Republican state Sen. Richard Hilderbrand of Baxter Springs on Wednesday morning announced his plans to resign from the state Senate.
He officially submitted his resignation to the secretary of state’s office. It is effective Jan. 8.
“It has been an honor to serve the great people of District 13,” he said in his letter.
“I will always appreciate the trust they placed in me to be their voice in Topeka.”
Hilderbrand, who has been in the Senate since 2017, first revealed his plans to leave the Senate in an interview Tuesday night.
Hilderbrand said he needs to devote time to his insurance business and care for his mother, who has health issues.
“I need to take care of my business,” he said. “My mom has some health issues I have to deal with as well.”
A conservative, Hilderbrand now represents Senate District 13, which covers parts or all of Bourbon, Crawford and Cherokee counties in the southeast corner of the state.
He is third senator to reveal plans to leave the Senate before the legislative session starts, following in the path of Democrat Tom Hawk of Manhattan and Republican Gene Suellentrop of Wichita.
Hilderbrand was first appointed to the Senate in 2017 when he was picked by precinct committee leaders to replace former state Sen. Jake LaTurner, who was appointed state treasurer and was later elected to Congress.
He won a special election in 2018 to serve out LaTurner’s four-year term, defeating Democrat Bryan Hoffman and Libertarian Sam Habjan with 54% of the vote.
He was reelected in 2020 when he beat Democrat Nancy Ingel with 66% of the vote.
He ran for Senate majority leader in 2021 and came up short against state Sen. Larry Alley.
As chair of the Senate health committee and vice chair of the Federal and State Affairs Committee, Hilderbrand’s departure will force a scrambling of Senate committee assignments.
Hilderbrand’s decision to leave has been circulating in recent days, setting off rampant speculation about new committee assignments and who might be affected and how issues those committees handle might be affected as well.
Republican precinct leaders have 21 days from the date Hilderbrand submits his resignation to convene and select someone to serve out his term, which ends at the start of 2025.
