Kansas House primary races in Johnson County reflect divided GOP

The Republican caucus in the Kansas House is rarely one big happy family.

And the Aug. 7 primary once again shows the divisions in a GOP body split between moderates and conservatives, often with drastically differing views on taxes, school funding and Medicaid expansion.

Moderate Republicans who offered stinging rebukes to Sam Brownback in his final days as governor now find themselves on the ballot again. They face criticism from some for raising taxes. For others, those votes are seen as necessary to roll back Brownback’s deep 2012 tax cuts and stabilize the state’s finances.

In other races, House seats left vacant by Republicans have given both sides of the GOP, and even Democrats, a chance to gain a stronger foothold this fall.

The 2019 Legislature will face a heavy lift almost immediately, dealing once again with school finance after the Kansas Supreme Court kicked the latest legislation back to the Statehouse for further revision.

Here are some of the key primary races:

8th District

Rep. Patty Markley, a moderate Republican, is facing off with military veteran Chris Croft in this district, which includes part of Olathe and Overland Park.

Markley, who voted to roll back the Brownback tax cuts and voted for Medicaid expansion, said she is focusing her campaign on public education, transparency and budget stability.

“I think it will come down to whether people want the policies that we have instituted the past few years, the change that we’ve done to move the state forward, if people want to continue that,” she said. “Or if they want to go back to Brownback era. It’s pretty much that simple.”

Croft, who recently retired from the Army and has lived in Overland Park since April, is running against Markley in the Republican primary. He had earlier lived on base at Fort Leavenworth said he wanted to continue to serve even after retiring from the military.

Being in government for the last 30 years, he said, he has seen how it “can kind of expand and get out of control.”

“You’ve got to get expenses under control,” Croft said. “... There’s efficiencies to be gained. What I’ve found in the military is that sometimes when you restrict a little bit, you actually become more efficient while still providing the same services.”

27th District

Rep. Sean Tarwater, a Stilwell Republican who took the seat once held by former House speaker and stalwart conservative Ray Merrick, often found himself divided between the moderate and conservative wings in his first term.

He now faces primary challengers from either side of the party.

Tarwater, a member of the House budget committee, was among the Republicans who voted to override Brownback’s veto of the 2017 tax increase, essentially ending his earlier tax cuts.

Tarwater said he’s listened to the voters and done exactly what they asked, and that’s why they should send him back to Topeka.

“All I heard last time was, ‘Fix the schools, fix the tax plan, make it fair,’ ” Tarwater said. “... I did do that.”

Candidate Karen Snyder, a Leawood attorney who works on juvenile cases involving children in need of care, said she supports Medicaid expansion and “common sense gun restrictions.”

She said her main issue is the state’s budget and “the fact that we need to continue digging out of the hole that the Brownback tax experiment has created for our state.”

Rochelle Bird is also running for Tarwater’s seat. She declined a phone interview but did provide answers by email.

“I am an Authentic Conservative,” Bird wrote. “While others claim to be whatever the voters want to hear during an election, I am consistent in my values and putting the people first.”

On her campaign website, Bird says, “Our constitutional freedoms, values, and principles are under daily attack.”

“Topeka loves taxes, raising them retroactively on families and small businesses,” her website says. “... Enough is enough – let’s keep our pocketbooks safe from politicians!”

28th District

A vocal first-term moderate has found herself on the defensive in a Leawood district as she faces a conservative challenger in Tuesday’s primary.

Rep. Joy Koesten, a moderate Republican, unseated a conservative incumbent in 2016 Republican primary.

Since then, she’s been a frequent and vocal voice on the party’s moderate side. She also has been critical of Brownback’s tenure in Topeka. Koesten said she’s campaigning this summer on stabilizing the budget and making sure “we don’t go back to reckless tax policy.”

Koesten also was among the moderates who voted to roll back Brownback’s tax cuts and expand Medicaid.

“I stand by my record,” she said. “And I know that I’m not for everyone, but I believe that the majority of the people in my district are happy with what I have done and how I’ve represented what they want.”

Kellie Warren, a Leawood attorney, is challenging Koesten from the right.

On her campaign website, Warren says she opposes Medicaid expansion, and she criticizes Koesten’s vote to roll back Brownback’s tax cuts.

She also calls for added transparency and bringing back the role of state auditor, and she says the state must “respect taxpayers.”

In an email to The Star, Warren said, “I’m an authentic Republican who believes in fiscal accountability, limited government, individual freedom and responsibility, supporting families and businesses, and being transparent about who you are.”

30th District

Two primaries in the 30th District, which includes part of Lenexa and Olathe, will help decide who gets a seat now held by Rep. Randy Powell, one of the most conservative members of the House.

On the Republican side, Powell, who announced in June that he would not run for re-election, has endorsed Wendy Bingesser.

“I really like Randy’s values,” Bingesser said. She added: “I am a conservative ... typical Republican.”

Bingesser said some of her top priorities are cancer education, health care research and tax reform. She also said she’s upset with the state’s sales tax on food.

Her primary opponent, Colleen Webster, a teacher, said school finance issues played a key role in her interest in running for office.

“Somebody needs to go down there with some common sense and somebody needs to fight for public schools,” she said.

In the district’s Democratic primary, two men are competing in race that could result in one of them becoming the first openly gay member of the Kansas Legislature.

Brandon Woodard of Lenexa and Matthew Calcara of Olathe share liberal views but differ on their extent of a Democratic vision for the state.

Woodard said he’s focusing on lowering, or even eliminating, the sales tax on food. The other main tenets of his campaign are investing in education and expanding Medicaid.

“Investing in public (education) is the most important and pressing issue,” he said.

Calcara, who identifies as a progressive, said he supports free universal pre-kindergarten for 3- and 4-year-olds and said he’s trying to lay the groundwork for Medicare for all in Kansas.

“I believe health care is a right,” Calcara said. “Not a privilege.”