Kansas should expect a more conservative Legislature, new House GOP leader says

Republicans elected Rep. Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, as the Speaker of the House on Monday.
Republicans elected Rep. Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, as the Speaker of the House on Monday.
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Republicans in the Kansas House of Representatives elected Rep. Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, as the speaker of the House on Monday, giving south-central Kansas the top two leadership positions in the Legislature.

Hawkins was elected unanimously by the Republican supermajority to replace outgoing House Speaker Ron Ryckman, R-Olathe, who is leaving the Legislature.

"Truly the philosophy of our leadership is going to be we believe in the people," Hawkins said. "We believe in the people of Kansas to make the best decisions, and how to spend their money, not the state."

When asked, Hawkins didn't show interest in amending the Kansas Constitution to allow citizen-initiated initiatives and referendums.

Hawkins promised to be accessible to members of his caucus.

"I want our caucus to understand what we're doing and why we're doing it and where we're going," he said. "So we're going to do quite a bit of communication."

More:Groups seek to send Kansas congressional redistricting case to U.S. Supreme Court

Speaker vote was unanimous after GOP threat to Democrats

Rep. Dennis "Boog" Highberger, D-Lawrence, backed off a Democratic challenge after he said Hawkins threatened to strip Democrats of the power to appoint their own members to House committees.

"The notion that we have to trade something to get to appoint our own committee members is outrageous," Highberger said. "But under current House rules, they can make that happen."

Hawkins didn't deny Highberger's assertion and pointed to decades of tradition.

Highberger said he intended to run to advocate for a more democratic and transparent legislative process.

"The response of the majority party has made by point much more clearly than anything I can say myself," he said.

Newly elected Minority Leader Vic Miller, D-Topeka, said Hawkins had faced pressure from his Republican colleagues, but "he didn't appear anxious to be vindictive." He said Highberger had "valid points to make," but with Republicans holding a supermajority, "What's the point of poking the bear?"

More:Kansas leaders praise for election losers for accepting results as other states struggle

Wichita area holds top legislative leadership positions

The Wichita area now holds the top two positions in the Legislature with Hawkins joining Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover. The Senate, whose members were not up for election in November, did not hold new leadership elections.

Hawkins said not to expect any changes in policy from the Wichita-centric leadership team as he and Masterson "are fairly well aligned."

"What it does mean is you're going to see a pretty good communication flow between the House leadership and the Senate leadership," Hawkins said. "So I would expect that. I think we're going to work together fabulously."

The region also holds the ceremonial No. 2 position in the House, with newly elected Speaker Pro Tempore Blake Carpenter, R-Derby.

Carpenter defeated rural western Reps. Adam Smith, R-Weskan, and Kyle Hoffman, R-Coldwater, as well as rural south-central Rep. Stephen Owens, R-Hesston.

But the No. 2 House position for political power will go to the Kansas City area with newly elected House Majority Leader Chris Croft, R-Overland Park. He bested Johnson County colleague Rep. Sean Tarwater, R-Stilwell, as well as Rep. Susan Humphries, R-Wichita.

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House majority leader will be Chris Croft, R-Overland Park.
House majority leader will be Chris Croft, R-Overland Park.

If Johnson County Republicans feel like they have a relatively limited influence in the House, Croft did not indicate that he feels extra responsibility to advocate for his home county.

"We always have a responsibility to advocate for our people, right," Croft said. "But at the same time, my responsibility is to advocate for the whole caucus. ... This is one team. We're going to work as a team and support the team."

South-central Kansas swept the remaining leadership positions for the House GOP.

Rep. Les Mason, R-McPherson, was unanimously reelected as assistant majority leader. Majority whip went to Rep. Susan Estes, R-Wichita, over Rep. Barb Wasinger, R-Hays.

Majority caucus chair went to Rep. Kristey Williams, R-Augusta, over Rep. Patrick Penn, R-Wichita.

Can House Republicans work with Democratic governor?

Speaker pro tempore of the Kansas House will be Blake Carpenter, R-Derby.
Speaker pro tempore of the Kansas House will be Blake Carpenter, R-Derby.

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly congratulated Hawkins, Croft and Miller.

"I look forward to working with you to continue our progress in making Kansas the best state in which to do business and raise a family," Kelly said.

"We're going to work with Laura where we can, and we will certainly fight our positions where she doesn't agree with us," Hawkins said.

He declined to elaborate on areas where they could find compromises.

"We'll have to wait and see what what she proposes," he said.

More:Kansas Republicans to maintain legislative supermajority heading into crucial 2023 session

Croft was coy about his goals for the next session. He said his priority is to "support the team" and did not cite any specific policy priorities. He said he wants to build relationships with his colleagues and help them connect with contacts.

"So bottom line is just help them create strategies to get their stuff through and then help and support them through that process," he said.

Hawkins provided some general priorities for the House GOP.

"I do know our folks have a lot of things that they want to get done," he said. "We want some tax relief yet. We certainly have some things to do on education. You know, probably some stuff when it comes to election integrity."

"We'll see what her appetite is," Hawkins added. "Certainly we will try to pass what we can, and she's going to veto probably quite a bit of what we do. And we'll try to override it, just like we have in the past. That's not changing."

A more conservative Legislature

"I don't think the House is going to come to the center," Hawkins said. "I would say our body, if anything, moved a little bit further to the right. ... The legislation you're going to see is probably a little bit more conservative."

Despite Republicans losing a net of one seat to Democrats in the November elections, the GOP retained its supermajority in the House. Additionally, the Republican caucus is expected to be more conservative than before, giving the Legislature a better chance to override any vetoes.

Republicans being more conservative is great, "from a raw political perspective," Miller said, because "I don't think they're capturing the pulse of the populace." He said he doesn't see it as politically advantageous.

"I don't know what 'more conservative' means," he said. "If it means being crazy, then they can just keep being crazy. I like it when they are, it helps us."

Croft does not appear concerned after Johnson County shifted bluer during the August and November elections.

"I feel very confident in what we're doing," he said.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas House GOP leadership promises more conservative Legislature