Three candidates vie for Kansas insurance commissioner on Nov. 3

Three candidates will compete for Kansas Commissioner of Insurance when Johnson County voters head to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Republican Dan Hawkins, Democrat Dinah Sykes and Libertarian Ric Koehn are vying to replace incumbent Vicki Schmidt, who did not seek reelection and unsuccessfully ran for governor. The position carries a four-year term, according to the Johnson County Election Office.

The stakes are tangible. Kansas ranks as the fifth most expensive state for homeowners insurance, with an average annual premium of $5,289 for $300,000 in dwelling coverage, according to Insurance.com 2026 data. The national average is $2,872.

Here is where the candidates stand, drawn from a voter guide published by the Kansas News Service, candidate questionnaire responses and public records.

Dan Hawkins, Republican

Hawkins, the Kansas House Speaker from Wichita, was first elected in 2012 and began serving in 2013 and held the speaker's gavel since 2023. He reached his term limit in that role.

He has worked in insurance for 30 years, including as an agent and as the owner of an insurance agency. In public disclosures for the Kansas House, Hawkins reported earning $2,000 or more from six insurance companies in the last year, including United Healthcare, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas and Delta Dental of Kansas.

Hawkins wants to create what he calls a "competitive insurance environment" by deregulating the industry. He opposes Medicaid expansion.

When he launched his campaign in May 2025, Hawkins compared the role to President Trump's stance on foreign cartels. "No Kansan should be denied coverage," he told the Kansas Reflector. His campaign site leads with the phrase "Pro-Life. Pro-Gun. Pro-Trump. Conservative Republican."

Dinah Sykes, Democrat

Sykes, the Kansas Senate minority leader from Lenexa, has represented Senate District 21 for 10 years. She won her seat in 2016 as a Republican and switched her party affiliation to Democrat in 2018.

Before entering politics, Sykes ran her own business as a personal chef. She has served on the Senate Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee.

Sykes supports Medicaid expansion. In a candidate questionnaire, she said about 150,000 Kansans lack access to care and that uncompensated costs from uninsured emergency room visits shift onto everyone with private insurance.

On homeowners insurance costs, Sykes said in the questionnaire she would "scrutinize every rate increase to make sure it's justified" and recruit new carriers to Kansas to increase competition.

Sykes pledged to refuse campaign contributions from the insurance industry. Her campaign did accept a $1,000 donation from the Kansas Association of Property & Casualty Insurance, an industry advocacy group. Sykes told the Kansas News Service she was unaware of the donation, and her campaign treasurer returned it.

In her questionnaire, Sykes said she is endorsed by two former Kansas Insurance Commissioners: Republican Sandy Praeger and Democrat Kathleen Sebelius.

Ric Koehn, Libertarian

Koehn, of Cimarron, is the Libertarian nominee. He does not have a campaign website. He did not respond to a Kansas News Service email requesting details of his platform, according to the voter guide.