More than 250 Republicans and Democrats file as candidates for August primary
By:Baya Burgess
Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — A city commissioner running for a Kansas House seat says he has felt called to public service for most of his life.
“I was in law enforcement for a while, and I went into active duty for the National Guard. It’s just part of who I am,” said DJ Perry, a Pittsburg Republican, after officially filing at the Secretary of State’s Office on Monday, the filing deadline.
Voters in Pittsburg elected Perry as a commissioner last year. He said he plans to keep his city position even if he is elected to the House.
Perry brought his friend Jacob Cochran, chair of the Crawford County Republican Party, with him to sign the paperwork and pay the filing fee.
“He’s a good friend. He kind of showed me the ropes,” Perry said.
By the time Secretary of State Scott Schwab sounded the gavel to mark closure of the filing period, more than 250 Republicans and Democrats had filed paperwork to appear on ballots for the Aug. 4 primary election. More than 30 candidates are running unopposed in their district.
Zach Maier, a Lake Quivira Democrat and the owner of a consulting company, doesn’t have a primary challenger. He also filed for the first time as a candidate for Kansas House.
He said he wants to be an advocate for raising state funding of K-12 public schools. He has two daughters ages 2 and 4.
“My girls are gonna be in public school for the next 15 years, so that’s the big one. I was a public school kid myself,” Maier said.
Maier is the only Democrat running for the House seat against Republican Rep. Angela Stiens of Shawnee, who has held the position since 2024.
Perry, the Pittsburg Republican, is seeking to represent the district served for the past six years by Rep. Chuck Smith, who is retiring from the Legislature. Smith was among those who asked Perry to campaign for the House seat.
Smith drove from Pittsburg to Topeka to formally withdraw his name from the ballot. He arrived moments before the noon deadline.
“One hundred seventy miles and 10 minutes to spare,” Smith informed officials with the Secretary of State’s Office.
He said serving eight years in the Legislature was an intriguing capstone to his career.
“I enjoyed it. I’ll miss it,” he said.
Democrat Bonita Gooch of Wichita filed to challenge incumbent Democratic Rep. Ford Carr for a House seat representing the Wichita area, which Carr has held since 2022.
Gooch is editor in chief and owner of the Community Voice, a newspaper based in Wichita focused on African-American communities in Kansas and Kansas City. She declined to comment about her candidacy.
John Burke, a retired teacher and superintendent of the Haysville school district, filed to run for a House seat representing a portion of west Wichita. He ran unsuccessfully in the past, but was urged to run by Rep. KC Ohaebosim, D-Wichita.
Ohaebosim isn’t seeking reelection to the Legislature so he can be the running mate for Sen. Cindy Holscher, a Johnson County Democrat running for governor.
“I was at the Big Slick in Kansas City, and my phone rang,” Burke said. “KC called me and asked if I would run. He said, ‘Deadline is Monday. What do you think?’ And I said, ‘sure.’ ”