Brandon Whipple

Whipple first ran for the Kansas House of Representatives in 2010 against Phil Hermanson.[7] Whipple lost, but shortly afterward the Sedgwick County Democratic Party elected him its vice chair. In 2012, he was elected the county party's chair.[3][4]

That same year, in a run for the Kansas House 96th District seat (in south Wichita), he was criticized by Tea Party Republican Craig Gable for not having children.[8] Whipple defeated Republican Rick Lindsey.[3][9] Whipple was re-elected to the seat in 2014, 2016 and 2018,[3] in a district that voted for Donald Trump for president in 2016.[10]

In 2016, Whipple was elected Agenda Chair for the Democrats in the Kansas House of Representatives—the #6 position in House Democratic party leadership.[11] In 2018, he co-founded the bipartisan Kansas Future Caucus, a group of under-45 Kansas legislators, to focus attention on issues of concern to young people.[12]

Among his principal efforts in office was increased funding for education, particularly restoration of funding cuts made during the administration of Kansas governor Sam Brownback.[4][13]

In the 2019 Kansas Legislature, Whipple was Ranking minority member on the Joint Committee on Information Technology, and the Higher Education Budget Committee. He was also assigned to the Committee on Elections and the Joint Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice Oversight.[14][15]

2019–2020 session[16]

• Ranking Minority Member of Higher Education Budget
• Ranking Minority Member of Joint Information Technology
• Elections
• Joint Corrections and Juvenile Justice

2017–2018 session[17]

• Ranking Minority Member of Commerce, Labor and Economic Development
• Financial Institutions and Pensions
• Higher Education Budget
• Joint Information Technology

2015–2016 session[18]

• Utilities and Telecommications
• Commerce, Labor and Economic Development
• Taxation
• House Select Investigating Committee
• Telecommunications Study Committee
• Joint Information Technology

2013–2014 session[19]

• Children and Seniors
• Judiciary
• Utilities and Telecommications
• Commerce, Labor and Economic Development
• Telecommunications Study Committee
• Joint Information Technology

Whipple ran in the 2019 election for mayor of Wichita.[20][21] In the nonpartisan primary election, preliminary results put Whipple (with 5,729 votes; 25.9% of the total) second only to Republican Mayor Longwell (who had 7,136 votes; 32.3%).[22][4] [23] Candidate Lyndy Wells, also a Republican, had only 160 votes fewer in initial returns: 5,569 votes; 25.2%, so delayed acceptance of the result in hopes that a review of 1,000 yet-uncounted ballots (including 500 provisional ballots) might turn the election to his favor.[24][25][26] The final count nearly doubled Whipple's lead over Wells,[26] advancing Whipple and Longwell to the ballot for the November 5 runoff election.[22][4][23] Wells mounted a write-in campaign.

In October 2019, Whipple found himself the victim of an elaborate, multi-state, covert smear campaign in which Republican state Representative Michael Capps was implicated as a perpetrator.[27] After Sedgwick County, Kansas Republican party chair Dalton Glasscock called for Capps to resign, Capps claimed that Glasscock had actually approved the production of the ad, which Glasscock denied.[28] Money raised for the production of the video was alleged to have been laundered through a charitable non-profit organization directed by Capps to conceal the identities of the alleged perpetrators.[29]

Newly created anonymous entities also attacked both Whipple and Wells weighed via several mailers. Although the sending organizations used different names, they were all linked through a postal permit held by a Kansas City bulk-mail service. The funding of the salacious video as well as the anonymous mailers will not be required to be reported, according to the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission. It has ruled outside organizations must report their identities and spending only if they use specific key terms such as "vote for," "elect," "vote against" or "defeat". The Democratic party was also criticized for publicly sending a mailer claiming that Longwell was being investigated by the District Attorney for "corruption". In fact, he had just been advised to report contributions and gifts received from the contractor to which a half-billion-dollar contract had been awarded.[30]

On election day, November 5, 2019, Longwell conceded the election to Whipple, who won with 46% of the ballots versus 36% for Longwell, with the balance cast for write-in candidates which remained to be counted. The results were certified on November 15, 2019.[30]

In October 2020, Whipple, represented by former U.S. Attorney Randy Rathbun, filed suit against Capps, Wichita City Councilman James Clendenin, and Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O'Donnell, for defamation involving the false charges made against him in the 2019 mayoral election race. Allegations cited were that the co-conspirators tried to blame the conspiracy on Sedgwick Republican County Committee Chairman Dalton Glasscock, and that, with false accusations, they intended to generate marital discord within Whipple's own family.[31] To conceal the donors and funding of the smear, monies were said to have been laundered through a 501(c)3 non-profit charity directed by Capps. The suit had originally been filed against the maker of the video, Matthew Colburn.[29] It was dropped after Colburn provided audio, text messages, and other evidence, that had identified O'Donnell as the alleged leader of the conspiracy to defame Whipple. O'Donnell was accused of writing the script for the video frame-up,[29] Whipple said that he felt sorry for the then-21-year-old Colburn who had been scapegoated by the actual perpetrators.[29] On November 25, Marc Bennett, the Sedgwick County D.A., moved to have the state take up the case of the removal of Capps from office since the D.A. is precluded from doing so by statute in the case of a state legislator. He was proceeding to remove Clendenin from the City Council where he possessed such authority.[32]

On October 16, 2020, Meredith Dowty, a 59-year-old local musician and retired firefighter, was arrested on suspicion of threatening to kidnap and kill Whipple after he attempted to get his address from another city official. He was reportedly frustrated by the city's mask ordinance and other mitigation measures against the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented him from seeing his mother. Whipple, who had been a target of local criticism for passing the ordinance, said he will increase security at his home in response to the alleged threat. Dowty could face a charge of criminal threat.[33]

On September 24, 2022, Whipple became involved in a verbal altercation with a Wichita Police officer after cutting in line and then refusing to turn around at a community cleanup event to deliver trash for his nearby rental property.[34] In footage obtained from the officer's body worn camera Whipple is seen calling City Manager Robert Layton and telling him that the officer "doesn't know who I am," before requesting the name of the acting chief of police so that he could file a complaint.[35] Whipple released the footage himself on October 13 after learning the officer's body camera was not turned on for the beginning of the altercation, during which Whipple claimed the officer yelled at him.[36] Whipple used the situation to call for a review of Wichita police body-camera policies, but ultimately apologized for his role in the event.[37] On May 11, 2023, the Wichita city board ruled 4-0 that Whipple had violated the city code of ethics concluding that he had, "Used his office to seek favor and private gain by the manner in which he sought to dump his trash instead of waiting in line."[34]