No Dem Files Against Yoder, 2nd Term on the Way June 11, 2012

Johnson County’s freshman Congressman Kevin Yoder has almost been assured of re-election. He was going to be a heavy favorite for a second term. Those odds just got better. No democratic candidate filed to oppose him in November. He has no primary challenger, either.
There is some speculation Yoder may face an independent candidate, but that has not developed yet.
Two years ago, Yoder won a vigorous GOP primary to win the nomination. The seat was opened up by Democrat Dennis Moore’s decision to retire.
Moore’s wife Stephene ran against Yoder on the Democratic ticket. Yoder easily won the November election with 58% of the vote.
Yoder’s new district is a little more Republican than the previous Ks-3. Redistricting took some of the western portions of the Ks-3 away,portions near Lawrence. The panel of three federal judges that draw the map added a slice of northeastern Miami County to the Ks-3rd.
Yoder isn’t the only Kansas Congressman to cruise.
Western Kansas Republican Tim Huelskamp faces no primary or Democratic opposition in the new, bigger First Congressional district.
Huelskamp is also a freshman.
The AP says some Kansas Congressional districts do have Democratis filing in the heavily Republican state.
The AP says, ” Three more Kansas Democrats have filed for seats in the U.S. House, including two hoping to run against Republican Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins.

Bob Eye, an attorney from Lawrence, and the Rev. Tobias Schlingensiepen, who’s on leave as senior pastor of Topeka’s First Congregational Church, secured spots on the primary ballot Monday in the 2nd Congressional District. Jenkins has represented the district since 2009.

Filing Monday for the Democratic primary in the 4th Congressional District of south-central Kansas was Esau Freeman, a house painter and artist from Wichita. Freeman hopes to run in November against freshman Republican Congressman Mike Pompeo.

Another Democrat, retired court services officer Robert Tillman, has also filed for the seat.

Candidates had until noon Monday to file for the party primaries being held Aug. 7.

Topeka Split Plan Faces Trouble in Kansas Senate March 30, 2012

(AP) – The Kansas House has passed a redistricting bill splitting Topeka between two congressional districts.

But key senators said even before Thursday’s vote 81-43 vote in the House that they oppose the measure. The Senate approved its own plan last month, and negotiators for the two chambers must compromise.

Topeka currently is in the 2nd District of eastern Kansas, and the House’s plan would move part of it into the 1st District of western and central Kansas. House Speaker Mike O’Neal, a Hutchinson Republican, noted that his chamber rejected other plans that kept Topeka in a single district.

But Senate Reapportionment Committee Chairman Tim Owens, an Overland Park Republican, called splitting Topeka absurd. And Senate President Steve Morris, a Hugoton Republican, said he opposes the idea.

Kansas House Votes for the Topeka Split March 28, 2012

(AP) – The Kansas House has given first-round approval to a congressional redistricting bill that splits Topeka between two U.S. House districts.

The 77-43 vote Wednesday advanced the measure to a final vote, expected Thursday.

Topeka is now entirely in the 2nd District of eastern Kansas. The bill would extend the 1st District of western and central Kansas into the capital city.

The 1st District would take in the Statehouse and heavily minority neighborhoods in eastern Topeka. Republican-leaning, predominantly white neighborhoods in the city’s west side would remain in the 2nd District.

Kansas lawmakers must adjust the lines of the state’s four U.S. House districts to account for changes in population over the past decade. The Senate has passed a different version, meaning the two chambers would have to agree on compromise.

Jenkins: Keep Manhattan in KS-2 January 26, 2012

AP) – Republican Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins wants Kansas legislators to keep the Manhattan area in her U.S. House district when they redraw political boundaries.

Jenkins told The Associated Press on Thursday she believes the lines of her district need only minimal changes. She represents the 2nd Congressional District in eastern Kansas, which currently includes Manhattan.

State lawmakers must redraw the districts to account for population changes over the past decade. The 2nd District must pick up only 3,200 residents to reach the ideal population of about 713,000.

The neighboring 1st District of western and central Kansas is nearly 58,000 residents short. Some legislators are talking about expanding its territory to take in Manhattan.

Jenkins says Manhattan officials have made a good case that their community has more in common with eastern Kansas.