Mike Thompson (Kansas politician)


Mike Thompson is an American politician, meteorologist and weather forecaster currently serving as a member of the Kansas Senate representing the 10th Senate District in Johnson County, Kansas. He was appointed to the Senate in January 2020 by Republican Party precinct committee members in the 10th District following the resignation of Mary Pilcher-Cook, and took office on January 21, 2020, following a formal appointment by Governor Laura Kelly.
Thompson was a longtime weather forecaster for television stations in the Kansas City television market. He was the chief meteorologist for WDAF-TV in Kansas City from January 1992 to December 2018. Prior to WDAF-TV, he was the chief meteorologist for KCTV from 1983 to 1992 as well as a meteorologist for KOKH-TV and KWTV in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and WPCQ-TV in Charlotte, North Carolina. He studied meteorology in the United States Navy and was a Navy weather forecaster. He grew up in Burlington, Kansas and was born in Wichita. Thompson currently operates a speaking and weather consulting business in the Kansas City region and resides in Shawnee, Kansas.
Thompson was chosen for his seat in the Kansas Senate by Republican Party precinct committeepersons in Johnson County to complete the final year on Pilcher-Cook's term. He faces an August 2020 Republican primary challenge from Republican state Representative Tom Cox in a campaign for a full four-year term in the Senate. Democratic Shawnee Councilwoman Lindsey Constance was not challenged for the Democratic nomination for the Senate seat.
Explaining his vote to deny former federal public defender Carl Folsom an appointment to the state court of appeals, Thompson the weatherman said, "This is not a place for on-the-job training. This is a situation where, if you make a bad decision, it affects someone's life." Four District Attorneys signed a statementhttps://www.cjonline.com/news/20200603/kansas-senate-swiftly-rejects-gov-laura-kellyrsquos-nominee-for-court-of-appeals Kansas Senate swiftly rejects Gov. Laura Kelly’s nomination that disputed the senate's complaint, extolling Folsom's qualifications.
2019-2020 Kansas Senate Committee Assignments