(Updated to include comments from Longbine, Lynn, Loomis and the governor with edits throughout)
Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning announced Friday morning he will not seek re-election to the Kansas Senate.
Denning is leaving the Legislature after 10 years, first serving in the House for two years before moving over to the Senate in 2013. He was elected majority leader in 2016.
It was generally believed that Denning was going to have an uphill fight to win re-election in a district that had been trending Democratic in recent years.
He defeated a relatively unknown Democrat by about 2,100 votes in 2016 and this year he faced opposition from Democratic state Rep. Cindy Holscher, who had been campaigning for the state Senate for months.
Holscher raised almost $80,000 last year and ended 2019 with about $61,000 on hand.
It is unclear whether a Republican will step up to run for the District 8 Senate seat, which covers a swath of central Overland Park.
The district is believed to be difficult for a conservative to win and moderates don’t seem to be showing any interest in mounting a campaign at this point.
Denning had been credited for bringing his business acumen – he helped build up Discover Vision Centers – to complicated tax, budget and health care issues at the statehouse.
“He was the smartest man under the dome,” said Republican state Sen. Julia Lynn of Olathe. “We’re going to lose a lot of intellectual knowledge.”
Senate Vice President Jeff Longbine echoed that view.
“Jim is incredible in understanding financial matters, insurance matters, medical matters, which are all difficult topics to understand because there are so many nuances.
“Jim always had a good grasp of all of those so he was able to craft exceptional legislation, but more importantly was able to help all the rest of us understand the importance of the legislation.”
University of Kansas political scientist Burdette Loomis said Denning’s vote to override a veto of the 2017 bill ending Gov. Sam Brownback’s tax cuts and his efforts to pass a school finance plan last year placed him among the most important lawmakers.
“If he had been able to put together Medicaid expansion I think you would have seen him, perhaps, as the most important senator of the last 20 years just in terms of getting those deals done,” Loomis said.
Denning had been at the center of the Medicaid expansion debate for the last two years, first unwilling to move the legislation last year and then later crafting a bipartisan plan with Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.
The bipartisan plan agreed to with the governor later died in the Legislature when it was blocked after the constitutional amendment on abortion failed to pass in the House.
“As a legislator you are elected to represent your district,” Denning said in a statement email out Friday morning.
“Unfortunately, I have seen too much hyper partisan gamesmanship and we should not allow such partisanship to continue in this pattern,” Denning said.
“There is a dire need for legislators to focus not on singular goals but rather on the big picture of each policy we are presented,” Denning said.
“My hope for the future is legislators find a way to work together, across the aisle and rotunda and focus not on partisan wins but rather on what will help Kansas.”
As much criticism as Denning took last year for blocking Medicaid expansion, he took as much heat this year from members of his own party for working with the governor on a Medicaid bill.
At a caucus meeting in early March, Denning faced backlash from conservative members of his caucus for a trip he took with the governor to Wichita promoting Medicaid expansion.
Denning fended off criticism from conservatives who said it left them exposed amid a high-stakes legislative session that entangled Medicaid expansion with the abortion amendment.
Denning said the Medicaid expansion bill that he crafted came at the behest of the Senate Republican caucus.
Denning said he was honoring his commitment to pass Medicaid expansion this year as he promised after last year’s legislative session.
Denning’s relationship with Kelly was difficult as the two jousted over Medicaid expansion during the 2019 legislation session before they got together on a plan this year.
“I have no doubt that was a very difficult decision for him to come to,” Kelly said of Denning’s announcement Friday.
“I think Sen. Denning really enjoyed being a state senator, put a lot of time and effort into that job and made significant contributions here to the process,” she said.
Last year, Denning was part of the team of lawmakers who crafted the bill that brought an end to the nearly-long decade battle over school finance.
He also led efforts to reform the much-maligned tax incentive known as STAR bonds and wrote legislation to stabilize the state retirement system.
“I am proud of what we accomplished over the years,” Denning said. “Throughout this journey, I have promoted fiscally responsible policy and remained focused on evaluating all legislation in a practical and pragmatic fashion.
“No legislator will accomplish everything they set out to do, but we do our best to ensure our district is represented and that we serve our people responsibly,” he said.
