All 125 Kansas House seats are up for election this year, and Democrats are hoping to break the GOP’s veto-proof majority. Democrats need to flip two seats to break the supermajority, and voting in Wichita could make the difference. The Beacon asked candidates in the Sedgwick County election the same list of questions to see […]
Kansas House
Posted inElections
Leah Howell and Kyle Beauchamp face off in Kansas House race
A teacher is trying to flip a red seat to blue in a Kansas House district southeast of Wichita. Rep. Leah Howell, a Derby Republican, is challenged by teacher Kyle Beauchamp. Republicans have won the district in the last five elections. Election day is Nov. 5, Oct. 15 is the last day to register to […]
Posted inElections
Longtime Democrat Henry Helgerson faces Erik Seligman in Kansas House race
A Republican is running to unseat a long-serving Democrat in a Kansas House district. Rep. Henry Helgerson, an Eastborough Democrat, has won multiple stints in the Kansas Statehouse. He was unopposed in 2022 and Democrats have won this district in the last five elections. Erik Seligman is trying to change that. Election Day is Nov. […]
Posted inElections
Patrick Penn faces Aonya Kendrick Barnett in Kansas House election
Rep. Patrick Penn, a Wichita Republican, is running against a Safe Streets Wichita staffer in a November race. Republicans have won this district the last five elections. Penn has won his last two elections by over 15 percentage points. Election Day is Nov. 5. Oct. 15 is the last day to register to vote. Early […]
Posted inElections
Susan Estes and Mike Snider run for Wichita House seat
Susan Estes, a Wichita Republican, is trying to keep her House seat from a retired attorney. Republicans have won the seat in the last five elections. Election Day is Nov. 5. Oct. 15 is the last day to register to vote. And early voting starts Oct. 16. You can find your polling place and the […]
Posted inKansas State Government
Fentanyl test strips will finally be legal in Kansas. Here’s why that matters.
Kansans will soon be able to use fentanyl test strips without fear of being prosecuted after Gov. Laura Kelly signed Senate Bill 174 earlier this month, a measure that addiction experts hope will prevent deaths from accidental fentanyl poisoning. “By decriminalizing fentanyl testing strips, we are helping Kansans protect themselves from a deadly poison that […]
Posted inKansas State Government
2023 Kansas legislative session: What passed, what didn’t, what was vetoed
Kansas lawmakers concluded this year’s legislative session last Friday after a three-day flurry of veto overrides and finalizing budgets for both public schools and the state, but without passing any of the tax relief policies each party wanted at the start of the session. Neither did Gov. Laura Kelly achieve the major priorities she laid […]
Posted inKansas State Government
‘I trusted her wholly.’ After breaking from Gail Finney, can Rep. Ford Carr earn constituents’ trust?
When state Rep. Gail Finney, a Democrat from Wichita, died in August, her successor Ford Carr knew that she left big shoes to fill. So much so that Carr has a pair of women’s shoes — presumably Finney’s, but Carr didn’t confirm this when The Beacon asked him — displayed in his office, a dedication […]
Posted inKansas State Government
It took three years for Kansas lawmakers to ban trans athletes from girls’ teams. What happens now?
Transgender and nonbinary student athletes will no longer be allowed to play on girls’ sports teams in Kansas schools, following the state legislature’s override of Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of House Bill 2238. The Kansas trans sports ban does not restrict who might play on boys’ teams. The override is the culmination of a three-year […]
Posted inKansas State Government
These laws could curb fentanyl deaths. Why won’t Kansas lawmakers enact them?
Update: On May 11, Gov. Laura Kelly signed Senate Bill 174 into law. The bill decriminalizes fentanyl test strips. Read more here. On Monday, the Kansas Legislature introduced a bill that, if passed, would decriminalize a tool used to test drugs for the presence of fentanyl. House Bill 2328 was introduced with little fanfare in […]