Kansas's four U.S. congressional delegations are all up for elections this year, including the 2nd District that Topeka belongs to where seven candidates are competing for the office.
Each race has candidates from both parties, and Republicans have contested primaries in all but one race. Currently, three Republicans and one Democrat represent Kansas in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The districts include the solidly Republican 1st District and 4th District, as well as the Republican-leaning 2nd District. It's the second congressional election after reappointing legislative borders in 2022 that split Wyandotte County between two districts and transferred Lawrence to a more rural district in what was largely viewed as favoring Republicans.
Here is who is running in Congressional 1st District
Tracey Mann, R-Kan., is running for a third term to Kansas's 1st district, which he's held since now-Sen. Roger Marshall vacated the seat in 2020. The district includes much of the rural western third of the state and the top half of the state snaking its way all the way up to Lawrence, where both of Mann's competitors live.
Mann is facing a contested Republican primary with Eric Bloom challenging him for the party's nomination. Bloom's only other foray into politics was aiding in his father's unsuccessful bid for governor in 2002, and he has yet to build a website or share a news release about his priorities.
The winner will face the sole Democratic challenger Paul Buskirk, of Lawrence, in a district that strongly favors Republicans — with Mann coasting to victory 67.7% to 32.3% in the last election.
Mann served as the 50th lieutenant governor of Kansas under Gov. Jeff Coyler, who himself was lieutenant governor under Sam Brownback and finished Brownback's term after his resignation from the office in 2018 to join the Trump administration.
Mann's website touts his pro-gun, pro-Donald Trump and anti-abortion views on his website, as well as stressing his roots in small towns and agriculture.
Buskirk, who previously ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate, supports abortion rights, waiting periods, safe storage laws and red flag laws for guns, and immigration reform. He's written blog posts decrying political extremism and trying to find "the middle."
Here is who is running in Congressional 2nd District
Rep. Jake LaTurner, R-Kansas, announced he would vacate his seat in April after two terms, leaving an open spot for Democrats and Republicans to compete.
The district includes most of northeast Kansas, parts of the Kansas City metro and east-central Kansas, including Topeka, and southeast Kansas.
Derek Schmidt — former Kansas state senator, Senate majority leader and attorney general — is the most familiar of the five candidates seeking the Republican nomination. His website emphasizes his actions in government to support the southern border, prosecute undocumented immigrants and responding to what he called government overreach during the Obama administration.
Jeff Kahrs is a former LaTurner staffer and public health official, including being appointed by Trump to oversee Region 7 of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which includes Kansas and other Midwestern states. His website affirms his support for Trump, securing the border, lowering the deficit and defending against potential gains from the political left with regard to guns, abortion and gender ideology.
Shawn Tiffany, a central Kansas rancher, is running as a political outsider for the 2nd District. The former Kansas Livestock Association president said that weak career politicians "enabled the Socialist Left and allowed them to push their extreme agenda on Kansans" in his campaign announcement.
Lawrence Republican Chad Young also filed for election but didn't send a news release or share a website with the Secretary of State's Office.
Michael Ogle, a Topeka Republican, also hasn't shared campaign information online but did speak with KSNT about his past felony convictions.
On the Democratic side, former 2nd District Rep. Nancy Boyda and former University of Kansas basketball player and community developer Matt Kleinmann are seeking the nomination.
Boyda served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives and said her campaign is in response to growing divisions in the country. Kleinmann said he's focusing on better wages and improved health care in a campaign ad.
Boyda is the only Democrat to have represented the 2nd District in the past 30 years, but races tend to be closer than in the more-conservative 1st and 4th districts. In 2022, LaTurner won with 57.6% of the vote.
Here is who is running in Congressional 3rd District
Incumbent Sharice Davids, who is Kansas's only Democratic representative elected to federal office, is seeking a fourth term in Washington after flipping the district in 2018. She's unchallenged in the Democratic primary and has maintained a consistent margin of victory in despite the district being drawn less favorably for Democrats in 2022.
Davids said her top issues while in office have been lowering the cost of living and bringing jobs and economic opportunities to Kansas.
Two people are competing for the Republican nomination, small business owner Karen Crnkovich and Prasanth Reddy. Both candidates campaign materials signal a moderate approach while maintaining Republican values.
Here is who is running in Congressional 4th District
Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kansas, is running for a fourth full term representing south-central Kansas, which he's held consecutively after winning an election to fill the remainder of former congressman Mike Pompeo's term.
Estes' campaign material promote a conservative approach to the federal budget, taxes and guns, and advocates for reduced regulations to spur economic growth and replacing the Affordable Care Act.
His Democratic opponent is Esau Freeman, a Wichita union representative who is campaigning on defending and expanding the Affordable Care Act, gun safety laws, decriminalization of cannabis, abortion access and reforming taxes to reduce the burden on working families.
The district favors Republicans.
