Mark Buhler (born June 16, 1954) is an American

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served as the Kansas State Senator from the 2nd district from 2002 to 2004.

Political career

In December 2002, the Douglas County Republican Central Committee chose Buhler to fill the seat left vacant by

Sandy Praeger Sandy Praeger (born October 21, 1944) is a former American politician from the U.S. state of Kansas who served as the Kansas Insurance Commissioner from 2003 to 2015. Prior to her term as insurance commissioner, she was a member of the Kansas S ...

, who was elected as

Kansas Insurance Commissioner The Kansas Insurance Commissioner (KIC), in full the Kansas State Insurance Commissioner, has the primary responsibility to the people whose personal lives are protected by insurance in the state of Kansas. It is an elected position and is curr ...

in November of that year. His victory in the Central Committee was narrow; Buhler received 47 votes out of 91 cast, one more than required for a majority.

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

Tom Sloan received 39. Buhler stressed party unity after his selection, saying "We’re a party of a bunch of people. Let’s all remember we’re Republicans and we’ll go get the other guys later". Buhler ran for re-election in his own right in 2004, but lost to

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Marci Francisco Marci Francisco (born April 22, 1950) is an American politician who currently serves as the Kansas State Senator from the 2nd district, a position she has held since 2005. Early career She was a city commissioner of Lawrence, Kansas, from 1979 ...

. Buhler's re-election prospects were harmed when Jim Mullins, a prominent

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Republican leader, switched parties and ran in the general election under the Reform Party banner. Mullins opposed Buhler because of Buhler's opposition to a state constitutional amendment banning

gay marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 billion people (20% ...

, as well as his votes to increase taxes to pay for public schools. In the November general election, Francisco triumphed with 51% of the vote, while Buhler received 43% and Mullins took 6%. After the election, Buhler continued to feud with the conservative faction in Kansas Republican politics; in 2014, he appeared at a fundraiser for Jean Schodorf, the Democratic nominee for

Kansas Secretary of State The secretary of state of Kansas is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Kansas. The current secretary of state is the former speaker ''pro tempore'' of the Kansas House of Representatives, Scott Schwab, who was sworn in on J ...

who faced off against the highly conservative Republican

Kris Kobach Kris William Kobach ( ; born March 26, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the attorney general of Kansas since 2023. He previously served as the 31st secretary of state of Kansas from 2011 to 2019. A former chairman o ...

. Buhler said "I am a Republican, and I believe in basic Republican values, so this is a hard thing for me to do by nature," and " obachtries to find problems that aren't there, and people that do that drive me crazy. This world's hard enough." In particular, Buhler objected to what he characterized as Kobach's overzealous efforts to police voting in the state.

Personal life

In addition to his state legislature service, Buhler spent over 30 years as a

real estate broker Real estate agents and real estate brokers are people who represent sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and age ...

. He is married to Marsha Buhler.

References

Republican Party Kansas state senators Politicians from Lawrence, Kansas American real estate brokers 1954 births Living people 21st-century members of the Kansas Legislature {{Kansas-politician-stub