Riley County Republican candidates host public forum ahead of Aug. primary

Riley County Republican Candidates visited Manhattan Tuesday night as they met with the public inside Pottorf Hall. Several candidates from different districts attended the event where they spoke to residents about the most pressing issues to Kansans.

Current House District 51 member Kenny Titus, who is currently running for the state Senate in district 18, highlighted several points from his two years including revamping the state’s water systems.

“We went from $8 million a year to almost $50 million a year in invested water system development. And a big chunk of that money goes to help me nipple water systems. So that’s money that’s not coming out of your property tax,” Titus said. “We’re helping water systems storm drainage sewage. There’s opportunity for all of that we put in factors especially to help smaller towns that have struggled.”

He also emphasized the contrast between his priorities versus Governor Kelly’s, saying

“Republicans tried to cut a lot of taxes, and we’ve controlled spending. What has the governor’s position been? She set an arbitrary cap on how much we can cut in taxes. And her budget at the start of last year increased state spending by $1.8 billion. That’s the entire rainy day fund that we had saved over the last five years of economic progress. She wanted to spend all of that in one year.”

Titus also stressed the importance of electing “conservative fighters” to push back against the current administration’s policies.

Eli Kormanik and Megan Steele will battle to replace Kenny Titus for the House District 51 spot in the state legislature.

Kormanik, an Alta-Vista native, said that he will prioritize small businesses and the local economy if elected. “I think that less government is the best government. And I think that that primarily applies to small businesses,” he said. “We have overbearing regulations and some of the highest taxes in the area. And so whatever we can do to lower taxes, lower that burden on those small businesses, which I think are kind of the bedrock of our local communities.”

Both candidates expressed their strong desire to improve the public school system and Megan Steele added that healthcare across the state needs to be improved, especially in rural areas, saying “As a nurse it’s absolutely disheartening the care that some people are receiving and we need to do something about that. It’s alarming.”

Steele added that her family, the bible, and the constitution are the three main driving forces in her decisions.

House District 51 includes Wabaunsee County, parts of Pottawatomie, and southeast Riley county.

Former Riley County USD 378 superintendent Brad Starnes is running for the district 22 seat in the state senate, which is currently held by Usha Reddi who has held that role since Sen. Tom Hawk’s retirement in late 2022.

Starnes said he’s running on four key campaign planks: education, freedom of liberties, fiscal responsibility and economic and workforce development.

He was also the lone Republican to advocate for improvements to mental health services.

“I just think we have a responsibility to help the most vulnerable,” he said. “A lot of people go well, that’s not the government’s responsibility. And I understand that to a point. But it is in the Kansas constitution that we should take care of the most vulnerable. So let’s follow the Constitution, we need to take care of them.”

Starnes looks forward to an issue-based campaign and having productive conversations with voters about the future of Kansas.

“I don’t care what side you’re on, Republican, Democrat, Independent, Libertarian, or whatever age are, I mean, we can agree on 90% of the things that are out there, and they’re important, but we get hung up on little things. We need to have this compromise and work together to get stuff done.”

The last time a Republican won the 22nd district was in 2008 when Roger Reitz was re-elected.

Rep. Mike Dodson decided not to run for reelection in the 67th legislative district, and Republican candidates Kaleb James and Angel Roeser will compete for the seat.

Roeser grew up in the foster care system in Lincoln, Nebraska. There, she said she developed “a love for policy” by representing the local school board and the state school board association as a student ambassador in Washington, D.C.

She supports the military community, and wants to improve conditions for local seniors.

“I believe in supporting our senior community,” said Roeser, They could benefit a lot from some tax relief. I’ve been knocking doors every day. And I see it every day, what I do is help raise the quality of life in senior slides. So helping into pica to make policy that fits Manhattan’s unique niche in regards to that policy for our senior community is incredibly important to me.”

Roeser is a business development strategist with Flint Hills Pain Management and a pillar chair for HYPE, the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce’s young professionals’ program.

Kaleb James frequently has sought public office in the past by running four times for the Manhattan City Commission from 2015 to 2021

James wants lower taxes and less government oversight into local affairs. He believes the state government needs to be more financially responsible, saying…

“part of my job is to find efficiencies, find where things are failing. And I can think of no greater place to use that skill set than the government. There’s a lot of failure and inefficiency in the government.”

Democrat Kim Zito will challenge the two Republicans for the district which covers the west side of Manhattan.