Wichita council members consider quadrupling campaign donation limits
The Wichita City Council is considering quadrupling campaign contribution limits ahead of the 2027 city elections, when a majority of the council — including the mayor — will be up for election.
The move would allow more campaign cash to flow from maximum contributors directly to candidates for city office amid record-shattering campaign spending in recent city elections. And it could open the door to more partisan influence in local elections.
The existing donation limit for any person, corporation, political action committee, political party or other entity is $500, a limit some donors regularly skirt by stacking donations to candidates from themselves, their spouses and their individual limited liability companies.
On July 21, the council will consider bumping up the limit to $2,000 during a primary election and another $2,000 in the lead-up to a general election.
City Manager Dennis Marstall said Friday during the council’s agenda review that the change was proposed by council members, although he would not say who when asked by council member Maggie Ballard.
Marstall said the increased limits are needed to align the city with a state law passed in 2025.
“This is where we have a little discrepancy between the City Council rules of how much political donations can be made to a campaign versus what the state campaign finance threshold is,” Marstall said. “So this is to try to update that to be in sync with the state. So that again was a conversation that’s been generated from council members.”
The 2025 state law allows candidates in large cities such as Wichita to accept $2,000 donations from each donor during the primary election and another $2,000 during the general election.
It also gives party committees an unprecedented amount of influence over local elections such as Wichita’s, which is technically nonpartisan. State and local political parties can give $2,000 during a contested primary election and an unlimited amount during a general election under the new state limits.
Marstall did not mention any changes to contribution limits for political parties, and a city spokesperson did not say whether city ordinance changes would address it.
The Eagle reported in 2025 that two City Council candidates — Joseph Shepard and Ballard — had accepted more than $500 after the state law change. They returned the money after realizing it was against the city’s campaign finance ordinance.
Marstall did not mention what other changes would be considered to conform with the state law. City Attorney Jennifer Magana previously told The Eagle that the city’s lower limits are “presumptively valid,” from a legal standpoint.