Dinah Sykes
Democratic · KS · Kansas State Senator, District 21
Dinah Sykes has represented Kansas Senate District 21 since 2017 and serves as Senate Minority Leader. Her background includes small-business ownership, higher-education development work, PTA leadership, and service on the Kansas Children's Cabinet.
Where Dinah Sykes stands, based on their records
Supports
Healthcare Affordability (1 record), Housing Affordability (1 record), Corporate Accountability (1 record)
Opposes
Cost of Living Reduction (1 record)
Track record
Track record — Healthcare Affordability
Healthcare Affordability · 1 support
Voted for the Senate motion to withdraw House Bill 2066, the KanCare Bridge to a Healthy Kansas Medicaid expansion bill, from the Committee on Public Health and Welfare so the full Senate could consider it; the motion failed 23-13.
May 1, 2019Supports Healthcare Affordability
Source: kslegislature.gov
Track record — Cost of Living Reduction
Cost of Living Reduction · 1 oppose
Voted against overriding Governor Laura Kelly's veto of Senate Bill 269, which set up a mechanism for reducing Kansas individual income tax rates; the Kansas Senate override carried 30-10 over her opposition.
April 10, 2025Opposes Cost of Living Reduction
Source: kslegislature.gov
Track record — Housing Affordability
Housing Affordability · 1 support
Voted against overriding Governor Laura Kelly's veto of Senate Bill 391, which barred Kansas cities and counties from requiring landlords to rent to tenants using housing choice vouchers or other housing assistance; the Senate override carried 31-8.
April 9, 2026Supports Housing Affordability
Source: kslegislature.gov
Track record — Corporate Accountability
Corporate Accountability · 1 support
Voted against overriding Governor Laura Kelly's veto of Senate Bill 462, which restricted public nuisance claims and required a showing of special injury in certain public nuisance actions; the Senate override carried 30-9.
April 9, 2026Supports Corporate Accountability
Source: kslegislature.gov
Track record — General
General · 7 records
Served as Kansas Senate Minority Leader, the top Democratic post in the state Senate, representing District 21 in Johnson County. Also served as ranking minority member of the Senate Education Committee, vice chair of the Confirmation Oversight Committee, and a member of the Legislative Coordinating Council.
July 23, 2026
Source: kslegislature.gov
Received the endorsement of the Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes PAC in her campaign for Kansas insurance commissioner, announced in the PAC's dated press release.
July 17, 2026
Source: plannedparenthoodaction.org
Voted against overriding Governor Laura Kelly's veto of House Bill 2727, which let plaintiffs limit recovery in woman's-right-to-know act claims and made medical malpractice screening panels inapplicable in those cases; the Senate override carried 31-8.
April 9, 2026
Source: kslegislature.gov
Voted against overriding Governor Laura Kelly's veto of House Bill 2333, which folded the office of the Kansas securities commissioner into the Kansas Insurance Department as its securities division and ended Senate confirmation of the assistant commissioner; the Senate override carried 29-11.
April 9, 2026
Source: kslegislature.gov
Voted against overriding Governor Laura Kelly's veto of Senate Bill 4, which moved the deadline for county officials to receive mailed advance ballots to 7 p.m. on election day; the Kansas Senate override carried 30-10 over her opposition.
March 25, 2025
Source: kslegislature.gov
Voted against overriding Governor Laura Kelly's veto of Senate Bill 63, the Help Not Harm Act restricting gender-transition medical care for minors; the Kansas Senate override carried 31-9 over her opposition.
February 18, 2025
Source: kslegislature.gov
Switched her party registration from Republican to Democratic, announcing the change alongside three other Johnson County-area women legislators.
December 19, 2018
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Past races Dinah Sykes ran in:
- Commissioner of Insurance · November 3, 2026 · Kansas
- Commissioner of Insurance · August 4, 2026 · Kansas