time in the 5th District. Democratic incumbent Martha Keys was re-elected in the 2nd District, beating Ross Freeman. Democrat Dan Glickman defeated 8-term incumbent Republican Garner Shriver in the 4th District. Kansas Senate: Republicans won 21 seats, a net loss of 6 seats since the 1972 election. The Senate elected Ross Doyen as Senate President and Norman Gaar as Majority Leader. Kansas House: Republicans lost the majority in the House to the Democrats for only the second time in Kansas history, winning only 60 seats, a net loss of 12. State Party: In January 1977, the State Committee re-elected Jack Ranson as chair. Huck Boyd was re-elected as National Committeeman. Major reduction in party patronage (1975–1980s) A profound change for party power and influence in Kansas was the substantial reduction in the extent of political patronage, that is, the practice of elected officials filling government positions with political allies of his or her own choosing. From the party's perspective, the reduction in party patronage, materially reduced the power and influence of the county chair position, which, in-turn, weakened the entire party organization. In Kansas, since the 1860s, newly elected officials had always had broad discretion in the hiring of state and local employees and used this power to reward political allies. Elected officials would work with and on the recommendation of local county party chairs. The patronage system not only rewarded political supporters for past support, it also encouraged future support, because persons who have a patronage job try to retain it by campaigning for the party at the next election. Patronage maintained strong political organizations by offering campaign workers rewards. More importantly, patronage put people into government who agreed with the political agenda of the victor. Cooperation, loyalty, and trust flowed from this arrangement. The issue surrounding patronage was not whether elected officials should have the discretion to hire certain government employees, but how far down the organizational chain that power should extend. Too far down the chain could result in inefficiency and too little created a class of state bureaucrats unresponsive to the officials elected by the people. Over time, Kansas civil service reforms had reduced the extent of patronage, up to the early 1970s it was still common, politically astute, and a generally accepted practice. The substantial reduction in patronage from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s was a result of post-Watergate reforms. Governor Bennett remarked that