(Updated to include comments from Reddi and Senate minority leader)
Democratic Party leaders elected former U.S. Senate candidate and Manhattan City Commissioner Usha Reddi to the state Senate on Thursday night.
Reddi defeated Riley County Democratic Party Chair Katie Allen 23-19 to serve out the term of outgoing state Sen. Tom Hawk. His term ends in 2025.
“It’s been a very exciting night. I’m thrilled to represent Senate District 22,” Reddi said in a statement.
“Sen. Tom Hawk is an outstanding leader and I’m sure I’ll be reaching out to him many times.”
Reddi’s family immigrated to the United States from India in 1973 when she was 8.
Reddi grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and later earned a bachelor’s degree in developmental psychology at The Ohio State University in 1988 before coming to Kansas.
She was a stay-at-home mom until 2003, when she went back to school to earn a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Kansas State University.
She received a master’s degree in educational leadership from K-State in 2011.
She has served on the Manhattan City Commission since 2013, including stints as mayor in 2016-17 and again in 2020.
She made an abbreviated run for the U.S. Senate in 2020 before bowing out to eventual Democratic nominee Barbara Bollier.
Reddi said she doesn’t plan to leave her seat on the city commission. She also doesn’t have to give up her position as national committeewoman.
Reddi has been active in the community over the years.
She’s served on the Riley County Mental Health Task Force since 2017, and she was president of the Manhattan-Ogden National Education Association from 2008 to 2010.
She was a member of the Flint Hills Regional Transit Administration from 2015 to 2017 and served on the Manhattan-Ogden School District’s diversity commission from 2004 to 2008.
Reddi went public with her interest in running for the U.S. Senate in 2019 when she revealed that she had been sexually assaulted by her father 40 years ago after he had been convicted of felony rape.
“Many of us have known Usha in her capacity as a community leader for years now, and we look forward to bringing her into the fold when she joins us as a legislative colleague next week,” Senate Democratic Leader Dinah Sykes said in a statement.
“We’re grateful that she has stepped up to represent the Manhattan community in this new capacity, and I’m eager to use her strengths in the Legislature to help move Kansas forward.”
