By Grace Hills
Sitting Commissioner of Insurance Vicki Schmidt ran in the Republican primary, so is not running again for her current role. Here’s who is trying to replace her.
Dan Hawkins — Republican candidate
Political experience: Hawkins has been in the Kansas House since 2012, and has been House speaker since 2023. He’s worked with Senate President Ty Masterson — who’s running for governor with President Donald Trump’s endorsement — to “stop (Gov.) Laura Kelly’s radically liberal agenda,” his campaign site reads.
Hawkins has worked in insurance for 30 years, including as an agent and his current role as the owner of an insurance agency. In his public disclosures for the Kansas House, he said he’s made $2,000 or more from United Healthcare, Delta Dental of Kansas, Cincinnati Life, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, The Standard, and US Alliance Life — all insurance companies — in the last year.
What else? Hawkins reached his term limit as House speaker.
Platform: The first thing visitors see on his campaign site is “Pro-Life. Pro-Gun. Pro-Trump. Conservative Republican.” He vows to stand with Trump.
“No Kansan should be denied coverage,” he said. “Just like President Trump has made it his mission to make life miserable for foreign cartels, it will be my job as insurance commissioner to do the same for any insurance company that does not follow the law.”
He wants to give Kansas a “competitive insurance environment” by deregulating the industry. He’s against Medicaid expansion.
Dinah Sykes — Democratic candidate
Political experience: Sykes was elected to the Kansas Senate in 2016 as a Republican.
In 2018, she joined a group of legislators in changing her affiliation to Democrat. She’s the current Senate minority leader.
What else? She vowed to decline any campaign contributions from the insurance industry, but her campaign took $1,000 from the Kansas Association of Property & Casualty Insurance — an advocacy group for the insurance industry. When Kansas News Service spoke to her about the donation, Sykes said she wasn’t aware of the donation, and her campaign treasurer returned it.
Before politics, Sykes ran her own business as a personal chef.
Platform: She wants to hold “big insurance companies accountable.”
She’s a supporter of Medicaid expansion, and says her campaign will focus on affordability, consumer protection, transparency and fairness.
Ric Koehn — Libertarian candidate
Ric Koehn is the Libertarian candidate, but does not have a campaign website. Koehn did not respond to an email requesting details of his campaign.
Grace Hills is a politics and elections reporter for KCUR. Email her at [email protected]
