(Updated to include more interviews and data about the future of the Senate 10 District race)
Longtime Republican state Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook on Friday announced she was retiring from public office after serving nearly three full terms in the Senate.
Pilcher-Cook, an ardent conservative who opposed abortion rights, announced her decision to retire shortly after 4 p.m. Friday.
She now represents the 10th District, which covers parts of Overland Park, Shawnee, Bonner Springs, Merriam and Lake Quivira.
Her resignation is effective 5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16, toward the end of the first week of the 2020 legislative session.
“It has been an honor to serve the citizens of Kansas for 15 years,” Pilcher-Cook said in a statement.
“But now, it is time for me to step down and give that privilege to someone else,” she said.
“My voting record shows I have consistently been honest with the voters and upheld all my campaign promises, repeatedly voting for limited government, reduced spending and traditional family values.
“Conservatives understand that power comes from the people, and that new leadership is sometimes required to carry on the mantle of these time-honored principles. I expect nothing less from the next senator to represent the 10th Senate district.”
A resignation letter was expected to be submitted to the secretary of state late Friday afternoon.
That means Johnson County Republican Party leaders will have 21 days to hold a convention to select her replacement for the upcoming session.
Already, there was speculation that former Fox 4 meteorologist Mike Thompson might be a candidate to replace Pilcher-Cook.
Thompson made news back in 2010 when he expressed skepticism about climate change, telling The Kansas City Star the issue had become “completely political.”
In October, Thompson spoke at an event sponsored by the Johnson County Republican Party where he discussed the politics of climate change in the era President Trump.
Conservatives already have a candidate in the wings who is expected to announce their candidacy on Monday but declined to identify who was in the running.
Rumors had been circulating for months about whether Pilcher-Cook would run for a fourth term in the Senate.
There had been talk that she might run for the Johnson County Commission or take a job fighting against abortion.
While Pilcher-Cook’s future was unclear Friday night, one source close to the senator said she was not running for the commission nor taking a job.
The reaction on social media was critical of the senator.
Critics called the conservative lawmaker one of the “most extreme” legislators at the statehouse.
Planned Parenthood’s lobbyist alluded on Twitter to how in 2014 the senator staged a sonogram during a committee hearing in the Capitol.
Pilcher-Cook, chair of the health committee at the time, said she wanted to provide a “science education on life within the womb.”
Abortion rights supporters said a committee hearing room was an inappropriate place for a medical procedure.
On Friday, one critic went on social media to call her a “key figure in the regressive politics that have defined Kansas over the last decade.”
Democratic Party Chairwoman Vicki Hiatt, who lost a bid for the state Senate to Pilcher-Cook in 2016, put it succinctly on Twitter.
“Best. News. Ever,” Hiatt tweeted.
Wichita businessman Wink Hartman, who ran for lieutenant governor last year, called her a “tireless advocate for conservative values during her years of dedicated service to the people of Kansas.”
Pilcher-Cook’s decision marks the end of a political career that started in 2000, when she was first elected to the Kansas House.
A staunch conservative, Pilcher-Cook was facing primary opposition from state Rep. Tom Cox.
If Pilcher-Cook survived the primary, she was going to run up against Lindsey Constance, a member of the Shawnee City Council.
Cox and Constance said they were focused on the races ahead regardless of the opponent they might draw.
“I was never running against someone, I was always running for the Senate seat,” Cox said in an email.
“No matter who my opponent is, I will run on the same issues I always intended to: good schools, transparent government, accessibility, and fiscal responsibility.”
Constance struck a similar tone.
“Right now, I’m focusing on continuing to meet with residents of the 10th district,” Constance said in an email.
“Whoever I face in the general election, I’m excited and ready to share my vision for the future of our state, and support policies that reflect Kansas values in the Senate.”
Pilcher-Cook took a parting swipe at Cox and Constance.
“The two candidates currently seeking this seat are out of touch with District 10 values,” she said.
“One has an extreme left-wing record on the Shawnee City Council; the other takes pride in compromising away our principles by branding himself a pragmatist.”
Senate President Susan Wagle issued a statement commending Pilcher-Cook for her public service.
“I want to thank Sen. Pilcher-Cook for her years of service to the people and being a relentless fighter and an articulate advocate for the unborn,” Wagle said.
Pilcher-Cook was elected in 2008 to the Kansas Senate to replace Nick Jordan, who unsuccessfully ran for Congress that year.
She had served two previous terms in the Kansas House, winning her first one in 2000 and another in 2004.
Pilcher-Cook had developed a rivalry in those early years with Cindy Neighbor, now a Democratic state legislator from Shawnee.
She narrowly lost to Neighbor in the 2002 Republican primary for House District 18.
Two years later, Pilcher-Cook turned the tables on Neighbor, beating her with about 55% of the vote in the Republican primary and then later winning the general election unopposed.
In 2006, Pilcher-Cook lost the seat again to Neighbor – now a Democrat – in the general election.
Conservatives were optimistic that they could hold onto the seat in 2020 even as Democrats have made inroads in other parts of the county.
They point out that the district has been conservative since at least 1992 when Nick Jordan was elected to the Senate.
They note that Pilcher-Cook has won elections in the district even when times were tough for conservatives, notably in 2008 when she defeated then-state School Board member Sue Gamble with 57% of the vote in the GOP primary.
She defeated Democrat Pete Roman with 55% of the vote in the 2008 general election when Jordan, the Republican, lost to Democrat Dennis Moore by 17 percentage points in the congressional race.
Even in 2016 when conservatives were targeted, Pilcher-Cook slipped past Democratic challenger Vicki Hiatt with 51% of the vote.
Pilcher-Cook’s supporters say the 2016 race signaled that District 10 could be competitive in the right environment. They also say it shows her ability to prevail in a tough elections.
“That district has been conservative for a long time,” said Johnson County political consultant Michael Pirner, who advised Pilcher-Cook.
“I have every confidence in maintaining the seat in conservative hands,” he said.
Democrats, however, believe that 2020 presents an opportunity, especially with Constance as their candidate, who is generating enthusiastic support and is expected to be well funded.
“We’re very excited about Lindsey Constance,” said Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley. “She’s worked very hard on fundraising. I think people are really excited about volunteering for her campaign.”
Hensley said the Republican primary already appears to be shaping up to be a traditional intra-party race pitting a moderate Republican (Cox) against a conservative Republican (Thompson).
Hensley said he expects Thompson to be selected when Republicans pick Pilcher-Cook’s replacement within three weeks.
He said Democrats would benefit from a tough primary between Cox and Thompson.
“I don’t believe that district is moderate enough in terms of Republicans to elect Tom Cox,” he said.
Cox called Hensley’s comment “wishful thinking.”
“I have won both my primaries by large margins and plan to do the same next August,” he said.
Hensley points out that Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly carried the district by almost 16 percentage points over former Secretary of State Kris Kobach in last year’s governor’s race.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids carried the district by about 6 percentage points.
Two years ago, when Pilcher-Cook was narrowly re-elected, President Donald Trump won the district.
It went for former Gov. Sam Brownback in 2014 and Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.
“This Senate district has trended Republican, but I think in 2020 it’s going trend Democrat,” Hensley said. “I truly believe that.”
