Former top aide to LaTurner enters Kansas Republican race to replace old boss in Congress

After Rep. Jake LaTurner said he won’t seek reelection, a former top aide is now running to replace him.

Jeff Kahrs, until recently a senior adviser and district director for LaTurner, announced his campaign for Kansas’ 2nd Congressional District on Thursday, a week after LaTurner stunned Kansas Republicans with his decision, citing a desire to pursue other opportunities and spend time with family.

“I’m running for Congress for the same reason that Congressman Jake LaTurner is leaving – my family,” Kahrs said in a statement. “I want to leave this country better than I found it for my children, and we’ve got work to do.”

Kahrs was previously a regional director in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the Trump administration. He was also a deputy secretary and chief of staff in the Kansas Department for Children and Families under the Brownback administration.

In his announcement, Kahrs ran through a litany of GOP priorities, including inflation, border security, debt and a “culture that celebrates the mutilation and abortion of children.”

“We need a congressman who will love their neighbors enough to take the tough votes to protect the future of Kansas and our nation. That’s why I’m running for Congress,” Kahrs said.

Kahrs is among the first candidates to formally jump in the race. On Thursday, Shawn Tiffany, a former Kansas Livestock Association president from Herington, also indicated he will campaign. He wrote on social media that “I am looking forward to earning the right to serve the people of Kansas’s 2nd district!”

The district spans much of eastern Kansas and includes Topeka, Leavenworth and northern Wyandotte County.

It remains unclear whether LaTurner will endorse in the race. Last week, the conservative activist Matt Schlapp, who chairs the American Conservative Union, said the 2nd District would be well served if Kahrs ran.

“Jeff is a strong conservative and a fighter. And he would win,” Schlapp wrote on social media.

Other potential candidates include former Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, state Sens. Caryn Tyson and Dennis Pyle, along with Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson. Kansas House Majority Leader Chris Croft, who had been weighing a run, took himself out of consideration on Thursday.

No Democrats are currently in the race after candidate Eli Woody suspended his campaign earlier this year to run for a state legislative seat.