A former state official who worked for three Kansas governors launched a campaign Tuesday for House District 29 in Overland Park.
David Soffer, who worked in the administrations of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and former Republican Govs. Jeff Colyer and Sam Brownback, filed to run as a Republican against state Rep. Heather Meyer.
A New York native, Soffer went to work in the Commerce Department as director of marketing and research in 2017 when Brownback was governor.
He later moved over to the governor’s office, where he was a special assistant to Colyer.
He moved back over to Commerce after Kelly was elected governor.
One of his first tasks was working to get David Toland confirmed as the agency’s secretary in what proved to be a successful but politically difficult fight.
Soffer also helped win renewal of multiple state incentive programs, funding for small business grants as well as broadband funding.
A graduate of the University of Albany in New York, Soffer currently serves as director of business development for a fiber broadband provider.
Kansans “need common sense leaders who will roll-up their sleeves and achieve real, lasting solutions. I have a demonstrated track record of being able to do just that,” Soffer said in a statement.
“When Kansans are facing $4 a gallon gasoline, sky-high food prices and seeing the cost of literally everything they purchase increase – they demand action. I’m not content to just sit on the sidelines and watch.
“I’ll work every day to lower the cost of your grocery bill and ensure our state’s economy grows the jobs of tomorrow”
Soffer seeks to unseat Meyer, who was picked by precinct committee leaders last year to replace former state Rep. Brett Parker of Overland Park.
Meyer sent out a fundraising email late Tuesday afternoon under the headline, “The Brownback gang is at it again.”
“As a native Kansan, and someone who began her career in social work while Brownback was our governor, I saw firsthand how devastating the policies of that administration were for our hardworking, everyday Kansans,” Meyer said in the email.
“I know that those values do not represent our district’s shared priorities and I have shown how important it is to have responsive representation by voting to Axe the Food Sales Tax and fully fund our Public Schools.”
Meyer ran for the seat in 2014 and lost to former Republican state Rep. James Todd of Overland Park with 45.7% of the vote.
Meyer said in an interview last year that she ran in 2014 because she was angry about the state’s direction under former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback.
“I felt it was my duty as a citizen to really put myself out there and represent the people as well as I could,” she said.
The district didn’t change substantially after the Legislature redrew election boundaries earlier this year.
The district is about 39% Republican, 26% unaffiliated and 34% Democrat.
Data compiled by Wichita State University political scientist Brian Amos shows that about 40% of the district would go for former President Donald Trump.
