Sam Brownback

Name: Samuel "Sam" Dale Brownback Party: Republican Current Office: U.S. Senate First Elected: 11/05/1996 Positions on Issues Voting Record Education: JD, University of Kansas, 1982 BS, Agricultural Economics, Kansas State University, 1979 Wife: Mary Children: 5 Birthplace: Parker, KS...

Rep. Jerry Moran is switching chambers. The western Kansas Congressman beat Democrat Lisa Johnston for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Sam Brownback. Brownback was elected governor by a wide margin earlier this evening. Moran, 56, has represented the large 1st Congressional District of central and western Kansas since 1997. Kansas hasn't elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1932.

A former candidate for Kansas governor was taken into custody this week.  Joan Heffington ran against Sam Brownback during the latest race for governor. Sheriff's records show Heffington was arrested for unlawfully hosting minors consumer liquor. Heffington has yet to be charged. Eyewitness News spoke with her Tuesday. She says she wants the charges dismissed because she wasn't hosting an underage drinking party. She tells us her 16-year-old son had about 20 kids over to her Derby home and some of them had been drinking before they arrived.

The results of a new Fact Finder 12 Scientific Survey are in. It's shows the race for the Kansas Senate. Sam Brownback is leaving the seat.  He's running for governor. Congressman Jerry Moran is running as the republican in the race for senate. If the race were held today, our exclusive Fact Finder 12 Scientific Survey shows he'd get 69% of the vote. Lisa Johnston, the democratic candidate, has 23%. Libertarian Michael Dann has 3%. Joe Bellis, of the Reform party, has 2%. Three percent of likely voters say they're still undecided.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A Kansas state senator says he will decide in another month whether to jump into the race for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate. State Sen. David Haley of Kansas City said Saturday that the response he is getting from fellow Democrats is "very favorable. " Haley was circulating during the state party's annual Washington Days convention in Topeka. Already in the race is a former newspaper editor from the Kansas City suburb of Prairie Village, Charles Schollenberger.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Kansas lawmakers say they hope Boeing files a protest against the Air Force decision to award a massive tanker contract to a consortium of Northrop Grumman and the European parent of Airbus. Sens. Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts say Congress could withhold funding for the deal if concerns aren't addressed. The Kansas Republicans claim the Air Force should have considered subsidies European governments give to foreign aerospace companies that put U.S. contractors at a disadvantage.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A Kansas legislator says he's seriously considering running for the Democratic nomination for governor. State Sen. Tom Holland, of Baldwin City, said Wednesday the he's been urged to run by several people. He said he'll make a decision soon. Democrats don't yet have a major candidate to challenge the presumed Republican nominee, U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback. Gov. Mark Parkinson has said repeatedly he won't run this year. Tom Wiggans, a former pharmaceutical company executive, had the backing of party leaders but dropped out in December.

Another Kansas lawmaker announces his candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. State Senator David Haley made the announcement Tuesday. He's represented Kansas City for nearly 16 years. Haley ran unsuccessfully for Secretary of State in 2002 and 2006. Two other Democrats and three Republicans are now in the race to replace Sam Brownback. Brownback is running for governor. Other Democrats in the race include Lisa Johnston, of Overland Park and Charles Schollenberger, of Prairie Village.

A resolution to block Gov. Sam Brownback's executive order abolishing the Kansas Arts Commission passed a Senate committee Thursday. Brownback signed the executive order in February making the commission part of the Kansas Historical Society. Now, the Legislative Research Department says the plan does not contain enough information to answer the question of how much money Kansas would lose in matching funds from national and regional arts organizations. The state currently receives more than $1.2 million from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Mid-America Arts Alliance.

Communities across Kansas will have special events this weekend to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.       One of the centerpiece events will be Saturday in Anthony, home of the state's official 9/11 memorial. A memorial in the town about 60 miles south of Wichita contains a stone from the Pentagon, steel from the World Trade Center and soil from Pennsylvania where an aircraft hijacked by terrorists was forced down by passengers.       Other events include activities at Topeka's Forbes Field to honor first responders and emergency personnel for their service.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt and Gov. Sam Brownback are asking the state Supreme Court to stay a lower court's ruling on school finance and send the case to mediation.     The documents were filed Thursday in Topeka in response to a Jan. 11 ruling from a three-judge panel in Shawnee County District Court that the state's system for funding K-12 schools was unconstitutional.     Brownback said in a statement that it is the Legislature's duty to set funding for schools but lawmakers owe it to taxpayers, parents, teachers and students to discuss a way to solve the dispute.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has signed an emergency declaration for all of Kansas as a winter weather system moves across the state. The measure allows state agencies to assist local governments as needed during the winter blast. The first wave of the system started to die down Wednesday afternoon, but more inclement weather is expected early Thursday morning. Brownback announced that all state offices will be closed Feb. 21 in anticipation of deteriorating conditions.

Kansas lawmakers are calling for tougher penalties for people convicted of child sex crimes. Gov. Sam Brownback and Derek Schmidt, Kansas Attorney General, are asking senators to approve a bill that would increase fines and penalties for sexual exploitation of children and human trafficking activity. The measure also establishes a fund for victims that would offer protection and counseling. Marc Bennett, Sedgwick County District Attorney, said those who exploit children should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. "Right now there's very little in the way of treatment that's specific to this population," Bennett said.

Gov. Sam Brownback responded Friday to criticism about a mailer sent to 146,000 Kansas businesses promoting the state's 2013 tax changes. The new law includes exemptions for "non-wage" income and other benefits designed to promote business growth in the state. Brownback said the motive behind the flier was "strictly educational" and not political.  The governor said he never spoke with the Department of Revenue about the timing of the mailing, which comes just days before the general election.

The Wichita Downtown Senior Center held more than 2,100 years of wisdom and experience Friday morning. 21 centenarians showed up for a meet and greet with Governor Sam Brownback.  Seniors posed for photos with the Governor and shared their life stories. “They have a lot of wisdom to share with us,” said Governor Brownback. The men and women at Friday's gathering have survived seven wars, lived through the great depression and elected 17 men into the office of the president of the United States.  They witnessed the first man walk on the moon and watched the iron curtain fall.

Kansas outlawed texting while driving last year, but officials are going an extra mile to make sure everyone knows the law. A proclamation signed by Gov. Sam Brownback designated Wednesday as "No Text on Board Pledge Day. " The Kansas Department of Transportation planned to flash messages on electronic billboards along state roads reminding drivers not to text behind the wheel. Brownback's office says a recent study that found people who text while driving are 23 times more likely to crash.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback appeared to question recent attacks by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney against President Barack Obama during a TV appearance on Wednesday. At issue is a July executive order which gave states more flexibility when it comes to work requirements for welfare. The Romney campaign and its supporters say the White House eliminated the work requirements. Democrats and fact checkers say that's not true. Click to Read PolitiFact's Analysis Independent analysts say the states requested greater flexibility in the form of waivers.

Paul Ryan may be from Wisconsin, but he has a connection to Kansas. From 1995 to 1997 Ryan was a top aide to then-Senator Sam Brownback.  Ryan was Brownback's protege, serving as his legislative director before running for Congress himself in 1998. Wichita State political science professor Melvin Kahn says that relationship could pay off for Kansas if Romney and Ryan win, given the federal budget deficit and the fact that Brownback is now governor. "They're going to be cutting back on a lot of goodies to the states," Kahn says.  "The emphasis is going to be on deficit reduction, and what little there is I think will go to people they have personally admired and respected.

Having a Republican majority in the Kansas State House and the State Senate is nothing new, but this year something might change about that majority. "This is taking a turn in a new direction that doesn't happen very often," explains political science professor Dr. Ed Flentje of Wichita State University. "The State Senate as well as the House will be much more closely aligned with Governor Brownback as well as with a series of interest groups that are aligned with Brownback.

When he was a United States Senator, Sam Brownback's approval ratings were consistently positive. That's not the case during his time as governor so far, according to our exclusive FactFinder 12 Scientific Surveys. Now, Brownback's supporters question those approval ratings and they've commissioned their own survey. Last month, we polled 501 registered voters in Kansas. 34% approve of the job Brownback is doing as governor. That's lower than Kansans rated President Obama in the same survey.