A Republican is stepping up to seek the Kansas House seat that is coming open with Rep. Kellie Warren’s decision to run for the state Senate.
Carl Turner, a Leawood project manager, on Thursday announced he was running for the House District 28 seat that Warren has held since 2018.
Turner, a senior business analyst for the information technology company SAIC, describes himself as a pro-life Republican who wants to continue Warren’s “pragmatic approach” to governing.
“If there was ever a time when we must have a steady hand at the wheel, it is now,” Turner said in a statement alluding to the ongoing public health emergency.
“We must have legislators with experience in financial management and an understanding of the individual needs of our local communities,” he said.
Turner’s career has included a history of working as a project manager for companies such as Kansas City Power & Light and Aquila.
He has a master’s degree in finance from Rockhurst University and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Central Missouri.
He could face Democrat Sally Jercha, a community volunteer in southern Johnson County who has been organizing a bid for the Legislature since last fall.
Jercha raised $20,708 in 2019 and had $17,639 on hand at the end of the year.
The district, which covers parts of Leawood and Overland Park, has been reliably red over the years.
It was carried by President Donald Trump with 52% of the vote in 2016, former Gov. Sam Brownback with 58% of the vote in 2014 and Mitt Romney with 67% of the vote in 2012.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly carried the district last year, but with just about 50% the vote.
Former Secretary of State Kris Kobach received about 43% of the vote in the district last year.
