1. Dennis McKinney was a member of the Kansas House of Representatives where he represented the 116th House District for ten terms, the last six as the Democratic Party's leader in the Kansas House.
14 Facts About Dennis McKinney
1. 2.
Dennis McKinney was raised on a farm astride the Comanche and Kiowa county line, south of Greensburg, Kansas, which is the county seat of Kiowa County.
3.
From January 1989 through May 1992, prior to serving in the Kansas Legislature, Dennis McKinney was a Kiowa County Commissioner.
4.
Dennis McKinney particularly emphasized "constituent services" to district constituents needing a personal advocate in Topeka to help solve their problems with state government.
5.
Dennis McKinney was elected by fellow Democrats as the Minority Leader in that body, leading the House Democrats from January 2003 until his resignation from the legislature in December 2008.
6.
Dennis McKinney directed organizing activities of the minority caucus, and streamlined legislative business, and worked across party lines successfully.
7.
Dennis McKinney resigned in 2008 to accept a gubernatorial appointment as state treasurer, and was replaced in the Kansas House of Representatives by Pat Maloney of Kingman, Kansas.
8.
Dennis McKinney resigned from his legislative post in order to assume duties as Treasurer on January 5,2009.
9.
Dennis McKinney was defeated in 2010 by Republican Ron Estes.
10.
In 2015, at the Kansas Historical Society, Dennis McKinney was elected to the Board of Directors of the Kansas Historical Foundation.
11.
Dennis McKinney was appointed to the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission in March 2011, by Governor Sam Brownback, and was listed, in January 2017, as the Vice Chair of the Commission, which oversees and regulates gambling and animal-racing in Kansas.
12.
Dennis McKinney announced his candidacy to seek the Democratic party's nomination for in the 2017 special election to fill the vacancy left by the departure of new CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
13.
Dennis McKinney secured endorsements for Congress from former Kansas Governor John Carlin, State Senator Oletha Faust-Goudeau, and State Representatives Ed Trimmer and Tim Hodge.
14.
Dennis McKinney faced four Democratic opponents, none of whom had been elected to public office before.