Republican congressional candidate Amanda Adkins is going to have a primary after all even if it’s against a political newcomer who is nowhere near as well financed or known.
John McCaughrean, a former Army sergeant who served tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, has filed to run against Adkins as a Republican in the 3rd District.
McCaughrean, who lives in Kansas City and works as a mechanic, filed his paperwork with the Federal Election Commission about a week before Christmas.
McCaughrean, who was honored in 2011 by the German government for rendering aid to victims of a car crash on the Autobahn, said he is running to give voters in the 3rd District a choice in the Republican primary.
“I saw Amanda as a Republican establishment candidate who has no energy and everybody else is just sitting on the sidelines,” McCaughrean said in an interview.
“We are the party of competition. We are the party of choice,” he said. “We are not about princesses and kings and freakin’ monopolies.
“I figured I’d give the people the option and then have them decide.”
Efforts to reach the Adkins’ campaign were unsuccessful on Wednesday.
McCaughrean filed months before the Kansas Legislature is expected to finish drawing new election boundaries for the state’s congressional district.
He listed an address on his FEC report that shows that he resides west of Kansas Speedway on the edge of the 3rd District.
However, he is not required to live within the district to seek the office. He only has to live within the state and be a citizen for seven years when he’s sworn in.
Among others things, McCaughrean said he doesn’t believe climate change is the result of human activity and he’s also is opposed to federal vaccine mandates now being challenged in federal court.
“An attack on people’s individual liberty – such as the shot – is an attack on the 9th and 10th amendment in this constitutional republic,” he said.
“This is what our founders were against.”
McCaughrean said he’s personally not vaccinated against COVID because he believes it’s possible he could have already had the virus. He said he has not been tested.
“I don’t run to the doctor every time I get a sniffle,” he said.
Adkins has already raised almost $900,000 this election cycle preparing for what is an expected rematch against Democratic Congresswoman Sharice Davids.
She had about $749,000 on hand at the end of September.
Davids’ fundraising numbers are even more formidable.
She had raised about $2.1 million through the end of last September with about $1.8 in the bank as she seeks a third term in Congress.
McCaughrean set aside any concern about having an uphill fight against candidates who were much better known and well-financed.
“I’m a mechanic. I love hard things,” he said. “It’s what I do.”
