This year’s filing deadline for candidates running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Kansas was June 1, 2026.
For the first time since 2014, all four incumbents are running in contested primaries. They include one Democrat and three Republicans. There was one incumbent in a contested primary in 2024, none in 2022, one in 2020, three in 2018, two in 2016, and three in 2014.
In total, seven primaries — three Democratic and four Republican — are contested this year. In total, there were four contested primaries in 2024, one in 2022, five in 2020, six in 2018, four in 2016, and five in 2014.
No districts are open this year. There was one open district in 2024, none in 2022, one in 2020, one in 2018, none in 2016, and none in 2014.
The 4th Congressional District has attracted the most candidates. Six candidates are running for the district, including incumbent Rep. Ron Estes (R), one other Republican, and four Democrats.
Seventeen candidates — nine Democrats and eight Republicans — are running for Kansas’ four congressional districts. That’s 4.3 candidates per district. There were 3.8 candidates per district in 2024, 2.3 in 2022, 4.8 in 2020, six in 2018, three in 2016, and 3.3 in 2014.
Candidates filed to run in the Republican and Democratic primaries in all four districts, meaning no districts are guaranteed to either party.
Kansas and four other states — Michigan, Missouri, Virginia, and Washington— are holding U.S. House primaries on Aug. 4, 2026.
In Kansas, the winner of a primary election is the candidate who receives the greatest number of votes cast for that office, even if they do not win an outright majority of votes.
