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00000179-cdc6-d978-adfd-cfc6d7d40002Coverage of the issues, races and people shaping Kansas elections in 2016, including statewide coverage in partnership with KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, and High Plains Public Radio.

The Important Legislative Race In Kansas You Probably Haven’t Heard About

Stephen Koranda
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KPR/File photo
Senate President Susan Wagle outlines earlier this year a series of policy proposals aimed at winning seats for Republicans in the election. She is joined by other Republican senators and candidates for the chamber.

It’s a campaign without ads. There are no TV spots or mailers. The only people voting are the 165 Kansas lawmakers choosing their new leaders.

“Leadership races are the most inside of inside baseball,” says University of Kansas political scientist Burdett Loomis.

Loomis says you almost have to be a legislative nerd to have heard of the candidates for Kansas House speaker or Senate president, but they get to make committee assignments and control the chamber.

“These are very important positions," Loomis says. "You’re investing a tremendous amount of power in these leaders."

Russ Jennings is a second-term Republican House member from Lakin out in Western Kansas. He’s hit the trail seeking the job of speaker.

“I’ve been traveling the state the last couple of weeks meeting with legislators and candidates to become members of the Kansas House,” Jennings says, “visiting with them a little bit about my vision for how the House might operate in the future and getting to know those folks.”

The current speaker, Ray Merrick, is retiring.

Credit Amy Jeffries / KCUR/File photo
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KCUR/File photo
Rep. Russ Jennings, far right, with Kansas Senate 39 candidates Republican John Doll, far left, and Democrat Zach Worf, attend a candidate forum in Garden City ahead of the August primaries. Jennings was unopposed both for the primary and the general election.

Jennings says his vision for taking over entails hearing all viewpoints when it comes to big issues like the state budget, the tax system and Medicaid expansion. He believes that hasn’t happened enough in recent years.

“Everything has been done to squelch an honest discussion about where the state is at and to have a conversation about creative and innovative solutions to address those deficiencies that exist,” Jennings says.

The current House majority leader, Jene Vickrey, also says he’s running for speaker. He didn’t respond to a request for comment, but has said his first priority is the fall election.

The chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Republican Ron Ryckman, is also widely expected to be a candidate for Speaker.

But it’s not just the House that will have a leadership election. Last month, current Senate President Susan Wagle stepped up to a lectern surrounded by current senators and candidates for the chamber.

To Kansans who expressed their frustration in the Legislature with their primary votes, Wagle said she has a plan. She said it will hold down state spending, make taxes fair and flat, and ensure high-quality education.

“Let me assure you, we have heard. We hear what you are saying,” Wagle said.

An interesting mix of Republicans has signed on to her list of policy priorities. The group includes conservative members and more moderate candidates like Ed Berger, who beat Senate Majority Leader Terry Bruce in the primaries.

Bruce had been planning to challenge Wagle for her job, but now it looks like she’ll be unopposed.

Wagle says she rolled out the list of policy priorities to help Republicans keep seats in the Senate, not for the sake of keeping her own job as Senate president.

“My goal is to bring back the majority," she says. "I’m really not worried about leadership races right now, because there’s not going to be a race for Senate president if I don’t have a majority of Republicans."

However, having a working relationship with both moderate and more conservative members of the chamber can only help her keep her job.

“She sees that her caucus has changed very significantly, and I think she is trying to catch up to where that change is heading,” says Paul Davis, who was the top Democrat in the Kansas House the last time there was a majority made up of Democrats and moderate Republicans.

There could be a majority in the chambers made up of moderate-leaning Republicans and Democrats again next year. But those groups did not come together to elect a coalition speaker when Davis was in the House, and he’s not holding his breath now.

“I wouldn’t completely close the door on that, but I think that it’s probably unlikely that you’ll see a coalition in either the House or the Senate,” Davis says.

Rep. Russ Jennings says in his campaign for speaker he will not be seeking votes from Democratic lawmakers.

“I think it would be very disruptive and perhaps more damaging to try to create a coalition that would come in in January and overrule the decision of the caucus. I have no intention to pursue that path. I will work at doing this within the Republican caucus,” Jennings says.

The Democratic and Republican caucuses will meet to elect new leadership before the 2017 session kicks off in January.

Stephen Koranda is a reporter for Kansas Public Radio, which is a partner in a statewide collaboration covering elections in Kansas this year. You can follow Stephen on Twitter @kprkoranda.

Stephen Koranda is the managing editor of the Kansas News Service, based at KCUR. He has nearly 20 years of experience in public media as a reporter and editor.