Tom Arpke Explained

Tom Arpke
State Senate:	Kansas
State:	Kansas
District:	24th
Term Start:	January 9, 2013
Term End:	January 10, 2017
Preceded:	Pete Brungardt
Succeeded:	Randall Hardy
State House1:	Kansas
District1:	69th
Term Start1:	January 10, 2011
Term End1:	January 9, 2013
Preceded1:	Deena Horst
Succeeded1:	J. R. Claeys
Party:	Republican
Birth Date:	6 February 1952^[1]
Birth Place:	El Paso, Texas, U.S.
Spouse:	Beth Arpke
Children:	5
Profession:	Travel agent, consultant
Alma Mater:	Florida State University
Residence:	Salina, Kansas

Tom Arpke (born February 6, 1952) is a former Republican member of the Kansas Senate, representing the 24th district from 2013 to 2017. The American Conservative Union gave him a lifetime rating of 84%.

Arpke is a Salina travel agent and consultant,^[2] and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in microbiology from Florida State University. He and his wife, Beth, have five children including Kellan Arpke, who is a Lieutenant in the United States Navy. Arpke was elected to the Kansas House in 2010 and filed for the Senate race in 2012.^[3]

Elections

2009

Arpke was elected to the Salina city commission in 2009, receiving a total of 2,386 votes, winning by 332.

2010

Arpke defeated incumbent Deena Horst in the House District 69 Republican primary on August 3, 2010 by a margin of 1,205-898. Horst was seeking her ninth term. He defeated Gerrett Morris (D) in the general election on November 2, 2010, by 3,733 to 2,106 votes.

2012

Arpke defeated incumbent Pete Brungardt in the Republican Senate primary on August 7, 2012 by a 5,413-4,354 margin.^{[4] [5]} He defeated Democratic nominee Janice Norlin in the 2012 general election.^[6]

2016

Arpke lost the Republican primary to Randall R. Hardy, when he ran for reelection to the state senate.^[7]

Committee assignments

Sen. Arpke served on these legislative committees:

• Ways and Means
• Education (vice-chairman)
• Natural Resources
• Legislative Educational Planning Committee^[2]

Major donors

Some of the top contributors to Arpke's 2012 campaign, according to Project Vote Smart:^[8]

• Kansas Chamber of Commerce, $2,818
• Koch Industries, $2,000
• American Freedom PAC, $2,000

In addition, a number of contributors gave $1,000 each.

External links

• Kansas Legislature
• Project Vote Smart political summary
• Tom Arpke
• Tom Arpke campaign website

Notes and References

1. Web site: Tom Arpke's Political Summary. Project Vote Smart. November 13, 2018.
2. Web site: Senator Tom Arpke. Kansas Legislature. November 13, 2018.
3. Web site: Tom Arpke. Project Vote Smart. November 13, 2018.
4. http://www.sos.ks.gov/elections/elections_upcoming_candidate_display.asp Kansas Secretary of State, "Candidates for the 2012 Primary (official),"
5. http://www.kssos.org/elections/12elec/2012%20Primary%20Election%20Results.pdf Kansas Secretary of State, Official 2012 Primary Results
6. http://www.sos.ks.gov/ent/kssos_ent.html Kansas Secretary of State, "2012 Kansas General Election Results,"
7. http://www.kssos.org/elections/16elec/2016_Primary_Election_OFFICIAL_Results.pdf Kansas Secretary of State, "2016 Kansas General Election Results,"
8. http://votesmart.org/candidate/campaign-finance/107052/tom-arpke Project Vote Smart campaign contributions