Pat Proctor, a Republican state representative from Leavenworth, is running for Kansas secretary of state in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. Proctor, who chairs the Kansas House Elections Committee, announced his candidacy on April 3, 2025, according to Ballotpedia.
In his candidate questionnaire, Proctor said his 25 years in the U.S. Army shaped his decision to run. He said he served in Iraq and Afghanistan, "where people don't believe in the ballot box to solve their problems." He added: "I swore an oath when I first put on the uniform to support and defend our Constitution … That oath didn't end when I took off the uniform."
Candidate information
- Party: Republican
- Age: 55 (born June 14, 1971)
- Residence: Leavenworth, Kansas
- Family: Wife, Aree; two children, Amy and Jonathan; two grandchildren
- Education: Doctorate in history, Kansas State University; master's degrees from the U.S. Army War College, School of Advanced Military Studies and Command and General Staff College; bachelor's in mechanical engineering, Purdue University
- Endorsements: National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) in Kansas; Kansas Chamber of Commerce
Experience and public service
Proctor served 25 years in the U.S. Army, including two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. He retired as a colonel in 2019.
He has represented Kansas House District 41, covering Leavenworth, Fort Leavenworth and the Kickapoo community, since 2021. He chairs the House Elections Committee and the Joint Committee on Kansas Security and serves on the Board of Advisors to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
Outside government, Proctor is an assistant professor in the homeland security program at Wichita State University. He co-owns three restaurants, two in Leavenworth and one in Manhattan, with his wife. He also runs ProSIM Company, a military simulation firm he founded in 1998 that has worked with Boeing and Lockheed Martin, according to his Wikipedia page.
On the issues
The following responses come from Proctor's candidate questionnaire and public statements.
Election security
Proctor said Kansas elections are secure but argued the state must address vulnerabilities before they are exploited. "It doesn't matter how secure our elections are if people don't believe they are secure," he said in his questionnaire. As Elections Committee chair, he said he has held hearings where residents can raise concerns and has worked to close gaps where safeguards are missing.
He cited passage of the SAVE Kansas Act, which requires the secretary of state to use a federal Department of Homeland Security database to identify noncitizens on voter rolls. Proctor said the first use of that tool found more than 20 people who had apparently been voting as noncitizens, including the former mayor of Coldwater.
Noncitizen voting
Proctor sponsored a constitutional amendment on the November 2026 ballot that would change the Kansas constitution's language from "every" citizen can vote to "only" citizens can vote, according to KCUR. He also said he carried House Bill 2020, which requires the Kansas Division of Motor Vehicles to share noncitizen data with the secretary of state's office every quarter.
Mail ballot deadline
Proctor said he carried the repeal of the three-day grace period for mail ballots. He said that during the 2024 primary, nearly 1,000 ballots received during the grace period could not be counted because they arrived without a postmark. He said requiring all ballots by 7 p.m. on Election Day, as 32 other states do, removes the postmark requirement. He added that he twice carried legislation to add two days to early and mail-in voting, but House Democrats blocked both efforts.
Key differences from opponent
Proctor said his opponent, Democrat Jennifer Day, told Douglas County Democrats in October 2025 that she considers it "unfortunate" that noncitizens cannot vote in Kansas. Proctor said he disagrees and pointed to the SAVE Kansas Act and the citizens-only voting amendment as evidence of his position.
The general election is Nov. 3, 2026.
