(Updated to reflect that Jercha no longer works for Burns & McDonnell, comments from Jercha and Warren with edits throughout)
Democrats have a candidate lined up to go against Republican state Rep. Kellie Warren in Kansas House District 28.
Sally Jercha, a community volunteer in southern Johnson County, has appointed a treasurer for a House campaign next year. She also has campaign website created as well at sally4ks.com.
The treasurer’s name should sound familiar, it’s Sylvia Williams who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in the 3rd District last year.
Jercha has a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Southern California and a master’s in business administration from the University of California at Los Angeles. She previously worked in business development for the engineering firm, Burns & McDonnell.
Jercha, who just became a Democrat in August, said she was driven to run by the back-to-back mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton last month.
She had considered running for office before, but those shootings finally led her take the political dive.
“It was the shootings that put me over the edge and knowing that my kids have to live in fear of incidences at their school,” Jercha said in an interview. “It was very meaningful to me and led me to run.”
Jercha supports tighter regulations on guns, including universal background checks and bans on bump stocks. She also opposes arming teachers in schools.
She also supports so-called “red flag” laws that permit police or family members to petition a state court to remove firearms from someone who may present a danger to others or themselves.
“The thing that concerns me the most is gun safety,” she said. “I’m here to protect my children, our district’s children and our state’s children.”
Jercha said one reason she left the Republican Party was because the state platform includes a provision that calls for allowing teachers to be armed if they go through training and are certified to carry a gun.
“I am completely against that,” she said. “After realizing that was part of the platform, it was easy to make the choice.”
In a statement, Warren criticized Jercha for changing parties, suggesting that the Democrat is not being transparent with voters.
Warren said her top priority as a lawmaker was solving the school funding issue that was ultimately settled by the Supreme Court this year. She supported the funding bill that the court ultimately signed off on this year.
“I am currently walking my district surveying the opinions of my constitutents, listening and sharing ideas,” she said in a statement. “That’s who I am and the way I will continue to lead.”
Warren is now in her first term representing House District 28 after she defeated former state Rep. Joy Koesten in the GOP primary last year with 58% of the vote. She won the general election with 56% of the vote.
Fifty three percent of House District 28 is Republican while 19% is Democratic. Twenty-seven percent is unaffiliated.
The district covers parts of Leawood and Overland Park with a portion of the district rubbing up against the state line.
“I’m going to build a coalition of independent, Republicans and Democrats to get elected,” Jercha said in an interview. “I believe they feel just as strong as I do on the issues I’m talking about.”
The district has been reliably red over the years.
It was carried by President Donald Trump with 52% of the vote in 2016, former Gov. Sam Brownback with 58% of the vote in 2014 and Mitt Romney with 67% of the vote in 2012.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly carried the district last year, but with just about 50% the vote. Former Secretary of State Kris Kobach received about 43% of the vote in the district last year.
Warren finished 2018 with $3,451 in the bank.
