Jean Kurtis Schodorf (born June 11, 1950), a former three-term Republican Kansas state senator, was the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

nominee for

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

Secretary of State in 2014. She was defeated on November 4, 2014 by incumbent Kris Kobach by a margin of 59%-41%.

Early life

Schodorf was born to Wilma Mary Horton (1911–2002) and William A. Kuretich (Croatian: Kuretić), of Croatian origin (1914–2001), a U.S. Marine Corps

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

and decorated veteran of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Her father’s military career included extensive travel for his family. Upon his retirement, the family settled in Independence, Kansas. She is the sister of television journalist

Bill Kurtis Bill Kurtis (born William Horton Kuretich; September 21, 1940), is an American television journalist, television producer, narrator, and news anchor. Kurtis was studying to become a lawyer in the 1960s, when he was asked to fill in on a tempora ...

Education

Schodorf is a speech/language pathologist and graduated from

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

(Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Science) and

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

(Ph.D. in Communicative Disorders, post-doctoral work in education administration).

Political career

From 1989 to 2000, she was on the Board of Education for Unified School District 259 ( Wichita School District) and was the board president in 1993, 1997 and 1999. She was a

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member of the

Kansas Senate The Kansas Senate is the upper house of the Kansas Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. State of Kansas. It is composed of 40 senators elected from single-member districts, each with a population of at least 60,000 inhabitants. Members ...

, representing the 25th district in Wichita, from 2001 to 2013. In 2010, Schodorf was a candidate for U.S Representative of the 4th district, being vacated by

Todd Tiahrt William Todd Tiahrt ( ; born June 15, 1951) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1995 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected as part of the historic Republican Wave of 1994, defeating 18-ye ...

. She finished third in the Republican primary to

Mike Pompeo Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served under President Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2017 to 2018 and as the 70th United State ...

, who won the general election. In the 2012 Republican Primary, Senator Schodorf, and Senate President Stephen Morris and six other state senate moderates were opposed by Governor

Sam Brownback Samuel Dale Brownback (born September 12, 1956) is an American attorney, politician, diplomat, and member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party who served as the United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Fr ...

, the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and the

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. At the time, Schodorf was the Majority Whip. She was defeated August 7, 2012, in her attempt to be re-elected to the Kansas State Senate by Wichita City Council member Michael O'Donnell, 59 percent to 41 percent. Of those targeted, only Senator Carolyn McGinn won re-election. In January 2013, Schodorf changed her party affiliation to Democrat. In May 2016 Schodorf, by then a resident of

Sedan, Kansas Sedan is the county seat of and the largest city in Chautauqua County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,000. History Sedan was founded in 1871. The city was named in commemoration of the 1870 Bat ...

, announced she was running again for the Kansas legislature, this time as a State Representative for District 12 in Southeast, Kansas. She lost the general election to Republican primary winner Doug Blex.

Committee assignments

Sen. Schodorf served on these legislative committees: * Education (chair) * Joint Committee on Arts and Cultural Resources (vice-chair) * Commerce * Confirmation Oversight * Interstate Cooperation * Judiciary * Ways and Means

Major donors

Some of the top contributors to Sen. Schodorf's 2008 campaign were, according to the ''National Institute on Money in State Politics'' the Kansas Realtors Association, Kansas Contractors Association, Kansas Republican Senatorial Committee, Kansans for Lifesaving Cures and the Kansas National Education Association. Institutions were her major donor group.

Elections

2010 run for Congress

In 2010, Sen. Schodorf entered the primary race for the 4th Congressional District of Kansas, running against four other Republicans (Jim Anderson,

Wink Hartman A wink is a facial expression made by briefly closing one eye. A wink is an informal mode of non-verbal communication usually signaling shared hidden knowledge or intent. However, it is ambiguous by itself and highly dependent upon additional ...

and Paij Rutschman). She was endorsed by former U.S. Sen Nancy Kassebaum Baker on July 13, 2010. Schodorf finished second in the Republican primary, losing to eventual general election winner Mike Pompeo.

2012

In the 2012 Republican primary for her state senate seat, Sen. Schodorf was defeated by Michael O'Donnell of Wichita in the Republican Primary on August 7, 2012, by a 2,785 to 1,949 margin. Schodorf, a moderate, had been targeted by conservatives Republicans for defeat. O'Donnell went on to defeat Democratic nominee, the late Timothy L. Snow in the general election.

2014

In September 2013, Schodorf announced she was running for

Secretary of State of Kansas The secretary of state of Kansas is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Kansas. The current secretary of state is the former speaker ''pro tempore'' of the Kansas House of Representatives, Scott Schwab, who was sworn in on J ...

, switching parties to run as a Democrat. She was defeated by incumbent Republican Kris Kobach, who was running for re-election.

2016

Running from rural Sedan, she lost the general election to Republican Doug Blex.60.9% to 30%.2016 General Election Official Results
''

Kansas Secretary of State The secretary of state of Kansas is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Kansas. The current secretary of state is the former speaker ''pro tempore'' of the Kansas House of Representatives, Scott Schwab, who was sworn in on Ja ...

, November 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2016.

References

External links

Kansas SenateProject Vote Smart profile
* Follow the Money campaign contributions *
20002002200420062008State Sen. Schodorf says she is leaving GOP
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schodorf, Jean Kurtis Kansas state senators Living people University of New Mexico alumni Wichita State University alumni School board members in Kansas Women state legislators in Kansas American people of Croatian descent Kansas Democrats Kansas Republicans Speech and language pathologists People from Cherry Point, North Carolina People from Sedan, Kansas 1950 births Candidates in the 2014 United States elections Candidates in the 2010 United States elections Candidates in the 2016 United States elections 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians