A Leavenworth County vineyard owner who helped lead efforts in the Legislature to ensure that agritourism was not overly taxed says he plans to mount a primary challenge against Republican state Sen. Beverly Gossage.
Bryan Zesiger said Thursday that he has decided to run as a Republican for the Senate District 9 seat, which covers all or parts of Olathe, Eudora, Tonganoxie, Bonner Springs, De Soto, Baldwin City and Tonganoxie.
“Oh, yes,” Zesiger said when asked if he would run. “I’ve been walking right now. You’ll see full stride here come the holiday time frame.”
He has not officially filed yet, saying he’s looking for the “appropriate time.”
He would challenge Gossage, who has been in the Senate since 2020 when Republican precinct leaders picked her to replace Julia Lynn.
Gossage 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.
It could be the second Republican primary in the Kansas Senate next year.
Republican state Rep. Tory Marie Blew of Great Bend has already filed to run against incumbent Sen. Alicia Straub of Ellinwood in District 33.
Zesiger had described his early campaign efforts as “exploratory” as he tried to get on the ballot by petition by going door to door to collect signatures.
But in recent weeks, Zesiger’s campaign has started to come to life.
He’s posted pictures of collared campaign shirts on Facebook, saying “Z Man is Your Wing Man” – a reference to his military service as a retired Army veteran who flew Apache helicopters.
The shirts show that he is a candidate for Senate District 9. He also has a van decorated with the same campaign slogan and proclaiming that he is a candidate for District 9.
He’s posted a video on Facebook, saying he would not accept donations from political action committees or “special interests.”
“The perception is I would be working for them and not the people,” he said in the video.
Zesiger said there have been efforts to talk him out of running for the Senate seat, but he is moving ahead regardless.
“We still live in a democratic nation where we should encourage everybody to run. It just makes us better,” he said.
“The goal is we just want a better Kansas. We want a better community and a better time for everybody,” he said.
“Yes, I’m running and will continue to move forward.”
Gossage, who chairs the Senate health committee, said she knows the district well.
“My home is right in the middle of those new boundaries so I already know so many folks in these communities and appreciate their invitations to attend events to meet more folks,” Gossage said in a text message.
“I am proud of my voting record. I have kept my promise to be a good steward of the people’s dollars, to look for private solutions to issues whenever possible, to keep government small, protect our freedoms and listen to my constituents.”
Zesiger 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 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 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.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly carried this district with about 50% of the vote in last year’s governor’s race while Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt received about 47% of the vote. Conservative independent Sen. Dennis Pyle got about 2% of the vote here.
The constitutional amendment on abortion lost in this district with about 38% of the vote.
About 45% of the district is made up of Republicans and 27% of the voters are Democrats.
About 27% of the district is comprised of unaffiliated voters.
