The Winner

If you live in Kansas’ 2nd Congressional District, Rep. Derek Schmidt (R-KS) will keep representing you after a much closer race than his first win two years ago. The Associated Press projected Schmidt the winner of a second term on election night, Tuesday, Nov. 3, according to WIBW. ​

Schmidt won 51.2% of the vote to 45.0% for Democrat Don Coover, a margin of about 6 points, with an estimated 98.9% of the vote counted, according to NBC News. Libertarian John Hauer, an Army veteran from Topeka, took 3.7%. Coover led for much of election night before Schmidt pulled ahead as more Election Day ballots were counted.

The Race

Coover is a southeast Kansas veterinarian and West Point graduate who served 10 years in the Army. He ran unopposed in the Aug. 4 Democratic primary, while Schmidt beat Chad Young for the Republican nomination. Schmidt, a former Kansas attorney general, won the seat in 2024 by about 19 points over Democrat Nancy Boyda, according to the Kansas Reflector.

The race tightened in the final weeks. In October, Cook Political Report moved the seat from Solid Republican to Likely Republican, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball moved it from Safe Republican to Likely Republican, according to Kansas Reflector campaign coverage. Inside Elections also rated the race Likely Republican.

The district covers much of eastern Kansas outside the Kansas City suburbs, along with part of Wyandotte County, according to KCUR. Its communities include Topeka, Emporia and Independence.

The district has about 732,700 residents, a median household income of $65,600 and a median age of 37.7. About 27.9% of adults hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, unemployment is 4.3% and 13.3% of residents live below the poverty line. Residents are 73.6% white, 13.5% Hispanic, 7.6% Black and 1.9% Asian.

What’s Next

Schmidt’s new term begins Sunday, Jan. 3, and he will serve in the minority after Democrats won control of the House. During the campaign, he said he wants to cut federal spending, reduce regulations and extend tax cuts for families, small businesses, farmers and ranchers, according to KMBC.

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