016 General Candidate List," accessed June 15, 2016
- ↑ Garden City Telegram, "Moran: Obama’s visit to Cuba ‘premature’," March 21, 2016
- ↑ Topeka Capital-Journal, "Kansas senators Pat Roberts, Jerry Moran won't consider Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland," March 16, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "2 Republican Senators Revoke Support for Garland Hearings," April 2, 2016
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
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For information about public policy issues in the 2016 elections, see: Public policy in the 2016 elections!
