(Updated to include comment from Democrats and Republicans)
Democrats are turning to a legal star who prosecuted the BTK serial killer to capture a state Senate seat that has been held by Senate President Susan Wagle for 20 years.
Former Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston on Monday announced she would run for the Senate seat that will come open with Wagle running for the U.S. Senate this year.
Foulston’s candidacy is considered a game-changer for a district that Wagle has represented since 2000, given the prosecutor’s record of putting away some of the county’s most dangerous criminals, including BTK serial killer Dennis Rader.
She also won a conviction against Scott Roeder for the 2009 fatal shooting of abortion provider George Tiller and prosecuted Reginald and Jonathan Carr for a 2000 murder spree.
Additionally, she helped successfully defend the state’s death penalty statute before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2006.
“I had the responsibility to our hard-working women, men and children to keep them safe from harm,” Foulston said in a statement.
“I will treat my role in the Kansas Senate with the same enthusiasm and dedication. I will be working to pass responsible policies for the people of Senate District 30, and for all Kansans.”
Foulston, who served as the Sedgwick County district attorney for 24 years, is believed to be able to draw Republican and Democratic voters because of her high-profile law enforcement background.
Foulston’s candidacy is believed to put a district in play that has generally been considered a slam dunk for Republicans over the years.
Wagle has won five elections in the district, none by less than 55%.
Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley said Foulston represents a different kind of candidate running for the seat.
He believes that she will play well with moderate Republicans who will cross over to vote for her.
“We just didn’t have a candidate who was strong enough to beat Susan Wagle. I think Nola Foulston could beat Susan Wagle, quite frankly,” he said.
“For our past candidates who had all the strikes against them, Nola really has most of the issues in her favor.”
Republican state Rep. Renee Erickson announced her candidacy last year with an endorsement from Wagle. She could not be reached for comment.con
GOP consultant Jared Suhn played down Foulston’s candidacy.
“Foulston’s liberal ideology and her allegiance to the Democrat Party, which is far to the left of the mainstream, is what will be on the ballot in November,” he said.
Democrat Devon Rutledge, the son of former state Rep. Joel Rutledge, also announced his candidacy last month.
He said Monday he would bow out of the race.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly carried the district by 14 percentage points over Republican Kris Kobach in 2018’s governor’s race.
The district went for President Donald Trump in 2016 and just barely for former Gov. Sam Brownback in 2014.
Kelly traveled to Wichita Monday to introduce Foulston.
“In all that she has done, she has proven to be a solid leader. She is a fighter with only the best interests of her community in mind,” Kelly said in a statement.
“I have no doubt Nola is exactly who this district needs in the Kansas Senate, and she is exactly who I would trust to help me lead Kansas forward into a prosperous new decade.”
