Deadline for filing for federal, state, county office is June 1
- Roger Sims, Journal Staff
- 12 hours ago
- 4 min read
By Roger Sims, Journal staff
MOUND CITY – With the noon filing deadline on Monday, June 1, less than five business days away, the list of candidates for several state and federal offices is growing longer in some but not all cases. Several candidates who are running campaigns have not formally filed with the Kansas Secretary of State’s office in Topeka.
Even the number of people who have signed up for township offices and precinct committee members, and only one person has filed for one of the three Linn County government posts, according to Cheyenne Kern, county elections clerk.
June 1 at noon is also the deadline to change party affiliation for the primary. Party affiliation cannot be changed between June 1 and the Aug. 4 primary. Those who wish to change party affiliation, file to be a precinct committee person for either party or who want to run for county office need to do so at the Linn County Clerk's Office in Mound City.
This is the year that voters in Commission District No. 1 will go to the polls to elect a new commissioner. Incumbent Republican Jason Hightower has not yet filed for reelection.
The county clerk and register of deeds offices are also up for election to fill the unexpired term of former officials who retired without completing their terms in office.
David Lamb, long-time county clerk, retired in January 2025, a couple months after he was reelected to office. The county’s Republican Central Committee voted to have Danielle Souza replace him, however, Souza resigned the post in October 2025 and was replaced current Clerk Chasity Ware.
Ware has not yet filed for election but is intending to file, Kern said.
Register of Deeds Debbie Snyder has filed to run for her post. She was selected by the Republican Central Committee to replace her former boss, Kristy Schmitz, when Schmitz retired last October.
Also up for election are local offices, including precinct committee people for each of Linn County’s precincts. Republican and Democratic voters in each of the county’s 14 precincts select a woman and a man to serve on the respective party’s central committee.
Those who are interested in filing for those seats should go the the Linn County Clerk’s office in the county courthouse in Mound City to register by noon on June 1.
Voters select the precinct committee representatives in the primary election on Aug. 4.
In local races for seats in the Kansas House of Representatives, the incumbent Republicans are the only one to have filed for reelection. Both Rick James, the representative for the 4th District from La Cygne, and Fred Gardner, the 9th District representative from Garnett, have filed for reelection after their freshman term. Both are unopposed.
The 4th District covers all of Linn County except Liberty Township (the Parker area), which is a part of the 9th DistrIct. The 4th district extends south into Bourbon County and the 9th District includes a large part of Anderson County and a strip of townships across southern Miami County.
Renee Slinkard, a Parker Republican, has filed to run for the representative from District 9 on the Kansas State Board of Education. So far the only other person to file for that seat is Destry Brown, a Fort Scott Republican. Slinkard has been a perennial candidate for a seat on the Prairie View school board but has never been elected.
As of Friday, May 20, six Democrats and one Republican have filed to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, who is running for a second six-year term. The Republican who will challenge Marshall in the August primary is Pond Naramore of Lawrence. The six Democrats who have filed for the office are Damon Anderson, Jason Hart, Erik Murray, Kevin Latz, Sandy Spidel Neumann, and Michael Soetaert.
Derek Schmidt of Topeka has filed for a second term as representative from the Kansas 2nd District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. His only competition so far is from fellow Republican Chad Young of Lawrence.
The 2nd District covers almost all of eastern Kansas except the Kansas City metro area and runs from the Oklahoma border north to the Nebraska border.
While several state senators have been jockeying for position in the race for governor and lieutenant governor posts, three candidates have officially filed : Democrats Ethan Corson with running mate Renee Duxler and Cindy Holscher with running mate K.C. Ohaebosim have filed to run for governor and lieutenant governor and Stacy Rogers with Michael Smith have filed on the Republican side.
Two Democrats and two Republicans have filed for the seat that will be vacated by incumbent Scott Schwab for the secretary of state post. Democrats Jennifer Day and Samuel Lane will battle in the Aug. 4 primary to advance to the general elections. The winner of that primary will face either Pat Proctor or Ken Rahjes, Republicans seeking the post.
In the race for attorney general, incumbent Republican Kris Kobach has filed for reelection. At this point, he has no primary opposition. However, Democrat Chris Mann, who narrowly lost to Kobach in 2022, has filed for the office and a rematch could be in the offing.
Current state Commissioner of Insurance Vicki Schmidt has announced that she is running for governor, though she still has not filed. Republican Daniel Hawkins and Democrat Dinah Sykes have both filed for the office.