Kansas' 2nd congressional district is a

congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...

in the U.S. state of

Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...

that covers most of the eastern part of the state, except for the core of the

Kansas City Metropolitan Area The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

. The district encompasses less than a quarter of the state. The state capital of Topeka is located within this district. The city of Lawrence, home of one of the state's universities, The University of Kansas, moved from the 2nd to the 1st congressional district in 2022. The district is currently represented by Republican

Jake LaTurner Jacob Andrew Joseph LaTurner (born February 17, 1988) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district. A member of the Republican Party, LaTurner was the 40th Kansas State Treasurer from 201 ...

History

Kansas had but one representative in the U.S. House of Representatives until after the 1870 U.S. Census, which showed that the state was entitled to three members of the lower branch of the national legislature. In 1872, three representatives-

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

were elected, but by the act of March 2, 1874, the legislature divided the state into three districts. The 2nd congressional district was composed of the counties of Montgomery, Wilson, Labette, Cherokee, Crawford, Neosho, Bourbon, Allen, Anderson, Linn, Miami, Franklin, Johnson, Douglas and Wyandotte. No changes were made in until after the 1880 U.S. Census, which gave the state seven representatives. On March 5, 1883,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

George Washington Glick George Washington Glick (July 4, 1827 – April 13, 1911) was the ninth Governor of Kansas. George Washington Glick was raised on his father's farm near Greencastle, Ohio. He enlisted for service in the Mexican–American War, but saw no act ...

approved an act of the legislature which reduced the 2nd congressional district to only include the counties of Wyandotte, Johnson, Douglas, Miami, Franklin, Anderson, Linn, Allen and Bourbon. Although the 1890 U.S. Census showed the population of Kansas to be large enough to entitle the state to eight representatives, no additional district was created until 1905. By the act of March 9, 1905, the state was divided into eight districts with the 2nd Congressional district being composed of the counties of Wyandotte, Johnson, Douglas, Miami, Franklin, Anderson, Linn, Allen and Bourbon. Reapportionment for 2002 placed the western half of Lawrence as well as Miami County into the 2nd congressional district and cut out the counties of Geary, Montgomery and Nemaha. Reapportionment in 2012 meant that the entirety of Lawrence was moved to the 2nd congressional district. The district's boundaries were altered to remove

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, home of

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...

, and portions of Miami County while adding all of Montgomery County and Nemaha County and portions of Marshall County. Reapportionment in 2022 moved the entirety of Lawrence to the 1st congressional district. The district's boundaries were also altered to remove Anderson and Franklin counties and portions of Miami County. The entirety of Miami County is now in the 3rd congressional district.

Demographics

Following redistricting after the

2000 U.S. Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

, there were 672,102 people, 257,856 households, and 173,309 families residing in the district. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 47.6/mi² over a land area of . There were 280,213 housing units at an average density of 19.8/mi². The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the district is 89.01%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 5.06%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 1.26% Native American, 0.97% Asian, 0.06%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 1.52% from other races, and 2.12% from

two or more races 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 3.81% of the population. There were 257,856

household A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is i ...

s, out of which 34.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.48% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.79% were non-families. 26.73% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.63% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.02. In the district the population distribution by age is 25.34% under the age of 18, 11.88% from 18 to 24, 27.54% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 13.54% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.08 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.85 males. The median income for a household in the district is $37,855, and the median income for a family was $47,095. Males had a median income of $32,033 versus $24,230 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the district was $18,595. About 7.1% of families and 11.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 12.0% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over. Among the population aged 16 years and older, 64.5% was in the civilian

labor force The workforce or labour force is a concept referring to the pool of human beings either in employment or in unemployment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic ...

and 1.9% were in the armed forces. Of the employed civilian workers, 20.6% were government workers and 7.5% were self-employed. Management, professional, and related occupations employed 32.3% of the work force and sales and office occupations employ 25.4%. Only 0.8% were employed in farming, fishing, and forestry occupations. The largest employment by industry was: educational, health and social services, 24.5%; manufacturing, 12.3%; and retail trade, 11.4%. Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining industries only employed 3.0%.

List of members representing the district

Recent election results from statewide races

Recent election results

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

Historical district boundaries

References

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Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
{{Coord, 38.6, N, 95.3, W, format=dec, display=title, type:adm1st_region:US-KS 02 Brown County, Kansas Riley County, Kansas Jackson County, Kansas Jefferson County, Kansas Osage County, Kansas Coffey County, Kansas Linn County, Kansas Leavenworth County, Kansas Woodson County, Kansas Allen County, Kansas Bourbon County, Kansas Crawford County, Kansas Wilson County, Kansas Labette County, Kansas Cherokee County, Kansas Douglas County, Kansas Geary County, Kansas Nemaha County, Kansas Wyandotte County, Kansas