Two federal seats, U.S. Senate and the U.S. House, are on the ballot on Tuesday, Aug. 2.
Incumbent Sen. Jerry Moran, 62, a conservative Republican who was born in Great Bend, Kan., and whose home is in Hays, Kan., was elected in 2010. Previously, he was a member of the U.S. House from the 1st District in 1996, serving six terms.
Moran served as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2013, and Republicans gained a majority of the Senate then.
He is a graduate of the University of Kansas and the University of Kansas School of Law.
D.J. Smith of Osawatomie, Kan., is running against Moran in the Republican primary. Smith also ran in 2014 for the U.S. Senate against Pat Roberts.
Smith formerly served on the Osawatomie City Council.
Patrick Wiesner is the leading Democratic contender for the U.S. Senate.
Wiesner, whose home is in Lawrence, Kan., grew up on a farm near Ellis, Kan.
Wiesner holds a bachelor’s degree in business in accounting and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Fort Hays State University, a Master of Business Administration from Fort Hays State University and a law degree from the University of Kansas.
Wiesner served more than 21 years in the reserves, and retired in 2014 as a U.S. Army Reserve judge advocate, with the rank of major. In the military, he handled government contract and fiscal law. He was deployed twice in Iraq and once in Afghanistan.
Wiesner had a CPA business in Hays, and then after he received his law degree, he opened a law firm in Overland Park. The law firm handles bankruptcy, tax and business law.
Two of Wiesner’s main issues, according to his campaign information, are paying off the federal government’s debt and also ending lobbyist influence in the Senate.
Monique Singh is also running for the Democratic nomination for Senate.
She is a Kansas City, Kan., resident who said she would be a “voice from the trenches,” representing poverty-stricken Americans. She added she is concerned about children and education, reducing recidivism, health and mental health issues, and senior citizens’ issues.
She is a native of Topeka, Kan., who moved here several years ago.
The U.S. Senate candidates did not attend a July 12 forum at Kansas City Kansas Community College. One candidate, Wiesner, sent a representative to speak on his behalf.
U.S. House of Representatives, 3rd District
Leading candidates for the U.S. House contest are incumbent Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-3rd Dist., and Jay Sidie, a Democrat from Mission Woods.
Yoder has been elected to the 3rd District since 2011. His home is in Overland Park, Kan., and he is a native of the Yoder, Kan., area, and attended school in Hutchinson, Kan.
He has a bachelor’s degree in political science and English from the University of Kansas, anda law degree from KU. He practiced law in Olathe, Kan., and served as a state representative for eight years from Leawood and Overland Park before being elected to the 3rd District.
His goals in the U.S. House are to balance the budget, reduce the national debt and stimulate job growth.
Republican challenger Greg Goode has a military background and is running on a platform to “vote the political class out.”
Goode, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who lives in Louisburg, Kan., was at the July 12 forum. “The voters have not had a choice since 2010,” he said. “The voters deserve a choice.”
Goode said his top issue would be to “stop the insane spending.” His second top issue is pro-life, he said.
Jay Sidie, of Mission Woods, Kan., is considered by many to be the leading Democratic challenger to Yoder.
Sidie had raised the most campaign funds of the Democratic candidates as of the last reporting period.
Sidie grew up in Grand Forks, N.D., and received a bachelor’s degree in agriculture business administration from the University of Minnesota, which he attended on a track scholarship.
As a student he worked at the Minneapolis Grain Exchange. After graduation, he went to work as a commodity trader for Archer Daniels Midland Co., becoming vice president after five years.
He moved to this area to head the ADM office at the Kansas City Board of Trade. While working, he earned a Master of Business Administration degree. Currently, he owns a small investment firm in Mission Woods.
According to his campaign information, Sidie is in favor of balancing the budget, protecting Social Security, Wall Street reform, equal pay for women, and growing good-paying local jobs.
Sidie has the endorsement of the Kansas AFL-CIO.
Nathaniel McLaughlin, a resident of Kansas City, Kan., said at the July 12 forum that he wants to assure America remains second to none in gross national output, education, health and defense.
He wants to make sure Americans have access to affordable health care, and he wants Social Security to remain strong. He is also pro-labor.
McLaughlin, a businessman, said Social Security, programs for senior citizens, education and the military should be spared budget cuts, but all other departments should be cut 1 percent annually for eight years.
McLaughlin is a past president of the Kansas City, Kan., NAACP and the Kansas State NAACP, has served as the chairman of the Wyandotte County Black Democrats Caucus and also has been a commissioner from 2005 to 2011 of the Kansas City, Kan., Housing Authority Board.
Reggie Marselus of Lenexa, Kan., also is a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate.
According to his campaign information, Marselus favors job creation, maintaining Social Security, health care for everyone, and easy access to high-quality education.
Marselus, a member of the IBEW, worked as a journeyman wireman for 32 years before retirement. He is a delegate to the Tri-County Labor Council. He has been active in his church many years as a church organist, Sunday school teacher and deacon.
Only two of the five candidates for U.S. House, 3rd District, Greg Goode and Nathaniel McLaughlin, attended a July 12 candidates’ forum at KCKCC.
https://wyandotteonline.com/candidates-hold-widely-varying-views-in-3rd-district-u-s-house-contest/
For more information on the candidates, visit
http://www.wiesnerforsenate.com/
https://wyandotteonline.com/kck-candidate-for-u-s-senate-promises-to-be-a-voice-from-the-trenches-of-poverty/ and https://www.facebook.com/Monique-Singh-Bey-for-Senate-1014687671910923/
http://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/152926/dj-smith#.V6CPUaNTFok
http://www.yoderforcongress.com/
http://goodeforcongress.com/
http://www.jay4congress.com/
http://nmclaughlinforcongress.com/
http://www.reggieforcongress.com/