Republican state Sen. Beverly Gossage may be at risk of drawing a primary challenge from a Leavenworth County vineyard owner who helped lead efforts in the Legislature to ensure that agritourism was not overly taxed.
Bryan Zesiger has appointed a treasurer as he lays the groundwork to run for the Senate District 9 seat, which covers all or parts of Olathe, Eudora, Tonganoxie, Bonner Springs, De Soto, Baldwin City and Tonganoxie.
A Republican, Zesiger is a retired Army veteran who flew Apache helicopters. He was stationed at Fort Leavenworth when he retired from the military after 26 years.
He and his wife run Z&M Twisted Vines Wines and Winery, which has a winery in Leavenworth and vineyard and tasting room in Lawrence.
Zesiger, 51, cautioned that he’s trying to get on the ballot by petition and that his campaign so far is only “exploratory” as he goes door to door collecting signatures.
Under state law, he needs 2% of the registered Republican voters in the district. As of June 3, that would mean he would need 485 signatures to get on the ballot.
“I’m getting a resounding understanding of who the people are and what’s important to them,” Zesiger said in an interview.
Gossage could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Zesiger said he’s building a campaign on three pillars: keeping property taxes in check, aiding members of the armed services and focusing on agriculture, including farmers and ranchers.
Zesiger said he thinks those themes are resonating with voters as he collects signatures, including his support for a bill that would cut property taxes for veterans with disabilities.
Zesiger has already been in the Capitol, lobbying for legislation that would allow any property used for agritourism to be classified as agriculture for tax purposes.
The legislation was bundled together in a bill with more than a dozen other measures that Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed.
The bill stemmed from Zesiger’s fight against Leavenworth County’s decision to classify a wine tasting room and a small portion of his vineyard as commercial property rather than agricultural property.
Zesiger said the county’s decision was unfair because a commercial classification hadn’t been applied to other area farm retailers.
He said farm wineries in other counties didn’t receive commercial classifications, contending that the inconsistency raised constitutional questions.
He said the county’s tax approach could threaten the wellbeing of agritourism, which could foster economic development in rural areas.
He said the bill was driven more by his concerns for how farmers across the state would be taxed than it was by his own situation.
“We need this bill to send a clear message that Kansas supports agriculture and registered agritourism throughout the state,” Zesiger said in written testimony on the agritourism bill during the last legislative session.
“This bill will ensure that appraisers will not assess or tax agriculture, agricultural buildings or registered agritourism as commercial, Zesiger said.
“All farmers and ranchers throughout the state of Kansas must be protected or we will be taxed out of our farmland and the ability to produce locally sold goods,” he said
He eventually took his case to the Board of Kansas Tax Appeals, which ultimately ruled in favor of the county.
Zesiger said he believes Gossage is as new to Senate District 9 as he is after election boundaries were redrawn in 2022.
Zesiger said he looks at it as there is no incumbent for the new Senate District 9.
“I bring a fresh, new look to represent the people and the population of this district,” Zesiger said.
Gossage, chair of the Senate health committee, has been in the Senate since 2020, when Republican precinct leaders picked her to replace Julia Lynn.
She defeated a political newcomer, Democrat Stacey Knoell, who received 48% of the vote that year, to serve a full four-year term that lapses in 2025.
