Finney County Commissioner William Clifford announced his candidacy for Congress in the Kansas 1st District late Thursday morning.
Clifford joins a field that already includes former Lt. Gov. Tracey Mann and is expected to grow in the coming weeks.
“As father of six, I am concerned that if we don’t change course now, the America we know and love may not be there for our children and grandchildren,” Clifford said in statement
“Like most Kansans, I am appalled at what is happening in Washington today. After much consideration, I am compelled to represent the people of Kansas,” he said.
“Just like I did 43 years ago when I joined the Air Force, I pledge to defend the values that make this country great and stand up for our Kansas way of life.”
Clifford, a 1976 U.S. Air Force Academy graduate who flew F-15s in Germany, was first elected to the Finney County Commission in 2014 and just won a second term last year. He also served on the Garden City Community College Board of Trustees.
His wife, Jean, is a member of the Kansas Board of Education.
The Garden City ophthalmologist said in an interview last week that he had done “plenty of soul searching” as he considered a run for the Big First, which is now open for the first time since 2010 with Roger Marshall’s announcement that he’s running for the U.S. Senate.
Clifford noted that he’s already involved politically, both as a Finney County commissioner and as an eye doctor who advocates for patients as a trustee for the American Academy of Opthalmology. “It’s a very attractive opportunity for me,” he said.
The 1st District seat doesn’t come open very often. Congressman Tim Huelskamp held the seat from 2011 to 2016 before losing to Marshall.
Moran represented the district for 14 years before he was elected to the Senate in 2010 and Pat Roberts for 16 years before that.
Clifford is one of many Republican names that have been mentioned as a possible candidate to replace Marshall in Congress.
State Rep. Troy Waymaster said he is nearly 100% decided that he will run although he his not ready to announce anything soon.
Meanwhile state Reps. Steven Johnson and Ken Rahjes as well as National Rifle Association lobbyist Travis Couture-Lovelady said they are looking at the race although to what degree is still uncertain.
On the Democratic side, elementary school teacher Kali Barnett is running for the seat.
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.
From 1994 to 1995 he served on staff at the King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in the Glaucoma Division.
He has been with the Fry Eye Associates since 1995.
