Jim Denning (born August 13, 1956), is a former Republican member of the

Kansas Senate The Kansas Senate is the upper house of the Kansas Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. State of Kansas. It is composed of 40 senators elected from single-member districts, each with a population of about 73,000 inhabitants. Members o ...

, representing the 8th district from 2013 to 2021.

Early life

On August 13, 1956, Denning was born in

Great Bend, Kansas Great Bend is a city in and the county seat of Barton County, Kansas, United States. It is named for its location at the point where the course of the Arkansas River bends east then southeast. As of the 2020 census, the population of the c ...

. Denning's father was Paul Denning, an oil field worker. Denning's mother was Albertine Denning. Denning was the sixth of nine siblings.

Education

In 1980, Denning earned a B.A. degree in finance from Fort Hays State University.

Career

In 2010, Denning began to serve the

Kansas House of Representatives The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for craftin ...

, having defeated incumbent Democrat Dolores Furtado and representing District 19 from 2011 to 2013. Denning was succeeded by Republican Stephanie Clayton. He was first elected to the state Senate in 2012, with support from Governor

Sam Brownback Samuel Dale Brownback (born September 12, 1956) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011 and as the List of governors of Kansas, 46th governor of K ...

, the health care industry and the Koch brothers, defeating moderate Republican incumbent Tim Owens and was re-elected to the Senate in 2016. On December 5, 2016, Denning was elected as the Senate Majority Leader. The

American Conservative Union The American Conservative Union (ACU) is an American political organization that advocates for Conservatism in the United States, conservative policies, ranks politicians based on their level of conservatism, and organizes the Conservative Poli ...

gave him a lifetime evaluation of 79%. In 2020, he worked with Democratic Governor

Laura Kelly Laura Jeanne Kelly (born January 24, 1950)"Laura Kelly,"
''Kansapedia,'' Kansas H ...

to craft a bipartisan Medicaid expansion plan. He said Wagle's tactics were crafted "without my input" nor did they reflect his plans, continuing, "Her statements are obstructive and not how we should be governing." He did not seek re-election in 2020.

Personal life

Denning's wife is Marearl Denning. They have two children. Denning's brother Frank was the elected sheriff of

Johnson County, Kansas Johnson County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Kansas, along the border of the state of Missouri. Its county seat is Olathe, Kansas, Olathe. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 609, ...

for thirteen years, before retiring in 2017.Johnson County Sheriff Frank Denning won’t run again
''

Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and a ...

, Roxy Hammill, JANUARY 5, 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2017.

References

External links

State PageCampaign WebsiteMidwest DemocracyBallotpediaVotesmart
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denning, Jim 1956 births Living people Fort Hays State University alumni Republican Party Kansas state senators Republican Party members of the Kansas House of Representatives People from Great Bend, Kansas 21st-century members of the Kansas Legislature