Jim Denning
Jim Denning (b. 1956) was a Republican member of the Kansas State Senate, representing District 8. He was first elected to the chamber in 2012 and left office in 2021. Denning previously served as state Senate majority leader.
Denning previously served in the Kansas House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013.
Biography
Denning earned his B.S. in Finance from Fort Hays State University. His professional experience includes working as a financial analyst for First International Bankshares and the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank, CFO/CEO of Dallas Eye Institute, and CEO of Discover Vision Centers.[1]
Committee assignments
2019-2020
Denning was assigned to the following committees:
- Legislative Coordinating Council Committee
- Confirmation Oversight Committee, Chair
- Ways and Means Committee
- Senate Interstate Cooperation Committee, Vice Chair
- Organization, Calendar and Rules Committee, Vice Chair
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Kansas committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Assessment and Taxation |
| • Confirmation Oversight, Chair |
| • Organization, Calendar and Rules, Vice chair |
| • Ways and Means |
| • Legislative Coordinating Council |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Denning served on the following committees:
| Kansas committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Ways and Means, Vice Chair |
| • Commerce |
| • Public Health and Welfare |
| • Financial Institutions and Insurance |
| • Home and Community Based Services Oversight |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Denning served on the following committees:
| Kansas committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Ways and Means, Vice chair |
| • Commerce |
| • Public Health and Welfare |
| • Financial Institutions and Insurance |
2011-2012
Denning served on the following committees in the 2011-2012 legislative session:
| Kansas committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Appropriations |
| • Corrections and Juvenile Justice Oversight |
| • Health and Human Services |
| • Taxation |
Campaign themes
2016
Denning's campaign website highlighted the following issues:
| “ |
1. Balance the Budget
2. Write a New School Finance Formula
3. Create a Rainy Day Saving Account
4. Open and Transparent Government[2] |
” |
| —Jim Denning[3] | ||
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2020
- See also: Kansas State Senate elections, 2020
Jim Denning did not file to run for re-election.
2016
- See also: Kansas State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the Kansas State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election was held on August 2, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 1, 2016.
Incumbent Jim Denning defeated Don McGuire in the Kansas State Senate District 8 general election.[4][5]
| Kansas State Senate, District 8 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Jim Denning Incumbent |
52.78% | 19,847 | |
| Democratic | Don McGuire | 47.22% | 17,758 | |
| Total Votes | 37,605 | |||
| Source: Kansas Secretary of State | ||||
Don McGuire ran unopposed in the Kansas State Senate District 8 Democratic primary.[6][7]
| Kansas State Senate, District 8 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Don McGuire (unopposed) | |
Incumbent Jim Denning ran unopposed in the Kansas State Senate District 8 Republican primary.[6][7]
| Kansas State Senate, District 8 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Jim Denning Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2012
- See also: Kansas State Senate elections, 2012
Denning won election in 2012. He defeated incumbent Thomas (Tim) C. Owens in the August 7 Republican primary and defeated Lisa Johnston in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[8][9]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jim Denning |
54.3% | 19,484 | |
| Democratic | Lisa Johnston | 45.7% | 16,398 | |
| Total Votes | 35,882 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Jim Denning |
60.3% | 4,796 |
| Tim Owens Incumbent | 39.7% | 3,161 |
| Total Votes | 7,957 | |
Endorsements
Gov. Sam Brownback (R) endorsed Denning over incumbent Owens. The governor and his allies are targeting moderate Republican incumbents for defeat.[10]
2010
Denning defeated incumbent Dolores Furtado (D) and Jeffrey S. Caldwell (L) in the November 2 general election.[11]
| Kansas House of Representatives, District 19 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Jim Denning (R)
|
4,037 | |||
| Dolores Furtado (D) | 3,063 | |||
| Jeffrey S. Caldwell (L) | 192 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Kansas scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2020
In 2020, the Kansas State Legislature was in session from January 13 to May 21. A special session convened from June 3 to June 4.
- Kansas AFL-CIO: House
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to labor issues.
- Legislators are scored on their support for bills that the organization lists as promoting "individual liberty, limited government, free markets and student-focused education."
- Legislators are scored by the MainStream Coalition on whether they voted with the moderate position on selected bills.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2019, the Kansas State Legislature was in session from January 14 through May 29.
|
2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Kansas State Legislature was in session from January 8 through April 7.
|
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Kansas State Legislature was in session from January 9 through June 26.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Kansas State Legislature was in session from January 11 through June 1. A special session was held from June 23 to June 24 over education funding.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Kansas State Legislature was in session from January 12 through June 12.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Kansas State Legislature was in session from January 13 through May 30.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Kansas State Legislature was in session from January 14 to June 20.
|
Endorsements
2016
In 2016, Denning's endorsements included the following:[12]
- Lynn Jenkins, Congresswoman (R-KS, 2nd District)
- Kevin Yoder, Congressman (R-KS, 3rd District)
- Derek Schmidt, Kansas Attorney General
- Kansas City BizPAC
- Kansas Farm Bureau
- Kansas Rifle Association
- Kansans for Life
- National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)
- National Rifle Association
- Political Action Committee of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce in Partnership with the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Denning and wife, Marearl, have two children.[1]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Jim + Denning + Kansas + Legislature
See also
- Kansas State Senate
- Senate Committees
- Joint Committees
- Kansas state legislative districts
- Kansas State Legislature
External links
- Official campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Jim Denning on Facebook
- Jim Denning on Twitter
- Jim Denning on YouTube
- Campaign contributions: 2012, 2010
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "jimdenning4kansas," Official Campaign Website
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Jim Denning for Kansas, "Issues," accessed September 30, 2016
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "Candidate list," accessed August 23, 2016
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2016 General Election official results," accessed December 19, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Kansas Secretary of State, "Candidate list," accessed June 3, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Kansas Secretary of State, "2016 Official Kansas Primary Election Results," accessed September 12, 2016
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2012 Primary Election - Official Vote Totals," accessed March 29, 2014
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2012 General Election - Official Vote Totals," accessed March 31, 2014
- ↑ LJ World, "End may be coming for GOP moderates," July 22, 2012
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2010 General Election - Official Vote Totals," accessed March 29, 2014
- ↑ Jim Denning for Kansas, "Endorsements," accessed September 30, 2016
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tim Owens (R) |
Kansas State Senate District 8 2013–2021 |
Succeeded by Cindy Holscher (D) |
| Preceded by Dolores Furtado (D) |
Kansas House of Representatives District 19 2009–2013 |
Succeeded by Stephanie Clayton (R) |
