Democrats wanted to give Kelly leverage. But Kansas GOP kept their veto-proof majority
Anthony Hensley first entered the Kansas Legislature in 1977 at the age of 23. Since 1997, the Topeka resident has led the Senate’s Democratic caucus. In the Capitol, he is hard to miss, eager to chat up reporters and quick to recall political fights from long ago.
But the longest-serving legislator in state history and a key ally of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly is narrowly losing reelection in unofficial results — jolting Kansas politics and likely handing Republicans their biggest legislative prize in a grim election for Statehouse Democrats.
Republicans emerged Wednesday well-positioned to hold on to their supermajorities in both the House and Senate, an achievement that carries long-term consequences for Kansas. The results deprive Kelly of precious leverage she would have gained if Republicans had lost the power to override her vetoes.
Hensley’s apparent loss came as Democrats battled to a draw in the Senate and suffered losses in the House. Hopes of cutting into the GOP’s majorities were quickly dashed Tuesday night as voters delivered only mixed results for Democrats in Johnson County, an area where the party had been making significant gains in recent years.
Turnout surged across Kansas, with more than 100,000 more votes cast than in 2016. In Johnson County, nearly 75 percent of registered voters cast ballots. But optimism that high turnout would lift an array of Democrats to victory proved unfounded.
In an interview, Hensley said he believed frustrations over COVID-19 restrictions hurt him and other Democrats.
When the virus arrived in the spring, Kelly closed non-essential businesses and limited gatherings. This summer, she issued a statewide mask mandate, but most counties opted out. Some counties and cities have also imposed their own rules throughout the pandemic.
“Politics has changed, unfortunately. It’s become a lot more personal than it used to be,” Hensley said. “In this election year I think there was a lot of anger, particularly given we have a coronavirus pandemic going on and I think a lot of voters are fed up with a lot of restrictions that have been placed.”
Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican who didn’t run for reelection, served alongside Hensley in the Senate since 2001. She said in a statement that voters made a clear choice not only by electing a GOP supermajority, “but also by taking out the entrenched Minority Leader who carried Laura Kelly’s liberal agenda of statewide mandates and business and school closures.”
The Legislature is almost certain to debate the governor’s emergency powers and the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic when the new session begins in January. Emboldened by a larger majority, Republicans could thwart any attempts to provide the governor additional emergency power or ease the path for a new statewide mask mandate.
Perhaps most troubling for Democrats, Republicans will enjoy veto-proof majorities as redistricting begins. In Kansas, state legislative and congressional maps are drawn once a decade by the Legislature and approved or vetoed by the governor, like any other bill. Republicans could force through their own maps over Kelly’s objections, if they’re united.
“Assuming that the supermajorities narrowly hold … I think it could be a rough two years for Kansas,” said Rep. Brett Parker, an Overland Park Democrat who won reelection. “I think you’re going to have really extreme far-right legislative leadership trying to dictate what happens” on healthcare, redistricting and the pandemic.
“It leaves a lot up in the air,” he said.
Kelly on Wednesday named priorities, including fighting the spread of the virus and expanding Medicaid, that she hopes to accomplish with the Legislature. At the same time, she acknowledged potential difficulties ahead.
“This election year has been unlike any other, and I do not doubt that we will face our fair share of new challenges when the next legislative session begins,” Kelly said in a statement.
Republicans made clear they viewed the results as a mandate for conservative governance. House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican who won reelection, said voters sent a stronger GOP majority to Topeka, “knowing they can trust us to fulfill our promise to prioritize Kansas jobs and get the economy moving again.”
House Speaker Ron Ryckman, an Olathe Republican who beat his Democratic challenger, said Kansans “spoke pretty clearly last night.”
Republicans went into the election controlling 84 House seats, the exact number needed to override vetoes in the 125-seat chamber. On Wednesday, they led in 87 races, according to unofficial results from the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office.
A handful of House races are extremely narrow, however, and hold the ability to expand or shrink Republican control.
Rep. Jennifer Day, an Overland Park Democrat, was losing to Republican Terry Frederick by 11 votes. Democratic Rep. Jason Probst led Republican challenger John Whitesel in Hutchinson by just three votes. In Olathe, Democrat Linda Featherston was ahead of Republican Rashard Young by four votes.
In the Senate, Republicans are on track to maintain control of 29 seats in the 40-seat chamber — two more than the 27 that constitutes a supermajority. As of Wednesday, Hensley was trailing Republican opponent Rick Kloos, a Topeka pastor who previously ran a longshot campaign for governor in 2018, by 849 votes in unofficial results.
Kloos said he benefited from a “perfect storm” of name recognition from his business — God’s Storehouse — Hensley’s longevity in the statehouse, increased voter registration in Shawnee County and a hard working team.
For his part, Hensley acknowledged that after 44 years, voters were finally ready for a change.
“Each time that I would run for reelection my opponent would always say ‘well he’s been in too long, it’s time for a change’ and up until this year that message didn’t really resonate,” Hensley said. “This time around they selected somebody other than me.”
This story was originally published November 5, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
