Republican state Rep. Bill Clifford is running for the state Senate, seeking a seat that incumbent John Doll anticipates leaving at the end of next year.
Doll said he is all but assured of not running for a third term representing Senate District 39, which includes his hometown of Garden City.
“Like John, I am pretty much a localist and I think the voters of the 39th respond very well to that,” Clifford said in an interview Monday afternoon.
When asked about his future, Doll said, “You never say never,” but he’s “pretty certain” he’s not running. He said he’s a strong believer in term limits.
“This will be eight years in the Senate,” he said. “I think it’s time to go home.”
The entire state Senate is up for election next year.
Longtime state Dennis Pyle is already facing primary opposition from state Rep. John Eplee of Atchison and Craig Bowser, who previously ran unsuccessfully for the state Senate against Democrat Tom Hawk.
Clifford now represents the 122nd District, which covers part of Hodgeman, Kearny, Edwards, Finney and Pawnee counties.
He’s represented the district since 2021 when Republican precinct leaders picked him to replace the late state Rep. Russ Jennings in the Legislature.
Last year, Clifford defeated Republican primary challenger Corinne Wray with 82% of the vote. He was unopposed in the general election.
The newly drawn 39th Senate district was carried by Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt in the 2022 governor’s race with 65% of the vote.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly received 31% of the vote in that district, while independent candidate and state Sen. Dennis Pyle received 2.7%.
Two years ago, Clifford lost to Congressman Tracey Mann in the Republican primary for the 1st Congressional District, finishing second in a four-person field.
Clifford is a 1976 U.S. Air Force Academy graduate who flew F-15s in Germany.
He also has served on the Finney County Commission and the Garden City Community College Board of Trustees.
Clifford left military service in 1983 to attend medical school at the University of Southern California.
He completed an internship at the University of Utah and residency and fellowship training in glaucoma and cornea/refractive surgery at the Dean McGee Eye Institute in Oklahoma City.
