John M. Simpson (born July 30, 1934) is a former politician and attorney from the U.S. state of Kansas.
He served as a Republican in the Kansas State Senate from 1972 to 1979,[1] before switching parties and unsuccessfully running as a Democrat in the 1980 election for U.S. Senate, challenging Republican incumbent Bob Dole.
Simpson, a resident of Salina, Kansas,[1] was initially appointed to the State Senate representing the 17th district in 1972, after a vacancy occurred following the death of the incumbent Ernest Strahan.
In the 1980 United States Senate election in Kansas, Simpson switched parties and ran as a Democrat against Bob Dole, announcing his campaign in the summer of 1979.
[2] Simpson narrowly won the Democratic Senate primary, taking only 36% of the vote, with 32% for the second-place finisher James Maher.