Marvin S. Robinson II is an American politician serving in the
Kansas House of Representatives
The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for craftin ...
Emporia State University
Emporia State University (Emporia State or ESU) is a public university in Emporia, Kansas, United States. Established in March 1863 as the Kansas State Normal School, Emporia State is the third-oldest public university in the state of Kansas. Em ...
and
Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...
. He dropped out of college. He served in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
as an operations specialist and was honorably discharged. Robinson worked for organizations in
Wyandotte County, Kansas
Wyandotte County (; county code WY) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 169,245, making it Kansas's fourth-most populous county. Its county seat and most populous city is Kansas City, with which ...
that serve underprivileged minority groups. He has advocated for the preservation and study of the
Quindaro Townsite
Quindaro Townsite is a former settlement, then ghost town, and now an archaeological district. It is around North 27th Street and the Missouri Pacific Railroad tracks in Kansas City, Kansas. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Pla ...
.
Robinson was elected in 2022 to represent District 35 of the Kansas House of Representatives. He succeeded his first cousin,
Broderick Henderson
Broderick Henderson (born February 21, 1957) is an American politician. He was as a Democratic member of the Kansas House of Representatives, representing the 35th district. He served from 1995 to 2023.
Henderson works as the Director of Parkin ...
. A Democrat, he has voted with Republicans on a number of issues, overriding governor
Laura Kelly
Laura Jeanne Kelly (born January 24, 1950)"Laura Kelly," ''Kansapedia,'' 's vetos.
In 2023, Robinson broke ranks with his party to provide the single Democratic vote needed to override a veto and pass into law bills to restrict transgender rights, abortion access, and access to food stamps. Many within his party accused him of siding with the Republicans in exchange for $250,000 of state funding to restore a historic gazebo.