United States presidential election in Kansas, 2016

The 2016 United States presidential election in Kansas was held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, as part of the

2016 United States presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticke ...

in which all 50 states and the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle (Washington, D.C.), Logan Circle, Jefferson Memoria ...

participated.

Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...

voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

's nominee, businessman

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

, and running mate Indiana Governor

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...

against Democratic Party nominee, former Secretary of State

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

, and her running mate Virginia

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgi ...

. Kansas has six electoral votes in the Electoral College. Trump carried the state with 56.16 percent of the vote, while Clinton received 35.74 percent. Kansas was among eleven states in which Clinton improved on

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

's margin from

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

(though her vote share was lower than Obama's 38 percent), largely due to a significant shift towards Democrats in Johnson County. This was the final election of

Riley County Riley County (standard abbreviation: RL) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 71,959. The largest city and county seat is Manhattan. Riley County is home to two of Kansas's largest employ ...

's 104 year streak of voting Republican, as in the next election Joe Biden would become the first Democrat to win the county in its history. Additionally, since in 2016 Donald Trump became the first Republican to ever win the ancestrally Democratic Elliott County,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, this is the only election ever in which Elliott County and Riley County voted for the same candidate.

Caucuses

The incumbent

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

, a Democrat and former U.S. Senator from Illinois, was first elected president in the

2008 election This electoral calendar 2008 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2008 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, even though they are not elections. By-elections are ...

, running with then-Senator Joe Biden of Delaware. Defeating the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nominee, Senator

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...

of Arizona, with 52.9 percent of the popular vote and 68 percent of the electoral vote, Obama succeeded two-term Republican President George W. Bush, the former

Governor of Texas The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, w ...

. Obama and Biden were reelected in the 2012 presidential election, defeating former Massachusetts Governor

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts ...

with 51.1 percent of the popular vote and 61.7 percent of electoral votes. Although Barack Obama's approval rating in the

RealClearPolitics RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator formed in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. The site features selected political new ...

poll tracking average remained between 40 percent and 50 percent for most of his second term, it experienced a surge in early 2016 and reached its highest point since 2012 during June of that year. Analyst

Nate Cohn Nathan David Cohn (born August 16, 1988) is an American journalist and chief political analyst for "The Upshot" at ''The New York Times''. His reporting focuses on elections, public opinion, and demographics in the United States. Early life and ...

noted that a strong approval rating for Obama would equate to a strong performance for the Democratic candidate, and vice versa. Following his second term, Obama was not eligible for another reelection. In October 2015, Obama's running-mate and two-term

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

Biden decided not to enter the race for the Democratic presidential nomination either. With their term expiring on January 20, 2017, the electorate was asked to elect a new president, the 45th president and 48th vice president of the United States, respectively.

Democratic caucuses

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 20 ...

visited Kansas during the primary season, while Hillary Clinton did not herself and instead sent her daughter

Chelsea Clinton Chelsea Victoria Clinton (born February 27, 1980) is an American writer and global health advocate. She is the only child of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former U.S. Secretary of State and 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clin ...

to hold a rally in Johnson County.

Republican caucuses

Delegates were awarded to candidates at the statewide and congressional district level who got 10% or more of the vote proportionally. The 3 RNC delegates were awarded to the winner.

General election

Voting History

The state of Kansas has given its electoral votes to the Republican ticket since

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * J ...

, and only once to the Democrats (

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

) since

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * Januar ...

. At the time, all current statewide officials were Republicans, as were all four members of the state's U.S. House delegation.

defeated

by a margin of 60 percent to 38 percent in

. A poll conducted by

John Zogby John J. Zogby (born September 3, 1948) is an American public opinion pollster, author, and public speaker. He is founder of the Zogby International poll, and he serves as a senior partner at John Zogby Strategies, a full-service marketing and p ...

found Clinton leading Trump by 7 points in June. In addition, an internal poll for Representative

Kevin Yoder Kevin Wayne Yoder (born January 8, 1976) is an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, Yoder was the Kansas State Representative for the 20th dis ...

, a Republican from Kansas' 3rd congressional district, released an internal poll showing Clinton leading Trump by 6 points in his district. This district voted for Mitt Romney by a 10-point margin in 2012 and has a

Cook Partisan Voting Index The Cook Partisan Voting Index, abbreviated Cook PVI, CPVI, or PVI, is a measurement of how strongly a United States congressional district or U.S. state leans toward the Democratic or Republican Party, compared to the nation as a whole, based ...

of R+6. This result, coupled with Clinton's gains in national polls, caused ''

Sabato's Crystal Ball ''Sabato's Crystal Ball'' is an online political newsletter and election handicapper. It predicts electoral outcomes for the United States House of Representatives, United States Senate, U.S. governors, and U.S. presidential races, with elect ...

'' to move the Kansas race from "Safe Republican" to "Likely Republican" on August 18.

Predictions

Polling

Minor candidates

The following received write-in status: * President: Andrew D. Basiago; Vice President: Karen D. Kinnison * President: Darrell L Castle; Vice President: Scott N. Bradley * President: "Rocky" Roque De La Fuente, Vice President: Michael Steinberg * President: Rocky Giordani; Vice President: Farley M Anderson * President: James A Hedges; Vice President: Bill V Bayes * President: Tom Hoefling; Vice President: Steve Schulin * President: Lynn Kahn; Vice President: Kathy Monahan * President: Gloria La Riva; Vice President: Eugene Puryer * President: Michael S. Levinson; Vice President: Perry E. Wharton, II * President: Michael A Maturen; Vice President: Juan A Munoz * President: Evan McMullin; Vice President: Nathan D Johnson * President: Monica G. Moorehead; Vice President: Lamont G. Lilly * President: Darryl Perry; Vice President: Conan Salada * President: Marshall R. Schoenke; Vice President: James C. Mitchell, Jr. * President: Joe C Schriner; Vice President: Joe Moreaux * President: Mike Smith; Vice President: Daniel White * President: Timothy Cook; Vice President: John Stein

Results

By county

Results by congressional district

Trump won 3 of the 4 congressional districts, Clinton won 1 that elected Republican.

References

External links

Kansas Department of Elections

RNC 2016 Republican Nominating Process

Green papers for 2016 primaries, caucuses, and conventions

Decision Desk Headquarter Results for Kansas
{{US Third Party Election KS

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Presidential