Brandon Whipple

Whipple first ran for the Kansas House of Representatives in 2010 against Phil Hermanson.[7] Whipple lost, but shortly afterward the Sedgwick County Democratic Party elected him its vice chair. In 2012, he was elected the county party's chair.[3][4]

That same year, in a run for the Kansas House 96th District seat (in south Wichita), he was criticized by Tea Party Republican Craig Gable for not having children.[8] Whipple defeated Republican Rick Lindsey.[3][9] Whipple was re-elected to the seat in 2014, 2016 and 2018.,[3] in a district that voted for Donald Trump for president in 2016.[10]

In 2016, Whipple was elected Agenda Chair for the Democrats in the Kansas House of Representatives—the #6 position in House Democratic party leadership.[11] In 2018, Whipple co-founded the bipartisan Kansas Future Caucus, a group of under-45 Kansas legislators, to focus attention on issues of concern to young people.[12]

Among his principal efforts in office was increased funding for education, particularly restoration of funding cuts made during the administration of Kansas governor Sam Brownback.[13][4]

In the 2019 Kansas Legislature, Whipple was Ranking minority member on the Joint Committee on Information Technology, and the Higher Education Budget Committee. He was also assigned to the Committee on Elections and the Joint Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice Oversight.[14][15]

2019–2020 Session[16]

• Ranking Minority Member of Higher Education Budget
• Ranking Minority Member of Joint Information Technology
• Elections
• Joint Corrections and Juvenile Justice

2017–2018 Session[17]

• Ranking Minority Member of Commerce, Labor and Economic Development
• Financial Institutions and Pensions
• Higher Education Budget
• Joint Information Technology

2015–2016 Session[18]

• Utilities and Telecommications
• Commerce, Labor and Economic Development
• Taxation
• House Select Investigating Committee
• Telecommunications Study Committee
• Joint Information Technology

2013–2014 Session[19]

• Children and Seniors
• Judiciary
• Utilities and Telecommications
• Commerce, Labor and Economic Development
• Telecommunications Study Committee
• Joint Information Technology

Whipple ran in the 2019 election for mayor of Wichita.[20][21] In the nonpartisan primary election, preliminary results put Whipple (with 5,729 votes; 25.9% of the total) second only to Republican Mayor Longwell (who had 7,136 votes; 32.3%).[22][4] [23] Candidate Lyndy Wells, also a Republican, had only 160 votes fewer in initial returns: 5,569 votes; 25.2%, so delayed acceptance of the result in hopes that a review of 1,000 yet-uncounted ballots (including 500 provisional ballots) might turn the election to his favor.[24][25][26] The final count nearly doubled Whipple's lead over Wells.[26] advancing Whipple and Longwell to the ballot for the November 5 runoff election.[22][4][23] Wells mounted a write-in campaign. In October, Whipple found himself the victim of an elaborate, covert smear campaign in which Republican state Representative Michael Capps was implicated.[27] After Sedgwick County, Kansas Republican party chair Dalton Glasscock called for Capps to resign, Capps claimed that Glasscock had actually approved the production of the ad, which Glasscock denied.[28]

On election day, November 5, 2019, Longwell conceded the election to Whipple, who won with 46% of the ballots versus 36% for Longwell, with the balance cast for write-in candidates which remained to be counted. The results were to be certified on November 15, 2019.[29]