Connie O'Brien
2025 - Present
2029
0
Connie O'Brien (Republican Party) is a member of the Kansas State Board of Education, representing District 4. She assumed office on January 14, 2025. Her current term ends on January 9, 2029.
O'Brien (Republican Party) ran for election to the Kansas State Board of Education to represent District 4. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Connie O'Brien earned her B.A. in Social Studies and Secondary Education from St. Mary College of Leavenworth. Her professional experience includes working as a teacher in Basehor-Linwood, Leavenworth, and McClouth.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Kansas State Board of Education election, 2024
General election
General election for Kansas State Board of Education District 4
Connie O'Brien defeated Kris Meyer in the general election for Kansas State Board of Education District 4 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Connie O'Brien (R) | 50.7 | 79,486 | |
| Kris Meyer (D) | 49.3 | 77,228 | ||
| Total votes: 156,714 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Kansas State Board of Education District 4
Kris Meyer advanced from the Democratic primary for Kansas State Board of Education District 4 on August 6, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Kris Meyer | 100.0 | 14,465 | |
| Total votes: 14,465 | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Kansas State Board of Education District 4
Connie O'Brien defeated Nancy Moneymaker and Gina Montalbano Zesiger in the Republican primary for Kansas State Board of Education District 4 on August 6, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Connie O'Brien | 44.8 | 9,885 | |
| Nancy Moneymaker | 36.2 | 7,991 | ||
| Gina Montalbano Zesiger | 19.1 | 4,212 | ||
| Total votes: 22,088 | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for O'Brien in this election.
2016
Elections for the Kansas House of Representatives were held in 2016. The primary election was held on August 2, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 1, 2016.
Jim Karleskint defeated Kara Reed in the Kansas House of Representatives District 42 general election.[2][3]
| Kansas House of Representatives, District 42 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Jim Karleskint |
57.86% | 5,715 | |
| Democratic | Kara Reed | 42.14% | 4,163 | |
| Total Votes | 9,878 | |||
| Source: Kansas Secretary of State | ||||
Kara Reed ran unopposed in the Kansas House of Representatives District 42 Democratic primary.[4][5]
| Kansas House of Representatives, District 42 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Kara Reed (unopposed) | |
Jim Karleskint defeated incumbent Connie O'Brien in the Kansas House of Representatives District 42 Republican primary.[4][5]
| Kansas House of Representatives, District 42 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Jim Karleskint |
51.82% | 856 | |
| Republican | Connie O'Brien Incumbent | 48.18% | 796 | |
| Total Votes | 1,652 | |||
Primary election
In the primary elections held on August 2, 2016, six incumbents were defeated in the state Senate, while nine incumbents were defeated in the state House. Outside of the one incumbent Democrat who was defeated in the House, moderates defeated 14 conservative Republican incumbents in the primary. Before the 2016 primary, moderate Republicans had been losing ground in the state legislature since the 2010 election of Gov. Sam Brownback (R), shifting from a more moderate Republican-controlled state legislature to a more conservative one after the 2012 elections. Eighteen Republican incumbents were defeated in the conservative wave in 2012. Connie O'Brien was one of 14 Republican incumbents who were defeated in the 2016 primary.
2014
Elections for the Kansas House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election was held on August 5, 2014, and a general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 2, 2014. Austin Lee Harris defeated Harold Fevurly in the Democratic primary. Incumbent Connie O'Brien was unopposed in the Republican primary. O'Brien defeated Harris in the general election.[6][7]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Connie O'Brien Incumbent |
59.5% | 4,042 | |
| Democratic | Austin Lee Harris | 40.5% | 2,751 | |
| Total Votes | 6,793 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Austin Lee Harris |
56% | 310 |
| Harold Fevurly | 44% | 244 |
| Total Votes | 554 | |
2012
O'Brien won re-election in the 2012 election for Kansas House of Representatives District 42. She defeated Sandra Bohne in the August 7 Republican primary and defeated Harold Fevurly, Jr. (D) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[8]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Connie O'Brien Incumbent |
63.4% | 5,910 | |
| Democratic | Harold Fevurly, Jr. | 36.6% | 3,410 | |
| Total Votes | 9,320 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Connie O'Brien Incumbent |
62.8% | 1,125 |
| Sandra Bohne | 37.2% | 667 |
| Total Votes | 1,792 | |
2010
O'Brien won re-election to the 42nd District seat against Jim Pittman (D). O'Brien had no opposition in the GOP primary. The general election took place on November 2, 2010.[9]
| Kansas House of Representatives, District 42 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Connie O'Brien (R)
|
5,483 | |||
| Jim Pittman (D) | 2,989 | |||
2008
On November 4, 2008, O'Brien was elected to the 42nd District Seat in the Kansas House of Representatives, defeating Timothy Moran (D).[10] O'Brien raised $13,330 for her campaign, while Moran raised $4,444.[11]
| Kansas House of Representatives, District 42 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Connie O'Brien (R)
|
7,613 | 59.5% | ||
| Timothy Moran (D) | 5,165 | 40.4% | ||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Connie O'Brien did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
Issues
Policy positions
Her answers to the Kansas State Legislative Election 2008 Political Courage Test are available. In the test she listed her legislative priorities as "Balancing the budget and lowering taxes - support policies that create job. Job creation, not taxation."[12]
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
State legislative tenure
Scorecards
Kansas Freedom Index
The Kansas Policy Institute, Kansas’s "first free market think tank," releases its legislator scorecard as a part of its Kansas Freedom Index for Kansas state representatives and senators once a year. The Score Card gives each legislator a score from 1%-100% based on how they voted in the prior legislative term on specific issues which the Kansas Policy Institute thought were pro-limited government policies.[13]
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
2013
Connie O'Brien received a score of 64.0% in the 2013 index.[14]
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, O'Brien served on the following committees:
| Kansas committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Children and Seniors, Chair |
| • Elections |
| • Education Budget |
| • Vision 2020 |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, O'Brien served on the following committees:
| Kansas committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Children and Seniors, Chair |
| • Local Government |
| • Elections |
| • Agriculture and Natural Resources |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, O'Brien served on the following committees:
| Kansas committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Education Budget |
| • Elections |
| • Federal and State Affairs |
| • Kansas Security |
| • Veterans, Military and Homeland Security, Vice chair |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, O'Brien served on the following committees:
| Kansas committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Energy and Utilities |
| • Federal and State Affairs |
| • Elections |
| • Aging and Long Term Care |
See also
| Kansas | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
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External links
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Candidate Kansas State Board of Education District 4 |
Officeholder Kansas State Board of Education District 4 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Project Vote Smart - Rep. Connie O'Brien Biography
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "Candidate list," accessed August 23, 2016
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2016 General Election official results," accessed December 19, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kansas Secretary of State, "Candidate list," accessed June 3, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Kansas Secretary of State, "2016 Official Kansas Primary Election Results," accessed September 12, 2016
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2014 Primary Election - Official Vote Totals," accessed September 15, 2014
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2014 General Election - Official Vote Totals," accessed April 17, 2015
- ↑ C-SPAN, "Kansas - Summary Vote Results," accessed August 7, 2012
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2010 General Election - Official Vote Totals," accessed March 29, 2014
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2008 General Election - Official Vote Totals," accessed March 29, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Kansas 2008 - Candidates," accessed March 29, 2014
- ↑ Kansas State Legislative Election 2008 Political Courage Test
- ↑ Kansas Policy Institute, "Freedom Index," accessed March 31, 2014
- ↑ Ballotpedia, "2013 Kansas Policy Index," accessed March 10, 2015
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ann Mah (D) |
Kansas State Board of Education District 4 2025-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Kansas House of Representatives District 42 2009-2017 |
Succeeded by - |
 |
State of Kansas Topeka (capital) |
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