Watkins is the representative for Kansas’s 2nd congressional district (view map) and is a Republican. He has served since Jan 3, 2019. Watkins is next up for reelection in 2020 and serves until Jan 3, 2021 unless re-elected.
Alleged misconduct & resolution
In 2020, the district attorney of Shawnee County, KS, charged Rep. Watkins with three felonies after he voted in the wrong city council district in a 2019 municipal election and subsequently lied to law enforcement. On July 17, 2020, in accordance with House GOP conference rules, Rep. Watkins stepped down from his committee positions. In August 2020, Rep. Watkins lost in the Kansas primary and will leave Congress in January 2021.
| Jul. 14, 2020 | The district attorney of Shawnee County, KS, charged Rep. Watkins with three felonies. |
| Jul. 17, 2020 | In accordance with House GOP conference rules, Rep. Watkins stepped down from his committee positions. |
| Aug. 4, 2020 | Watkins lost in the Kansas Republican primary. |
![Photo of Rep. Steven Watkins [R-KS2]](/static/legislator-photos/412779-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2019 Report Card for Watkins.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Committee Membership
Steven Watkins sits on the following committees:
Bills Sponsored
Issue Areas
Watkins sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Armed Forces and National Security (43%) Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues (29%) Finance and Financial Sector (29%)
Recent Bills
Some of Watkins’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.R. 6060: Veterans Burial Benefit Correction Act
- H.R. 5537: Conan Commemorative Coin Act
- H.Res. 764: Expressing the support of the House of Representatives for the priorities and goals ...
- H.R. 5029: VA Suicide Prevention Services Act
- H.R. 5030: VA Suicide Prevention Services Accountability Act
- H.R. 4800: Pro-LIFE Act
- H.R. 4267: Independent and Community Bank Shareholders Protection Act
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 2019 to Jul 2020, Watkins missed 9 of 879 roll call votes, which is 1.0%. This is better than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.
We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absenses and major life events.
Primary Sources
The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:
- unitedstates/congress-legislators, a community project gathering congressional information
- The House and Senate websites, for committee membership and voting records
- Office of the Clerk, House of Representatives for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills
