Martha J. Baumgardner (born March 4, 1959) is a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

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 District 37 since April 2014. She lives in Louisburg, Kansas. She currently serves as Communications Coordinator, and 10 years prior was a professor and Student News Center advisor at

Johnson County Community College Johnson County Community College (JCCC) is a public community college in Overland Park, Kansas, which is in Johnson County. History In 1963, Johnson County Commissioners, recognizing the emerging community college movement and seeking to acco ...

in Overland Park. Baumgardner taught and coached at Louisburg High School for seven years. Her prior corporate and healthcare experience includes Kustom Electronics, Control Data, United Telecom, The Pillsbury Corporation, Humana Medical Center and KU Medical Center. She served 18 years as a countywide elected member of the Johnson County Community College board of trustees.

Elections

2014

The Senate District 37 seat had been held by Pat Apple from 2013 to 2014. Apple resigned in April 2014 to join the Kansas Corporation Commission, a state agency. Apple was nominated by Gov.

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 ...

in March 2014 for the post, and confirmed by a Senate vote in April 2014. Baumgardner was elected by precinct committee leaders in northern Miami and southern Johnson counties to fill the seat vacated by Apple through the end of the 2014 legislative session. Baumgardner defeated Charlotte O'Hara in the August 7, 2014 Republican primary and was unopposed in the 2014 general election on November 4.

2016

Baumgardner defeated Kevin King in the 2016 general election on November 4.

2020

Baumgardner defeated Becca Peck in the 2020 general election on November 3, and was unopposed in the primary election. Baumgardner has served as Chair of the Kansas Senate Education Committee since the 2017 Legislative session. She has served as Chair and Vice-Chair of the Joint Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee since 2015 and was Vice-Chair of the Joint Foster Care Oversight Committee in 2021. Baumgardner has served on the following Kansas Senate Committees: Taxation and Assessment, Commerce, Public Health and Welfare, and Judiciary. She has also served as a member, Vice-Chair and Chair of the Select Education Committee on School Funding.

References

External links

Baumgardner's Kansas Senate page

Baumgardner's website

Vote Smart Molly Baumgardner
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baumgardner, Molly Republican Party Kansas state senators Living people 21st-century American legislators People from Louisburg, Kansas Women state legislators in Kansas 21st-century American women politicians 1959 births University of Saint Mary alumni University of Missouri–Kansas City alumni