Result
Rep. Valdenia Winn (D-Kansas City) has won reelection in Kansas House District 34, defeating Republican CeCe Harlin on Tuesday, Nov. 3 to extend a tenure that began in 2001. Unofficial results show Winn with 3,625 votes, or 83.5%, to Harlin’s 715, or 16.5%.
The race gave Winn a general election opponent after she ran unopposed in 2024. She and the other newly elected representatives will be sworn in when the Legislature convenes in January.
Candidates and Platforms
Winn has taught history at Kansas City Kansas Community College since the early 1970s and also serves on the Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Education. In the House, she served as assistant minority leader during the 2023 to 2024 session and sits on the Education and K-12 Education Budget committees.
Harlin, a community advocate, ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Kansas City, Kansas, in 2025. In a Democracy Test Kitchen candidate survey, she said she supports state incentives such as STAR bonds for projects expected to expand the tax base and create jobs, with scrutiny and limits, and that she wants developers held accountable for their commitments. She also called for stronger accountability in schools, with clear expectations and measurable results.
District and Chamber
District 34 is in Wyandotte County and covers part of Kansas City, Kansas. Winn will return to a very different chamber.
Democrats gained at least 20 seats statewide on Nov. 3 and broke the Republican supermajority that had held since 2010, leaving a projected balance of 68 Republicans to 57 Democrats in the 125-seat House. That puts Republicans below the 84 seats needed to override a governor’s veto without Democratic votes.
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