Jim Barnett (politician)
Encyclopedia
Jim Barnett is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 politician who is a former State Senator
State Senator
A state senator is a member of a state's Senate, the upper house in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a legislator in Nebraska's one house State Legislature.There are typically fewer state senators than there are members of a state's lower house...

 for Kansas' 17th District, which is centered around Emporia. On August 1, 2006 Barnett won the Kansas Republican Gubernatorial Primary. Barnett faced the incumbent Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius
Kathleen Sebelius
Kathleen Sebelius is an American politician currently serving as the 21st Secretary of Health and Human Services. She was the second female Governor of Kansas from 2003 to 2009, the Democratic respondent to the 2008 State of the Union address, and chair-emerita of the Democratic Governors...

 in the general election on November 7, 2006 and was unsuccessful in his bid as Sebelius was reelected for a 2nd term.

On June 2, 2009, Barnett announced that he is a candidate for the Republican nomination for the United States Congress from the first district of Kansas. On August 3, 2010, Barnett lost the Republican nomination to fellow state senator Tim Huelskamp
Tim Huelskamp
Timothy Alan Huelskamp is the U.S. Representative for . He is a member of the Republican Party . He represented the 38th District in the Kansas Senate from 1997 until entering Congress.-Early life, education, and career:...

. Barnett subsequently resigned his state Senate seat, and resumed his medical career at at Topeka, Kansas
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...

, clinic.

Early life and family

A lifelong Kansan, Barnett grew up and worked on his family’s farm as a boy. He attended and graduated from Reading High School in Reading, Kansas
Reading, Kansas
Reading is a city in Lyon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 231. It is part of the Emporia Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

. After completing high school, Barnett went to Emporia State University
Emporia State University
Emporia State University is a university in the city of Emporia in Lyon County, Kansas, just east of the Flint Hills.- History :...

 where he received a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 in Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

. After that he attended the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...

 Medical School where he received his Doctorate in Medicine.

After earning his doctorate, Barnett settled in Emporia, Kansas where he served as a full-time internal medicine doctor. He describes himself as a lifelong community activist; his earliest community involvement was in Emporia where he focused on improving public education. Barnett has stated that years of experience in the medical profession have created a desire to help the community.

He is also active in his local Baptist church.

Political career

Barnett's first foray into politics was in 1991 when he was first elected to the Emporia School Board of Education (USD 253). He remained in the School Board until 1999, serving as School Board President from 1993 to 1997. Also in the 1990s, Barnett became involved in the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce, the Diversity Council where he served as Chairman and the Rotary International.

In 2000 Barnett was first elected to the Kansas State Senate as a Republican, representing the state's 17th District, which is based in Emporia and includes the surrounding areas. Barnett was re-elected in 2004.

Committee assignments

Barnett serves on these legislative committees:
  • Joint Committee on Health Policy Oversight (chair)
  • Public Health and Welfare (chair)
  • Agriculture
  • Financial Institutions and Insurance
  • Organization, Calendar and Rules

Sponsored legislation

Recent legislation sponsored or co-sponsored by Barnett includes:
  • A bill to repeal the franchise tax
  • A resolution to amend the No Child Left Behind Act
  • A resolution supporting the creation of a U.S. laser defense program
  • A resolution proclaiming states' rights
  • A resolution to establish a budget stabilization fund

Major donors

Some of the top contributors to Barnett's 2008 campaign, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics:
Kansas Republican Senatorial Committee, Lincoln Village Mobile Home Park, Kansas Medical Society, Emporia Head and Neck, Kansas Optometric Association, Kansas Bankers Association


Health care and financial, insurance and real estate companies were his largest donor groups.

Campaign for Governor 2006

See Kansas gubernatorial election, 2006
Kansas gubernatorial election, 2006
The Kansas gubernatorial election of 2006 took place on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius won re-election. Her approval rating as of July 2006 was reported at 60%. On August 1, 2006 Jim Barnett won the Republican primary with 36% of the vote...



In January 2006 Barnett first announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for Governor of Kansas. As 2006 progressed, other candidates for the Republican nomination emerged, however none of them were able to match Barnett in campaign spending or state-wide name recognition. On August 1 Barnett secured the Republican nomination with 36% of the vote. http://www.kssos.org/ent/kssos_ent.html#0008 His closest competitor was author Ken Canfield, who received 26%, followed by former state House Speaker Robin Jennison, who polled 22%..

The candidates for the Republican nomination represented a wide variety of factions within the Republican party. Of the candidates, Barnett was neither a true moderate nor a true conservative, which may have helped with his win in the primary. Barnett's opponent in the general election was incumbent Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 Governor Kathleen Sebelius. Sebelius was first elected Governor in 2002. During her time in office Sebelius has remained popular, frequently with approval ratings over 50%. Sebelius defeated Barnett on November 7, 2006, with over 58% of total votes cast.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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