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Nikki McDonald

From Ballotpedia
Nikki McDonald
Candidate, Kansas House of Representatives District 49
Kansas House of Representatives District 49
Tenure
2023 - Present
Term ends
2027
Years in position
2
Predecessor:Brad Boyd (D)
Compensation
Base salary
$43,000/year
Per diem
$178/day
Elections and appointments
Last election
November 5, 2024
Next election
August 4, 2026
Education
Bachelor's
University of Arkansas, 1997
Graduate
University of Arkansas, 1998
Personal
Birthplace
Little Rock, AR
Religion
Unitarian Universalist
Profession
Consultant
Contact

Nikki McDonald (Democratic Party) is a member of theKansas House of Representatives, representingDistrict 49. She assumed office on December 20, 2023. Her current term ends on January 11, 2027.

McDonald (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to theKansas House of Representatives to representDistrict 49. She declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled onAugust 4, 2026.

TheDemocratic Party of Kansas appointed McDonald to theKansas House of Representatives District 49 on December 18, 2023, to replaceBrad Boyd (D). She was sworn in on December 20, 2023.[1]

Biography

Nikki McDonald was born inLittle Rock, Arkansas. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Arkansas in 1997 and a graduate degree from the University of Arkansas in 1998. Her career experience includes working as a consultant. She previously worked as a teacher and as founder, executive director, and president of the Olathe Public Education Network.[2]

McDonald has been affiliated with the following organizations:[3]

  • Project 10/20 Emergency Homeless Shelter
  • Shawnee Mission Unitarian Universalist Church
  • Johnson County Mental Health Advisory Board
  • At large-member of Olathe NW Engineering Academy Booster Club
  • Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild
  • Greater Kansas City Orchid Society
  • PSN Olathe Knitting Group

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according toBillTrack50 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.

Committee assignments

2025-2026

McDonald was assigned to the following committees:


Elections

2026

See also: Kansas House of Representatives elections, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on August 4, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 49

IncumbentNikki McDonald is running in the Democratic primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 49 on August 4, 2026.

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Incumbents arebolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement,click here.

2024

See also: Kansas House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Kansas House of Representatives District 49

IncumbentNikki McDonald defeatedKurtis Ruf in the general election for Kansas House of Representatives District 49 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Nikki McDonald
Nikki McDonald (D) Candidate Connection
 
50.6
 
6,305
Image of Kurtis Ruf
Kurtis Ruf (R) Candidate Connection
 
49.4
 
6,157

Ballotpedia Logo

Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 12,462
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 49

IncumbentNikki McDonald advanced from the Democratic primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 49 on August 6, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Nikki McDonald
Nikki McDonald Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
1,083

Ballotpedia Logo

Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 1,083
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 49

Kurtis Ruf advanced from the Republican primary for Kansas House of Representatives District 49 on August 6, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Kurtis Ruf
Kurtis Ruf Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
1,299

Ballotpedia Logo

There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 1,299
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

McDonald received the following endorsements.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also:Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Nikki McDonald has not yet completedBallotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.Send a message to Nikki McDonald asking her to fill out the survey. If you are Nikki McDonald,click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

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You can ask Nikki McDonald to fill out this survey by using the button below or emailing Info@McDonaldForKansas.com.

Email

2024

Candidate Connection

Nikki McDonald completedBallotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by McDonald's responses.

Expand all |Collapse all

I graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1997 with a Bachelors of Science in Elementary Education and in 1998 with a Masters in the Art of Teaching with an emphasis in Early Childhood Development. I moved from NW Arkansas to Kansas House District 49 in 2003 with my husband, Patrick. After teaching first grade and English Language Learners (ELL) in Arkansas, I obtained a teaching position in Olathe working with elementary ELL students at Fairview Elementary. In 2005, I pressed pause on my career to begin a family. Our two sons have attended Olathe Public Schools since their early childhood years and are currently students at Olathe Northwest High School. I've spent the past 7 years becoming more involved with community organizing and public education advocacy work. In my spare time, I've worked to help elect others who share my values. When my representative in the KS House stepped down, I was chosen by my fellow precinct leaders to fill the vacancy. I am running as an incumbent for the 2024 election season as I complete the second half of this 2023/24 term. I believe firmly that we should all strive to grow where we are planted and make our community a better place. I am happy to do my part to ensure that we continue to enjoy living in a safe area with exceptional public schools and economic opportunities for us all.
  • As a former teacher, special needs parent, public education advocate and community organizer, I will be a voice in Topeka advocating for our strong public schools.
  • I have a strong commitment to work to improve access to quality mental health resources for our residents of all ages.
  • It is imperative that we find solutions for rising property taxes. Too many residents are being priced out of their homes & this is unacceptable.
My area of greatest knowledge and interest is public school education policy. It's clear that strong public schools drive strong local economies. Our local public schools are exemplary & I will always advocate on their behalf.
Governor Laura Kelly is a great role model for finding common ground & governing in a pragmatic way. I hope to emulate her methods of reaching across the aisle to find solutions that improve the lives of everyday Kansans.
I am curious, tenacious, driven, empathetic and hard-working.
It is vitally important that a representative understand the will of the voters in their district. I have knocked MANY doors each cycle in House District 49 over the past several years & I have a unique insight into the priorities of my constituents. It falls to me to vote in a way that best reflects their wishes.
A legacy of kindness and compassion.
I enjoy books written by David Seders because of his lighthearted approach to writing memoirs about his life.
During college I was a nontraditional student. Taking on full-time classes & several part-time jobs was difficult, but I stayed with it and eventually my hard work paid off.
I appreciate that US Representatives come from all types of professions & walks of life, each bringing with them their own knowledge and experiences.
No. I think government should be "of the people". Previous experience should not be required.
No. I believe it takes some time to learn the processes involved in governing and creating laws.
I am open to the argument for a need to have term limits.
Again, Governor Laura Kelly is inspirational & has led Kansas through difficult times with skill and compassion.
I've met with constituents who have worked in various areas of service to the public, from veterans to law enforcement officers, firemen, teachers, nurses, doctors and more. Their willingness to sacrifice to make our community a better place is always touching.
Nothing comes to mind
A budget is a reflection of our priorities. I would make sure that our budget actually prioritizes funding the things that matter most to our community. As a representative, I take this responsibility very seriously.
My focus primarily has been on local and state government. To a limited degree I understand that the US House has subpoena and investigative powers. However, as an elected official in STATE government, this question really does not impact my work.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

Ballotpedia LogoNote: 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 theFEC website. Clickhere for more on federal campaign finance law andhere for more on state campaign finance law.

Nikki McDonald campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024Kansas House of Representatives District 49Won general$93,894 $0
Grand total$93,894 $0
Sources:OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

Scorecards

See also:State legislative scorecards andState legislative scorecards in Kansas

Ascorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Kansas scorecards, email suggestions toeditor@ballotpedia.org.


2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].   

In 2024, theKansas State Legislature was in session from January 8 to April 30.

Legislators are scored on their stances on conservative fiscal policy.
Legislators are scored on their votes on a variety of issues of interest to the organization.
Legislators are scored on their support for bills that the organization lists as promoting "individual liberty, limited government, free markets and student-focused education."
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.


2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].   

In 2023, theKansas State Legislature was in session from January 9 to April 28.

Legislators are scored on their votes on a variety of issues of interest to the organization.
Legislators are scored on their support for bills that the organization lists as promoting "individual liberty, limited government, free markets and student-focused education."
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.










See also


External links

Candidate

Kansas House of Representatives District 49

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    • Officeholder

    Kansas House of Representatives District 49

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    • Footnotes

    1. ↑State Affairs Pro, "Olathe political organizer McDonald sworn in to replace Boyd in House," December 20, 2023
    2. ↑Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on January 20, 2024
    3. ↑Cite error: Invalid<ref> tag; no text was provided for refs namedbio

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    Brad Boyd (D)    		Kansas House of Representatives District 49
    2023-Present    		Succeeded by
    -


    Current members of theKansas House of Representatives
    Leadership
    Speaker of the House:Daniel Hawkins
    Majority Leader:Chris Croft
    Minority Leader:Brandon Woodard
    Representatives
    District 1
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    District 22
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    District 25
    Rui Xu (D)
    District 26
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    District 125
    Republican Party (88)
    Democratic Party (37)


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