November 8, 2016 2020 → 671,018 427,005 Trump
40-50%
50-60%
60-70%
70-80%
80-90%
>90% Clinton
60–70% | Turnout 67.40% 56.6% 36.0% Date 8 November 2016 | |
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The 2016 United States presidential election in Kansas was held on November 8, 2016, as part of the 2016 General Election in which all 50 states plus The District of Columbia participated. Kansas voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting the Republican Party's nominee, businessman Donald Trump, and running mate Indiana Governor Mike Pence against Democratic Party nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her running mate, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine.
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On March 5, 2016, in the presidential primaries, voters expressed their preferences for the Democratic and Republican parties' respective nominees for President.
Donald Trump won the election in Kansas with 56.6% of the vote. Hillary Clinton received 36.0% of the vote. Kansas was among the eleven states in which Hillary Clinton outperformed Barack Obama's margin in 2012., largely due to a significant shift towards Democrats in Johnson County.
Background
The incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, a Democrat and former U.S. Senator from Illinois, was first elected president in the 2008 election, running with former Senator Joe Biden of Delaware. Defeating the Republican nominee, Senator John McCain of Arizona, with 52.9% of the popular vote and 68% of the electoral vote, Obama succeeded two-term Republican President George W. Bush, the former Governor of Texas. Obama and Biden were reelected in the 2012 presidential election, defeating former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney with 51.1% of the popular vote and 61.7% of electoral votes. Although Barack Obama's approval rating in the RealClearPolitics poll tracking average remained between 40 and 50 percent for most of his second term, it has experienced a surge in early 2016 and reached its highest point since 2012 during June of that year. Analyst Nate Cohn has noted that a strong approval rating for President Obama would equate to a strong performance for the Democratic candidate, and vice versa.
Following his second term, President Obama is not eligible for another reelection. In October 2015, Obama's running-mate and two-term Vice President Biden decided not to enter the race for the Democratic Presidential nomination either. With their term expiring on January 20, 2017, the electorate is asked to elect a new president, the 45th President and 48th Vice President of the United States, respectively.
Political landscape in Kansas
The state of Kansas has given its electoral votes to the Republican ticket since 1968, and only once to the Democrats (1964) since 1940. All current statewide officials are Republicans, as are all four members of the state's U.S. House delegation. Mitt Romney defeated Barack Obama by a margin of 60% to 38% in 2012. However, Kansas has been considered a state that could be picked up by Hillary Clinton, due to Donald Trump's unpopularity amongst conservatives. A poll conducted by John Zogby found Clinton leading Trump by 7 points in June. In addition, an internal poll for Representative Kevin Yoder, a Republican from Kansas' 3rd congressional district, released an internal poll showing Clinton leading Trump by 6 points in his district. This district voted for Mitt Romney by a 10-point margin in 2012 and has a PVI of R+6. This result, coupled with Clinton's gains in national polls, caused Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball to move the Kansas race from "Safe Republican" to "Likely Republican" on August 18.
Minor Candidates
The following have received write-in status:
President: Andrew D. Basiago; Vice President: Karen D. Kinnison;
President: Darrell L Castle; Vice President: Scott N. Bradley;
President: “Rocky” Roque De La Fuente, Vice President: Michael Steinberg;
President: Rocky Giordani; Vice President: Farley M Anderson;
President: James A Hedges; Vice President: Bill V Bayes;
President: Tom Hoefling; Vice President: Steve Schulin;
President: Lynn Kahn; Vice President: Kathy Monahan;
President: Gloria La Riva; Vice President: Eugene Puryer;
President: Michael S. Levinson; Vice President: Perry E. Wharton, II;
President: Michael A Maturen; Vice President: Juan A Munoz;
President: Evan McMullin; Vice President: Nathan D Johnson;
President: Monica G. Moorehead; Vice President: Lamont G. Lilly;
President: Darryl Perry; Vice President: Conan Salada;
President: Marshall R. Schoenke; Vice President: James C. Mitchell, Jr.;
President: Joe C Schriner; Vice President: Joe Moreaux;
President: Mike Smith; Vice President: Daniel White
Results
According to the New York Times, with 99% of election precincts reporting Republican Party candidate Donald Trump received 671,018 votes or 56.7% of the presidential vote, and Green Party candidate Jill Stein received 23,506 votes or 2% of the presidential vote.