TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – Republican Rep. Roger Marshall has won an open Senate seat in Kansas in a tougher-than-expected race that saw his Democratic opponent raise far more campaign cash than he did. Marshall, who has represented western and central Kansas for two House terms, prevailed in Tuesday’s election over Democratic state Sen. Barbara Bollier. Marshall entered the fall campaign with the GOP’s traditional advantages in a state that tends to back conservatives. But Bollier excited fellow Democrats because her campaign was able to raise more than $25 million and set a Kansas record, while Marshall raised $6.5 million. Republicans haven’t lost a Senate race in Kansas since 1932.
Republican Tracey Mann keeps Kansas’ largest, most rural district red with a win against Democrat Kali Barnett. In January, Mann, former Kansas lieutenant governor under Jeff Colyer, will represent the state’s first congressional district in Washington, D.C.In his victory speech, Mann said, he is “deeply honored” to be the next in line to represent Kansas’ First Congressional District in the nation’s capital.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – President Donald Trump has carried Kansas a second time in a presidential race and fellow Republicans have elected two new congressmen in races for open seats. Trump’s victory in Kansas in Tuesday’s election was a near certainty because no Democratic nominee has carried the state since President Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Republicans also kept their 3-1 advantage in the state’s House delegation, with former Lt. Gov. Tracey Mann winning the western and central Kansas seat held by new GOP Sen.-elect Roger Marshall and State Treasurer Jake LaTurner capturing an open eastern Kansas seat. Freshman Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids also won reelection in her Kansas City-area district.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Republican state Sen. Stephanie Bice has defeated U.S. Rep. Kendra Horn and won back the only Democratic-held seat in Oklahoma’s congressional delegation. Bice earned a reputation as a political moderate in her two terms in the Senate. She wrote a series of bills to help overhaul the state’s antiquated alcohol laws and invited a Hindu leader to deliver a prayer after the Legislature faced criticism for its lack of religious diversity. Horn narrowly won the Oklahoma City-area House seat in 2018 by tapping into a network of enthusiastic women and young people in increasingly diverse Oklahoma City. It was one of the midterm elections’ biggest upsets.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – President Donald Trump and incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe have both coasted to victories in deep-red Oklahoma. Inhofe is a political icon who has been in office for more than 50 years, including the Senate since 1994. Inhofe defeated 31-year-old Democrat Abby Broyles, along with a Libertarian and two independents. Incumbent Republican U.S. Reps. Kevin Hern, Markwayne Mullin, Frank Lucas and Tom Cole all won re-election on Tuesday. Voters also rejected two state questions on the ballot Tuesday, one aimed at reducing the state’s incarceration rate and another that would have diverted some tobacco settlement funds to help pay for Medicaid expansion.
