Chairperson Lee Kinch House leader Tom Burroughs National affiliation Democratic Party | Senate leader Anthony Hensley Headquarters Topeka, KS | |
Ideology Liberalism
Progressivism
Social liberalism | ||
The Kansas Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Kansas. The chair of the Kansas Democratic Party is Lee Kinch.
Contents
Overview
Since its founding as a territory, Kansas politics have been largely dominated by the Kansas Republican Party and in 1857 the Kansas Democratic Party was formed in an attempt to curb this trend by writing a constitution which would make Kansas a pro-slavery state. This constitution, which was written in Lecompton, Kansas, was boycotted by many of the free-stater's and seen as illegitimate. Eventually a free-state constitution was drafted in Topeka and was adopted. The Kansas Democratic Party has not been able to send a U.S. Senator to Washington since 1939, a record currently unmatched by any state party in America, Republican or Democratic. Kansas Democrats haven't controlled the Kansas Senate since 1917, the only period in which Democrats have ever held a majority in the upper house, and the Democrats have had only three non-consecutive two-year periods of majority control in the Kansas House of Representatives, the last being in 1991. Since becoming a state there have been 11 Governors from the Democratic Party, 6 of which came after 1961. In the 2000s the Kansas Democratic Party was able to win statewide offices and make gains in the Kansas Legislature by benefiting from tension in the Kansas Republican Party between its conservative and moderate wings. These gains, however, were erased in the 2010 Kansas elections as the Kansas Democratic Party saw its worst defeat on a ballot since 1954. The Kansas Democratic Party candidates lost every statewide office race (including U.S. Senator), every congressional race, and suffered a loss of 14 members in the state House of Representatives.
Washington Day
Since 1895 the Kansas Democratic Party has hosted the annual Washington Day consisting of one weekend of caucus meetings, dinners, receptions, and ending with an address from a keynote speaker. It is traditionally held in Kansas' capitol Topeka. The keynote speech has historically been a proving ground for future Democratic candidates for President of the United States including William Jennings Bryan, and Presidents Woodrow Wilson, Harry S. Truman, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. Vice Presidents Alben Barkley, Al Gore and Joe Biden have also given keynote speeches at Washington Day.
Members of Congress
The last Democrat to represent the state in Congress was Dennis Moore of Lenexa, who served as the representative for the 3rd District from 1999 until 2011. He did not seek re-election in 2010 and was subsequently replaced by Republican Kevin Yoder.
George McGill, who served from 1930 until 1939, was the last Democrat to serve as a United States Senator from Kansas; the state has since exclusively been represented by Republicans in that body, representing the longest losing streak by either party in any of the fifty states.