While there aren't a lot of local elections that are garnering attention this election cycle, there are some races for the Kansas legislature that are important to Manhattan area residents.
As we usually do, the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce asked candidates for these seats to answer some questions on topics important to our overall mission of economic prosperity and growth. We had 100 percent participation from these candidates. We want to extend our appreciation to these candidates for taking time to respond to us, knowing that these issues are important to our 900+ members.
You can find the questionnaires here.
The contested races in the Manhattan region include:
District 64 House of Representatives - Clay Center Republican Lewis "Bill" Bloom defeated incumbent Suzi Carlson in the primary. He will face Democrat Patricia Smetana in the general election.
District 67 House of Representatives - Republican incumbent Mike Dodson will face Democrat Kim Zito in the general election.
While these are the only two contested races, we also provided an opportunity for uncontested candidates to respond to the same questions. Both of them have participated and their responses are included for your consideration. These include District 51 Republican candidate Kenny Titus and District 66 Representative Sydney Carlin, a Democrat.